Leadership in early childhood education has never required more clarity.
 
With 2026 Licensing Criteria updates, increasing ERO expectations around internal evaluation, and strengthened Professional Growth Cycle requirements, many leaders are feeling the pressure to “hold it all together.”
 
This toolkit is designed to help you start the year strong by aligning your systems — not adding more to them.
 
Inside you’ll receive: (all digital files)
✔ 2026 Licensing Criteria Implementation Guide
A practical breakdown of April 2026 key updates to licencing criteria, with concise implementation suggestions so you can move from compliance to confident leadership.
 
✔ Internal Evaluation Framework: A Guide to Meaningful Practice Review
A structured inquiry model grounded in evidence, outcomes for children, and designed to align with the evaluative expectations of ERO quality reviews:
What is so? So what for children? How do we know?
 
✔ PGC Conversation & Reflection Template
A leadership tool to guide purposeful, pedagogically-focused professional growth conversations that align with service priorities and strategic goals.
 
Designed for centre leaders, managers, and changemakers across Aotearoa.