Resources / Performance Reviews / Performance Review Builder
Module 6: Performance Reviews

Performance Review Builder

A full performance review template with the how-to guide built in. Review last quarter's goals, note strengths and development areas, set goals for the next quarter, and sign off together.

1

When to do performance reviews

A formal performance review is a structured sit-down between a Service Manager and the educators who report directly to them. It isn't where feedback happens for the first time. It's where you and the educator look at the last period together, review how the goals landed, and set the goals for what's next.

The cadence

  • Every six months is the minimum. Going a full year without a structured review leaves educators guessing about how they're tracking.
  • Quarterly is the gold standard. It matches the OKR cycle, keeps goals live, and means nothing drifts for too long.
  • Who reviews whom. The Service Manager runs reviews with their direct reports: the Educational Leader, Room Leaders, and any educators who report directly to them. Room Leaders run reviews with the educators in their room.
A note on pay. Pay reviews happen once a year and sit separate from this conversation. Don't mix them. Performance reviews are about growth, feedback and goals. Pay decisions belong in their own meeting with their own process.
2

Preparing for the review

Proper prep takes 90 to 120 minutes per educator per review. That's not optional. A rushed review is worse than no review.

Send the self-assessment in advance

A week before the meeting, send the educator a self-assessment covering:

  • What they've been most proud of this period
  • How they feel they've tracked against each of their goals
  • Where they feel they've grown
  • Where they'd like more support or development
  • What they want to be doing in 12 months

Your prep

  • Read back through your one-on-one notes from the period
  • Look at their goals from last review and note where they landed
  • Gather observations: what you've seen in the room, family feedback, documentation, incident or compliance notes
  • Draft strengths and development areas before the meeting (use the AI assist on this page to help)
  • Think about goals for the next period and where you'd like to see them stretch
No surprises. Nothing in a review should be the first the educator hears of it. If something is important enough to raise in a review, it's important enough to have raised in a one-on-one first. Reviews are where ongoing feedback comes together, not where it starts.
3

Running the meeting

Block 60 minutes. Do it off the floor in a quiet room. Put it in the diary two weeks ahead so the educator has time to prep.

A structure that works

  1. Open (5 min). Acknowledge what the review is for. Ask how they're feeling coming in.
  2. Their self-assessment (10 min). Let them go first. Listen. Ask what they've been most proud of.
  3. Goal by goal (20 min). Go through each goal from last period. Agree a rating together. Talk about what worked, what got in the way, what you both learned.
  4. Strengths and development (10 min). Share the strengths you've noticed. Agree two or three development areas.
  5. Goals for next period (10 min). Don't lock them in today. Share your thinking, hear theirs, agree to draft them together and finalise in the next one-on-one.
  6. Close (5 min). Ask what support they need. Thank them.

How to hold the conversation

  • Be specific. "You chaired three team huddles in August and they ran 5 minutes under time" beats "Your meeting chairing is good."
  • Ask before you tell. "How do you think it went?" before "Here's what I saw."
  • If you have to give tough feedback, give it once, clearly, with the specific example, and then move on. Don't pile it up.
  • Name what you've seen, not what you've been told second-hand.
4

After the review

  • Follow up in writing within 48 hours. Send the completed template to the educator. Both sign and keep a copy on their file.
  • Finalise next-period goals in the next one-on-one. Draft together, agree, enter into the Goal Setting Generator.
  • Book support you agreed to. PD, mentoring, buddy shifts, shadowing opportunities. If you agreed it in the review, it has to land in the diary.
  • Keep the conversation alive. Check in on goals and development areas in your fortnightly one-on-ones. Don't wait until the next review.
5

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Skipping or postponing. If you cancel the first one, the educator will assume you'll cancel the next one. Treat them as non-negotiable.
  • Doing all the talking. If the educator hasn't said much, ask a question and wait. Silence is fine.
  • Recency bias. Don't let the last two weeks shape a six-month review. That's what your one-on-one notes are for.
  • Feedback you've never raised before. If it's news to the educator, that's your mistake, not theirs.
  • Making it about pay. Keep pay out of the conversation. Separate meeting, separate process, annual cadence.
  • No written follow up. Everything discussed and agreed goes in writing. Both sign.
  • Vague development goals. "Be more confident" is not a goal. Use the Goal Setting Generator to build proper OKRs for the next period.
AI generated to help you. Please check for accuracy before using or sharing.
Performance Review
Performance review record

1Review details

2Goal review

Go through each of the educator's goals from the last period. Rate together. Add the Service Manager's comments. Agree a revised rating if needed after discussion.

3Strengths

What has this educator done consistently well this period? Be specific. Name moments, practice, impact on children and families.

4Development areas

Where does this educator have room to grow? These should not be surprises. They should be things you've raised in one-on-ones already.

5Goals for next period

Don't lock these in today. Capture the direction you've agreed, then build them out properly in the next one-on-one using the Goal Setting Generator.

6Overall rating

How did this educator perform overall this period?

7Support agreed

PD, mentoring, buddy shifts, time, tools. Anything you've committed to provide.

Name and date
Name and date