Background
Read on to learn how the Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) was formed.
On this page
Teacher Professional Growth Cycle
In 2019, the Ministry of Education, PPTA Te Wehengarua, and NZEI Te Riu Roa signed an Accord that committed to removing teacher performance appraisal as a compliance tool. This responded to widespread feedback from kaiako, principals, tumuaki, and ECE leaders that appraisal systems had become overly complex and burdensome.
Profession-led approach
The shift to Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) was driven by the profession itself. Teachers across sectors voiced the need for a more meaningful, trust-based approach to supporting teaching practice. In response, the Teaching Council convened a cross-sector working group made up of representatives from across the education landscape—including unions, professional bodies, and leadership groups—to co-design a new model.
This group focused on reducing compliance, supporting professional learning, and ensuring all teachers continue to meet the Standards for the Teaching Profession. Their work was grounded in the belief that professional growth is best supported when educators lead the design and implementation of the systems that shape their practice.
Working Group Partners
Partners represented early childhood, primary, and secondary education and included:
- NZEI Te Riu Roa
- NZ Post Primary Teachers’ Association, Te Wehengarua
- Ministry of Education
- NZ School Trustees Association
- Te Rito Maioha
- Te Akatea
- Early Childhood Council
- Education Review Office
- NZ Kindergartens
- Ngā Kura a Iwi o Aotearoa
- Te Rūnanga Nui o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori
- Montessori NZ
- NZ Principals Federation
- NZ Pasifika Principals Association
- Secondary Principals Association NZ
Aim – Principles of the PGC for teachers
- high trust
- reduced compliance activity; recognising everyday practice as it reflects Ngā Paerewa mō te Umanga Whakaakoranga | Standards for the Teaching Profession
- collaborative and inclusive
- focus on growth (improving not proving)
- personalised, specific to context, and responsive to learners
- reflective
- adaptive and responsive, authentic
- value what works.
Statement about quality assurance
While the Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) values innovation and responsiveness over prescriptive or one-size-fits-all approaches, it continues to uphold important aspects of quality assurance. These are not imposed as external checks, but are embedded within the professional responsibilities and ethical commitments of leaders and kaiako. In particular, professional leaders play a pivotal role in endorsement decisions, drawing on their deep knowledge of context, relationships, and practice to make informed, principled judgments. Their endorsement reflects a thoughtful consideration of how a teacher’s everyday practice aligns with the Standards for the Teaching Profession, and how it contributes to equitable and effective outcomes for learners.
This approach reinforces a culture of trust and professionalism, where accountability is relational and grounded in shared values rather than compliance. The PGC thus enables a system that is empowering, adaptive, and robust—one that honours what works, while remaining responsive to the evolving needs of learners and communities.
PGC for Principals, Tumuaki, and ECE Leaders
Following the rollout of the teacher PGC, the Council worked with the profession to adapt the model for principals, tumuaki, and ECE professional leaders. The aim was to replicate the benefits of the teacher PGC — reduced compliance, stronger professional networks, and a focus on everyday practice — while respecting the unique responsibilities of leadership roles.
The PGC for principals, tumuaki and ECE professional leaders is intended to create more equitable, contextually responsive access to opportunities to learning and growth than occurred through highly varied appraisal systems. It promotes the use of research and frameworks while fostering new knowledge developed with colleagues about practices that make a positive difference for learners. It encourages a collective responsibility for quality teaching and practice for all learners across the diverse contexts of Aotearoa.
To learn more about setting up a PGC for principals, Tumuaki and ECE professional leaders, please visit this webpage.
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