Leaders Lab
Network Groups
Term 3, 2026

Join the 4E's Leaders Lab, a collaborative professional learning community designed for ECE leaders who want to strengthen their leadership, tackle real-world challenges, and connect with like-minded professionals across New Zealand.

Through five interactive online sessions, you'll explore practical leadership strategies, share ideas with peers, and build the confidence to lead thriving teams and high-quality learning environments.

Perfect for centre managers, team leaders, and aspiring leaders looking to grow their leadership capability in early childhood education.
$295 for all five live sessions.
Spaces are limited! Secure your place today.

  • Spaces Are Strictly Limited

    Maximum of 10 Participants 

  • Five Live Online Sessions

    Fortnightly Group Sessions
    9:30am - 10:30am

    4E’s™ Professional Leaders Lab

    What makes our Leaders Lab unique?
    • Leadership-focused sessions that build strategic thinking and decision-making skills.
    • Deep dives into leadership strategy, organisational systems, and a wide range of ECE topics.
    • Structured, topic-specific learning delivered in a one-hour format for targeted development.
    • Guided by experienced ECE leaders, offering clear objectives and practical takeaways.
    • Presenter-led, with focused content on single topics per session (e.g., curriculum planning, internal evaluation, team building).
    • Certificate of attendance per term, plus annual PGC endorsement for those completing four terms and actively contributing.
    Whether you want to enhance leadership capability, navigate complex challenges, or gain practical strategies, Leadership Peer Pods provide the perfect environment for quick, targeted professional growth that makes an impact.

    Is Leaders Lab Right for You?

    Leaders Lab is designed for:
    • Centre Managers
    • Team Leaders
    • Educational Leaders
    • Assistant Managers
    • Aspiring Leaders
    • Owners and Centre Directors

    Why Choose the 4E’s™ Leaders Lab

    Values-based framework

    Leadership learning grounded in the realities of early childhood education.

    Real-world application

    Walk away with practical strategies you can implement in your centre straight away.

    Supportive peer community

    Connect with other ECE leaders to share ideas, challenges and practical solutions.

    Flexible options

    Attend live or catch up with recordings when life gets busy.

    How it works:

    Fortnightly Sessions

    Five interactive online workshops (60 minutes each) focused on practical leadership development.

    Small group peer pods

    Limited to 6–10 participants, allowing meaningful discussion, collaboration and personalised support.

    Practical Resources

    Receive downloadable tools, templates and resources to use immediately in your own centre.

    Course Lessons

    What You'll Learn This Term

    Each Leaders Lab session focuses on practical leadership challenges faced by today's early childhood leaders, combining expert facilitation with collaborative discussion and real-world strategies.
    Learn from experienced ECE leaders

    Meet Your Facilitators

    Vanessa Henry

    FACILITATOR
    With 30 years of knowledge and experience in Early Childhood Education (ECE), Vanessa's career has encompassed roles both internationally and within New Zealand. She has worked with all age groups in various teaching and leadership positions, including centre manager roles and as an operations manager for preschool chains.
    Vanessa possesses a diverse range of strengths and expertise, particularly in ECE compliance, design, licensing, curriculum development, policies and procedures, internal evaluation, mentoring, and team management. She has a keen eye for detail and enjoys supporting others to succeed through audits, guidance, and training. Vanessa is deeply passionate about providing high-quality ECE and leads with a child-centered approach.

    Martina Ewing

    FACILITATOR
    Martina has spent her education years in a variety of Early Childhood Education teaching, management and mentoring roles. Her experience covers all age groups, which has given her a vast range of knowledge, skills and techniques that she enjoys sharing with other Kaiako through presenting professional learning and development workshops and writing blogs to assist them to further develop their teaching practice.

    Martina has vast experience carrying out operational compliance and best practice ECE service audits, developing strong health and safety documentation and systems, strategic and annual planning, internal evaluation and policy and procedure development.
    Don't take our word for it

    Here's what past Peer Pods participants say about their Professional Network experience.

    I’ve recently joined the Professional Network Peer Pods with Vanessa, and the experience has been fantastic. Connecting with other leaders and engaging in meaningful, in-depth conversations about all aspects of ECE has really boosted my confidence as a manager.
    Rebecca Cavanagh, Puanga Kākaho
    Peer Pods has been an invaluable experience for me, both in my learning and growth. The slides you prepared and the resources you shared were outstanding and will not only support me personally, but also help me support my team to grow and do better in every way.
    Megan Jenkins, Shine Montessori
    Lesson series

    Leaders Lab
    Term 3, 2026

    Join a supportive network of ECE leaders to strengthen your leadership, share ideas and gain practical strategies you can apply immediately in your centre.
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