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How to develop your long-term strategic plan

Long-term strategic planning will give you an overview of the direction of your school improvement over the next 3 to 5 years. Find out how to develop a robust plan that will help you achieve your school's vision. Plus, download our template plan to save you time writing your own.

Last reviewed on 13 May 2025
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 42237
Contents
  1. How is a long-term strategic plan different to a SIP?
  2. Make sure your vision statement reflects your school's aspirations 
  3. Collaborate with governors to develop your strategy 
  4. Identify priorities
  5. Once you have your priorities, check they tie into your vision 
  6. How to write clear objectives and actions
  7. Map out what you can realistically achieve each year 
  8. Use our template to write up your plan 
  9. Examples

How is a long-term strategic plan different to a SIP?

Long-term strategic plan School improvement plan (SIP)
Long term: covers 3-6 years Medium-term: covers 1-3 years
Outlines a top-level overview of the direction of your school improvement Includes specific actions you need to take to meet your objectives
Helps your break down how you're going to achieve your school's vision Keeps you on track for achieving your overall strategy set out in your long-term strategic plan

Read more detail on the the difference between your strategic plan and SIP, and learn how the two feed into your school improvement planning.

Make sure your vision statement reflects your school's aspirations 

You likely won't need to review your vision statement in light of the changes over the past year and the issues that