A leadership-led framework for coherence, culture, and continuous improvement
The SALO Framework was developed to address a challenge seen repeatedly across schools and education systems: strong intent, committed leadership, and multiple improvement priorities — but a lack of coherence that makes sustained progress harder than it needs to be.
Rather than introducing new initiatives, SALO-F helps leadership teams bring clarity, alignment, and consistency to the work they are already doing. It provides a shared framework that supports the development of a culture of leadership and continuous improvement, without adding unnecessary workload or complexity.
SALO-F is designed for schools that want improvement to be intentional, embedded, and sustainable — not dependent on individuals, short-term programmes, or constant external input.
Framework development and intellectual leadership
The SALO Framework was developed by Dr Ioan Rees, Chartered Psychologist and founder of SYCOL, a psychology-led consultancy specialising in leadership, culture, and organisational development.
Over more than 15 years, Ioan has worked alongside schools, local authorities, and education systems across the UK and beyond, supporting leadership teams to strengthen culture, professional practice, and system coherence. This work spans over 130 schools and includes collaboration at school, local authority, and national level.
SALO-F brings together this applied experience with established research on learning organisations, leadership, and professional learning. It translates that research into a practical framework that leaders can use day to day — supporting improvement that is grounded, realistic, and owned by the school.
While the framework has a clear intellectual foundation, it has been shaped primarily through practice. It reflects what has been shown to work in real school contexts, under real pressure.
Delivered through SYCOL
SALO-F is developed and delivered through SYCOL, a consultancy with deep experience in leadership development, cultural change, and system improvement across education and other complex sectors.
This ensures the framework is:
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professionally grounded
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psychologically informed
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context-sensitive
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focused on long-term capability, not dependency
Schools engaging with SALO-F benefit not only from the framework itself, but from the experience and judgement of a team accustomed to working in high-stakes, high-accountability environments.
The team behind SALO-F
SALO is delivered by a multidisciplinary team with expertise across leadership, psychology, education, and organisational development.
The team works alongside school leaders to support thoughtful implementation, reflection, and embedding — always with the aim of strengthening internal leadership capability rather than replacing it.
How schools work with SALO
Schools engage with SALO-F at different levels, depending on context, capacity, and priorities. Some begin by establishing the Core Framework to bring coherence to leadership and improvement work. Others choose deeper support to embed practices over time.
What remains consistent is the principle that SALO is:
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leadership-led
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integrated into existing work
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paced by the school
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focused on sustainable improvement
The framework is not a programme to be delivered to staff. It is a way of working that strengthens leadership, culture, and professional practice over time.
A framework designed for trust, clarity, and sustainability
SALO-F exists to help schools work better — not work more.
It supports leaders to articulate intent clearly, embed consistent ways of working, and build cultures where improvement is continuous, shared, and sustainable.