The Principals’ Growth Network (PGN) is an Erasmus+ KA210-SCH project that unites school leaders from across Europe to foster leadership grounded in growth mindset principles. Through a dynamic blend of peer learning, cross-border collaboration, and practical training, PGN aims to strengthen the capacity of principals, assistant principals, and headteachers to lead inclusive, resilient, and future-ready schools.

The initiative responds to a shared challenge identified across many European educational systems: while principals play a central role in shaping school culture, they are often isolated in their roles, burdened by administrative responsibilities, and lacking structured opportunities for collaboration with peers. Building on the outcomes of a previous Erasmus+ project (MindSetGO 2.0), PGN was designed specifically to fill this gap, focusing not just on teaching practice but on school-wide leadership transformation.

At the core of PGN are two strategic objectives. The first is to strengthen leadership capacities for cultivating a growth mindset within educational institutions. This involves helping school leaders develop participative leadership styles, support teacher innovation, and build environments where effort, reflection, and continuous improvement are encouraged. The second objective is to foster European collaboration by creating a lasting network of school leaders who can share challenges, solutions, and best practices across national contexts.

What sets PGN apart is its participatory and peer-led approach. School leaders are not only beneficiaries of training — they are active co-creators of the project’s events and resources. This includes leading online workshops, presenting case studies from their schools, and participating in structured discussions about leadership challenges and solutions. By the end of the project, PGN will have delivered multiple professional development events, created a cross-European network of over 100 principals, and published a set of learning tools and strategic action plans.

PGN is coordinated by Osnovna šola Marije Vere in Slovenia and involves partners from Spain, France, Sweden, and Romania. It runs from October 2024 to March 2026, with a total project grant of €60,000. Though small in scale, the project is designed for long-term impact, promoting leadership that is inclusive, adaptive, and oriented toward lifelong learning — ensuring that the school leaders of today are equipped to lead the schools of tomorrow.