Profession-led resources launched to support the 2026 Standards
09 March 2026
The Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) has been strengthened with the launch of a new and expanded suite of profession-led resources, co-designed with a small group of leaders from across the sector.
The PGC is a key regulatory mechanism within the Council’s system. It supports endorsement decisions and provides assurance to learners, whānau, and communities that teachers continue to meet the Standards for the Teaching Profession.
By strengthening reflective practice, professional conversations, and shared understandings of quality teaching, the PGC supports high-quality teaching practice and helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
From 1 January 2027, the 2026 Standards will be used for endorsement decisions as part of the registration process. In response, a small group of principals and professional leaders worked alongside advisors from the Teaching Council to create practical resources that help bring the Standards to life through everyday teaching practice. This year, teaching settings will need to align their PGC with the 2026 Standards so everything is in place ahead of 2027.
These refreshed resources are now available on the new Professional Growth Cycle section of the website, with additional materials recently added following an initial release at the end of 2025.
Teaching Council Senior Advisor Kim Bonnington says the work reflects the original intent of the PGC - recognising authentic teaching practice and supporting meaningful professional growth.
“The Professional Growth Cycle was created by a working group of representative groups who were looking to create a system that would recognise everyday teaching practice in the Standards, and grow teacher practice in an authentic way,” she says.
“The best way for us to support the implementation of the 2026 Standards is to help teaching settings review the aspects of the PGC where the Standards are central to that growth, and to ensure the high‑quality teaching practice that the endorsement process requires.”
Kim says leaders from a range of settings indicated it was time to review how their PGC was operating in light of the updated Standards. This prompted a series of facilitated conversations, reflective activities and collaborative discussions, which were recorded and developed into resources that are now available to the wider profession.
“Technically, the only aspects of the PGC that need to change are Element A - the common understanding of the Standards within the teaching setting - and Element E, the annual summary statement,” she says.
“What we also found was that bringing leaders together created a powerful starting point for deeper conversations about how the Standards live and breathe to support teacher growth.”
She adds that the work has also supported leaders to think more intentionally about how shared understandings of the Standards can be used to support teachers at different stages of their careers, including those new to the profession and those requiring additional support to strengthen their practice.
The leaders involved in the project say the collaborative process led to a number of practical insights and “lightbulb moments”.
Liz McDowell, Deputy Principal at Avonside Girls’ High School, says the project challenged assumptions about how shared understandings of quality practice need to be documented.
“My lightbulb moment was realising that we didn’t need to create shared understanding through a single Quality Practice template - it could be developed in other modes,” she says.
“It got me thinking about the mahi we’ve been doing as a kura around an instructional model that brings different areas of best practice together.”
For Jo Staite, Deputy Principal at Cashmere Avenue School in Wellington, the focus was on making existing documentation more meaningful and usable.
“My lightbulb moment was thinking about how our Quality Teaching Practice document could become something that truly lives and breathes and guides teachers’ practice. Rather than creating new evidence, we could use it as a landing place to naturally acknowledge the rich evidence that already exists - from team discussions and targeted PLD, to teacher inquiry goals and our interactions with the community.”
Michela Homer, Regional Manager for Busy Bees Aotearoa, says the work also highlighted opportunities within the existing PGC framework.
“My lightbulb moment was realising that we can meet Element C by focusing on the current goals kaiako are working on, and then supporting them to reflect on how that mahi maps to the Standards and focus areas, with a feed‑forward discussion about what comes next.”
While resources are available for all elements of the PGC, the key priority for schools and early learning services as they begin their PGC in 2026 is developing a shared understanding of the 2026 Standards within their own context (Element A). Resources for other elements can be accessed and revisited as needed.
To further support this work, the 2026 Rauhuia Symposium series is focusing on each element of the PGC through a series of online sessions. Recordings will be made available for those unable to attend live. Remaining sessions include:
- 18 March – Element B: Co‑Designing Growth – Leading the Cycle
- 14 May – Element C: Professional Learning with Purpose
- 23 June – Element D: Leading Conversations that Grow Practice
- 19 August – Element E: Leading with Confidence – Confirming Growth
- 17 September – Element F: Leading Collective Growth
More resources will continue to be added throughout the year as leaders involved in the project refine their approaches and share further examples with the profession.
Teaching settings are encouraged to explore the new PGC resources and learn more about the move to the 2026 Standards through the website.
