School Saving Bonus

We have regularly shared with you information about the School Saving Bonus, the $400 provided by the State Government for every eligible child enrolled in a Victorian Government school at the start of this school year, since the program was announced last year. 

As previously advised, access to the School Saving Bonus online system (portal) closed on 30 June, and online supplier vouchers also expired on this date.

The Department of Education have conducted a reconciliation of the SSB, and all remaining SSB funds, including online voucher amounts that had not been redeemed, have become a credit on your family statement to use for school activities. 

Each event notice in Compass advises if SSB is applicable, and instructions are provided. Where available SSB has not already been applied to an event charge, parents/carers wanting to use SSB to pay for eligible events/activities must send an email to accounts@essexheightsps.vic.edu.au, including your child's name, class, and identifying the event/activity, requesting that available SSB be applied to the event/activity charge. Please note you will not receive a reply to your email, due to the volume of requests being received and processed. Monitor your Compass event notice prior to the specified due date for amendment/update, allowing three working days after sending your email:

• the event status will change to Attending (green text) if SSB covers the full charge (consent is also processed on your behalf); there is no further action required; 
• if SSB does not cover the full amount, the event cost will be reduced and the event status will be Awaiting consent and payment (orange text) requiring you to process consent and payment of balance by the due date. 

Families who do not want to use the School Saving Bonus provided for their child/children can elect to provide this money to the school for use for other students:

• Schools can allocate funds to be used to assist other students at the school within the scope of the School Saving Bonus (that is, school-incurred costs for camps, sports and excursions).
• Funds cannot be used for costs outside of the scope of the School Saving Bonus (such as, voluntary parent payments, Instrumental Music Program, or after school/lunchtime programs).
• Schools are required to retain records of the parent request to reallocate funding.

Please write an email to our Principal, George Perini, if you intend to donate your SSB.