What Does Mentoring in Early Childhood Education Really Mean?
- heartleadnz
- Oct 2
- 3 min read
Here in Aotearoa, mentoring in early childhood education isn’t optional. The Teaching Council says every service must provide an induction and mentoring programme for provisionally certificated kaiako. At HeartLead NZ, I support services to design mentoring systems that are not just compliant, but meaningful. ERO will check whether it’s actually happening in practice — is it structured, resourced, and effective? And the Ministry of Education expects professional growth to be prioritised, linked to your philosophy and strategic goals, not treated as an add-on.
So yes, the requirements are clear. But here’s the thing: compliance doesn’t automatically equal quality mentoring. Just because there’s a meeting once a term and a ticked box doesn’t mean anyone is actually growing.
What Makes a Mentor Worth Following?
The best mentor I ever had wasn’t just “assigned” to me. They believed in me, stood up for me, and opened doors I wouldn’t have stepped through alone. They were knowledgeable, professional, supportive — but also human. That’s the kind of mentorship in early childhood education that sticks. And let’s clear this up: mentors aren’t always leaders. Anyone with experience and a willingness to share it can mentor. Maybe you’re brilliant with social-emotional competence, or with documentation, or with engaging whānau. That makes you a mentor for someone else.
I also see a clear difference between coaching and mentoring in early childhood education:
A mentor shares wisdom and experience — guiding with a gentle hand.
A coach is there to help you hit goals, grow skills, and — this is key in ECE — lead your own learning. A good coach lets you make mistakes, reflect, and find your own way.
Both roles matter. And both should leave people feeling empowered, not policed.
Mentoring That Actually Works
If you ask me, an effective mentoring programme needs:
Time carved out for proper catch-ups (not squeezed in while packing away the sandpit).
Working alongside each other, not just talking about practice in theory.
Space for the mentee’s questions and curiosities, not just the mentor’s checklist.
A clear structure so nobody’s left guessing.
Provocations for learning — readings, PLD, or chances to observe peers in action.
Personally, I use a four-question cycle for professional growth:
What did you discover or learn?
What have you changed or tried?
How is this helping learners thrive?
What’s next?
Simple, but powerful. Add in curious conversations and feedback starters like “I’ve noticed…” or “I wonder…”, and suddenly reflection feels safe — but still pushes practice forward. If you’d like ready-to-use tools such as Curious Conversation Starters or professional inquiry templates, you’ll find them in the HeartLead NZ resource library.
The Ripple Effect
Here’s the bigger picture: good mentoring doesn’t just grow individual teachers, it lifts whole teams. It builds trust, collective capability, and a culture where learning is shared.
The problem? Too many teachers get thrown into mentoring without any support themselves. That’s why I’ve created HeartLead NZ tools — like Curious Conversation Starters — because mentors need mentoring too.
And here’s my little “hack”: stop treating mentoring as separate. Align it with your strategic plan, PGC, and internal evaluation. When everything feeds into each other, mentoring becomes part of how the whole service improves, not just an individual side project.
Final Thought
To me, being a mentor in ECE means supporting teachers the same way we support children: with trust, curiosity, and the belief that they are capable learners. Within that relationship, a mentor can inspire, provoke, and extend.
Mentoring is a privilege. It’s not about ticking the box. It’s about showing up as the mentor you once needed — or the mentor you wish you’d had.
And if your service doesn’t currently have a confident mentor in place, or you’d like extra support, I offer ongoing coaching and mentoring in early childhood education through HeartLead NZ. Get in touch to talk about how I can support you and your team.
