Professional Learning Networks and Leadership Support
It’s been awhile since sending an email out to everyone. It is not that there hasn’t been a lot to celebrate, there has, but maybe we have just been living in the celebration too much and forgot to put our heads up and say hi!!!
We are mindful of leadership's impact on settings; it is an important role. For a while now, the Teaching Council have had the expectation that all ECE leaders belong to a Professional Learning Network. Click this link for more information. The Network creates a community of leaders who will be responsible for endorsing each other’s Practicing Certificate renewal. The endorsement must come from a fellow centre leader.
When thinking about PGC/appraisal and renewal, there are a couple of considerations: firstly, the Licensing Criteria that require everyone in the ECE setting to have an appraisal. Secondly the Teaching Council’s expectations; and thirdly, to make sure that what you are doing for these two processes is completed through one action. Working smarter, not hard.
In Educating Hearts and Minds, we provide a clear and efficient process that fulfils the two requirements. This process ensures that you meet the Licensing Criteria and the Teaching Council's expectations, making the annual appraisal and renewal straightforward. You can be confident that you are meeting all the necessary requirements in an efficient manner.
When you join Educating Hearts and Minds you will have a Kaiārahi (mentor) who journeys with you over the year of your PGC, meeting with you to discuss progress, give feedback, provoke your thinking, and create evidence of your professional growth This fulfils the first requirement- that everyone in ECE has an annual PGC/appraisal.
The next part is sharing this feedback and appraisal written by your Kaiārahi with your endorser so they can be confident that you are meeting all the requirements set out in Our Code : Our Standard.
Throughout the year, Educating Hearts and Minds Kaiārahi will facilitate online meetings. These are the Professional Learning Networks. The meetings are based on your availability. At the moment, our groups are held at 1pm, 3pm, or 7pm. We document the meetings for your evidence. It is not about where you are in Aotearoa. We are supporting kaiārataki from Wānaka, across the South Island, all the way up the North Island, and finishing in Tāmaki Makaurau.
These groups are kept small to ensure that the process is authentic. We feel that authenticity is built through strong relationships, so for us group size is important.
We have found that by doing this the sharing of ideas, and concerns, asking questions, sharing celebrations and having the space to feel heard and your emotions being felt is more likely to happen. Kaiārataki/leaders have a lot to share in terms of support and provocations for each other. In all that we do, we strive to ensure there is authenticity. These meetings are not just about ticking a box for endorsement, they are about building a strong community and empowering each other with support and provocations.
If you're interested in learning more about the Professional Learning Network or our process, please don't hesitate to email us. In the meantime, you can click this link for our brochure, which provides detailed information about what we offer.
The benefits of being part of a Professional Learning Network are huge when you adhere to authentic practice and abandon the idea of just ticking a box.
Nā te whakarongo me titiro ka puta mai te kōrero. Through looking and listening, we gain wisdom.