Funding for children with high learning support needs enrolled in NSW Community Preschools is provided to develop and deliver each child’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $15,984
- Application opened: 30 October 2024
- Application closed: 15 November 2024
Program objective
High Learning Support Needs (HLSN) is a component of the Disability and Inclusion Program for NSW Community Preschools.
The program aims to:
- increase the capacity of the early childhood education sector to include children with disability and additional needs on the same basis as their peers
- support equitable education outcomes for children with disability and additional needs during their attendance at preschool and as they transition to school
- align with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in NSW (the NDIS provides functional support, and this program provides educational support)
- target funding to children who have high learning support needs.
This program is funded and administered by Department of Education.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this funding, service eligibility and child eligibility criteria are applied. All applications will be considered by the Department on a case by case basis.
Service eligibility criteria
This funding is available only for Community Preschools (including mobile preschools) who are currently in receipt of NSW Start Strong for Community Preschools funding or the Mobile Preschools Funding Program.
Child eligibility criteria
To be eligible for this funding, the child must:
- be at least 3 years old on or before 31 July in that preschool year and not in compulsory schooling; or
- turn at least 3 years old after 31 July in that preschool year and demonstrate exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to, any child or family that experiences out-of-home or alternative care arrangements, isolation, violence, and trauma, mental health issues, environmental disasters or other crises.
The child must also have high learning support needs as defined in these program guidelines.
Children with high learning support needs:
- have constant and ongoing support needs and require significant adjustments, or a temporary illness or injury that requires short-term adjustment, to enable participation in the educational program on the same basis as their peers
- require an ILP that identifies individual goals and the specific teaching strategies and adjustments required to achieve these
- require consistent support and guidance to engage at the same level as their peers.
Provisional prepayment of Quarter 1 2025 HLSN funding
Eligible providers may opt in for a provisional prepayment of Quarter 1 2025 HLSN funding.A provisional prepayment is available for children who were eligible for annual HLSN funding in Quarter 4 2024and who are identified as returning to the service in 2025.
Providers will still need to submit an individual application for 2025 HLSN funding for attending children in Quarters 1 or 2 2025.
The department will contact eligible providers to notify them of the opportunity to opt in for a provisional prepayment. The opt in process is voluntary. The department will provide eligible providers with an opt-in form to confirm continuing children. Providers are required to submit their opt in form by 15 November 2024. To receive the provisional pre-payment, providers must also sign the 2025 Early Childhood Education Funding Agreement Terms and Conditions (Terms and Conditions) in Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS).
The provisional pre-payment will be calculated based on the number of support hours to be requested for continuing children for Quarter 1 2025. The provisional prepayment will be made outside of the regular quarterly payment schedule in December 2024. Subsequent payments/adjustments for these applications will then return to the normal 2025 quarterly payment schedule. See HLSN Guidelines Section 6. Application and payment dates for application cut-off and payment schedule.
Any provisional prepayments received in December 2024 will be offset against payments made for Quarters 1 to 3, 2025. Any provisional prepayment made for a child who does not return in 2025, or who is assessed as ineligible for 2025 HLSN funding, will be offset against HLSN funding for other children if applicable or will be required to be returned to the department as part of Quarter 3 adjustments or refunds. The department will contact providers regarding any return of funding required.
2025 HLSN Provisional Prepayment Recipients
In December 2024, $3,584,0111 was distributed to 219 Community Preschool service providers (service providers)2 in 17 Local Health Districts3.
Service providers in the following LHDs received funding during 2024: Albury-Wodonga Health - Victoria, Central Coast, Far West, Hunter New England, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Mid North Coast, Murrumbidgee, Nepean Blue Mountains, Northern NSW, Northern Sydney, Out of NSW, South Eastern Sydney, South Western Sydney, Southern NSW, Sydney, Western NSW, Western Sydney
The names of grant recipients have been removed for privacy purposes. More information about privacy
Notes:
- The total funds distributed in December 2024 is the total of all grants made in the Provisional Prepayment round, for eligible applications submitted by Community Preschools.
- Payments are made to service providers who distribute funds to Community Preschool services under their control (according to the eligibility criteria and funding hours requested for each child). Variations may result in a change in a preschool’s funding allocation throughout the program year. In such cases a funding adjustment will be applied to the preschool’s next payment or by return of funds to the department.
- Locations of grant recipients are based on the locations of service providers according to NSW Local Health Districts or interstate regions (Out of NSW).
Agency funding this grant:
Department of Education
Funding was approved under delegation by:
- Director, Equity and Inclusion, Quality Participation and Connections, Early Childhood Outcomes
Program term: Funding must be expended in the year it was allocated for.
What your application needs to include
For full application details, download the 2025 HLSN Funding Program Guidelines
The applications require:
- a written diagnosis or NDIS plan or preschool observations
- details of how the child functions in the preschool environment. Consider the child’s strengths and needs in relation to the developmental domains and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) outcomes
- details of current and proposed adjustments that enable the child to participate in the educational program on the same basis as their peers. This may include adult guidance, teaching strategies, or environmental modifications
- notification of the number of weeks the child is enrolled at the preschool, excluding the weeks the preschool is closed for school holidays.
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: the NSW Department of Education (the Department).
The Department will individually assess all applications. Where required, the Department may seek further information from preschools about their application.
Providers will be notified of assessment outcomes for each application, and their funding allocation via email. Providers will be informed that funding notifications have been sent to providers via the 'Early Childhood Education Weekly Update' email.
Applications are assessed for eligibility according to the 2025 HLSN funding program guidelines. When an application has been assessed as ineligible, the individual spreadsheet provided to each provider at the time of notification will indicate the relevant section of the guidelines for reference as the reason for ineligibility.
Support and contact
For questions, feedback or complaints about the Disability Inclusion Program, please contact the department by:
- calling 1800 619 113
- emailing ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au.