ECE Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) Complete Resource Bundle

A clear, practical approach to managing your Professional Growth Cycle – from setting inquiry goals through to evaluating impact on learners and annual Teaching Standards assessment.

Take the guesswork out of implementing and managing the Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) across your ECE service.

This comprehensive bundle brings together seven practical PGC resources designed to support service leaders, mentors and kaiako through the Professional Growth Cycle from beginning to end.

At the heart of the bundle is a clear January–November Annual PGC Plan, setting out what the Service Leader, Mentor and Mentee/Kaiako should be doing at each stage of the year, along with the relevant PGC elements, supporting resources and evidence that can be gathered for the teacher’s PGC portfolio.

Rather than treating the PGC as a collection of disconnected activities, the resources provide a coherent year-long process that moves from identifying an inquiry focus and engaging in professional learning, through to changing practice, observation and reflection, evaluating impact on learners, reviewing evidence against the Teaching Standards and completing the annual PGC confirmation.

Align professional growth with your service’s improvement priorities

The bundle has been designed so your service can connect teachers’ individual professional growth and inquiry goals with a shared internal evaluation and improvement focus.

Keep the focus on what has improved for learners

A strong emphasis throughout the resources is on moving beyond documenting what the teacher did to considering what difference changes to teaching practice made for children/ākonga.

Updated to reflect the new Teaching Standards

The observation and annual assessment resources have been updated to reflect the new Teaching Standards and focus areas.

Evidence can be gathered naturally through the PGC and everyday teaching practice rather than creating evidence simply for the purpose of the Standards.

Kaiako are supported to identify evidence across all eight Teaching Standards, while recognising that they do not need separate evidence for every individual focus area.

What’s included?

1. Professional Growth Cycle Annual Plan
A January–November roadmap showing the responsibilities of the Service Leader/Team Leader, Mentor and Mentee/Kaiako each month, along with PGC elements, supporting tools and suggested portfolio evidence.

2. Internal Evaluation & Professional Growth Topics
Supports leaders to identify a service-wide improvement focus and develop an Internal Evaluation Question, then helps kaiako develop individual PGC inquiry questions connected to that shared focus.

3. Coaching Conversations for Mentors
A practical guide using the GROW coaching model to help mentors facilitate meaningful conversations about inquiry goals, current practice, professional learning, possible changes and next steps.

4. PGC Reflection 1 – Research & Professional Learning
Supports kaiako to reflect on what they are learning through research and professional learning, how this is influencing their thinking and what they might change or strengthen in their practice.

5. Professional Growth Observation Form
Guides the complete observation process, including preparation, written or video observation, observer reflection, next steps and identification of evidence against the new Teaching Standards.

6. PGC Reflection 2 – Evaluating Impact on Learners
Moves the focus from What did I change? to What difference did it make?, supporting kaiako to evaluate the impact of changed practice on individual learners and their learning.

7. Annual Teaching Standards Assessment
Supports Element E of the PGC, bringing together evidence across all eight Teaching Standards and providing a structured end-of-year review and Annual PGC Confirmation.

Flexible for paper or electronic PGC systems

These resources are provided as downloadable templates. They can be printed and completed as part of a paper-based PGC folder, or completed/saved electronically and uploaded to your service’s chosen digital portfolio or documentation system.