School Improvement Partnership Programme Board meeting: 21 October 2025

The ninth and final meeting of the School Improvement Partnership (SIP) Programme Board was held on 21 October.

The Board reviewed progress on transition to new school improvement arrangements, the successful establishment of Dysgu and ongoing work on the Theory of Change model. Members also considered Programme risks and discussed proposals for managing these beyond programme closure ensuring that I, as Senior Responsible Officer (SRO), continue to receive assurance on progress towards the Programme’s objectives.

Members were pleased to note that the major elements of change to the new school improvement arrangements were in place, with a process of evolution to come as the arrangements between schools, local authorities and Dysgu are embedded. Local authorities have indicated they are progressing with the development of their new local improvement models and are working together as local authorities on a more collaborative basis to support system-wide improvement. The Education Improvement Team will continue to play a key role in connecting local to national and facilitating dialogue around our improvement priorities. This collective effort recognises one of our main aims for this programme, to enable a clearer and more informed national cycle of engagement around the priorities that will enable sustainable improvement within our system.

The establishment of Dysgu is complete and it is noted that this is a transition year for Dysgu. The Cabinet Secretary for Education has been clear they will provide national professional learning on areas of national priority: literacy, numeracy, inclusion and well-being to ensure consistency of support across all schools.

Members received an update on the Theory of Change work being undertaken by ARAD. This work will help to provide a clear understanding around the change process and inform future evaluation.

Members agreed that embedding the cultural changes would be critical to continued progress. The desired ways of working should not be seen as additional but become the recognised way of working and tackling issues in education in a sustainable way, through a collaborative, collective approach to improvement.

The Board reflected on what had worked well and what could have been improved in respect of programme delivery. The level of engagement between partners to collectively deliver the Programme’s objectives was noted.

The Programme Board’s role was to ensure the structural changes were collaboratively developed and implemented across the education sector to provide strong foundations for the ongoing cultural change programme that will continue over the coming months. With the structural changes now implemented, responsibility for continued progress rests with all partners, overseen through their November 2025 own business-as-usual governance arrangements. Our collective commitment to a more connected annual cycle of improvement-focused professional dialogue will enable us to progress in a coherent way towards sustainable change for the benefit of all learners in Wales. In the first instance, we will look to come together in summer 2026 to reflect on progress and would expect this reflection and evaluation to continue.

Finally, Members noted that the National Coherence Group (NCG) would hold its final meeting on 3 November. Following that meeting, the Chair would write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education with the Group’s final reflections on the Programme’s progress towards delivering robust and coherent school improvement arrangements for Wales. A copy of that letter is available: NCG letter to Cabinet Secretary

As SRO, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all Members for their commitment, expertise and support throughout the Programme.