A New Service for a New Era of School Improvement
From September 2025, Central South Consortium (CSC) will be commissioned by the local authorities of:
The Consortium will deliver a streamlined Professional Learning and Support Service to schools across the region.
National Professional Learning and Support
As you will be aware, schools will be able to access national professional learning (PL), support and resources in specific areas from a range of providers, including:
- Professional Learning and Leadership Education Wales – the new national body established by Welsh Government
- Welsh Government
- National Centre for Learning Welsh
- Adnodd
- DARPL
- Curriculum for Wales grant support programme
Therefore, CSC will work in partnership with these organisations to ensure coherence in the provision of bespoke professional learning to address specific regional and local needs.
Regional Professional Learning and Support
CSC will focus on a reduced but targeted remit, providing professional learning and support in the following areas across the 3–16 continuum and post-16 education:
- Teaching and learning, e.g. assessment for learning, learner effectiveness, etc.
- Curriculum design and progression
- Six Areas of Learning and Experience and their subjects/disciplines (Areas)
- Three cross-curricular skills
- Qualifications related to the above
- Outdoor Education
- Cymraeg
- Leadership at all levels
- NQT induction
- Teaching assistants.
Regional Self-Improving System
CSC will work in partnership with schools and local authorities to further develop and embed a self-improving system at the heart of the new approaches to school improvement across the region. The key elements of this during 2025/26 will be:
- Schools sharing practice - developing a shared understanding of successful curriculum, teaching and learning approaches, building capacity across the system and supporting PL for practitioners.
- School-based contributors - opportunities for school leaders, teachers and teaching assistants to work in partnership with the advisory team in the development and delivery of PL and support
- Regional funded collaboration projects - bringing together schools to undertake enquiry and produce learning and resources to share with the region.
Regional Professional Learning Opportunities
A reduced but focused regional PL offer will be published in September, aligned with schools’ key improvement priorities within the remit of the new service. It will include:
- Continuation of high-impact events and programmes (e.g. Reading Reconsidered)
- New programmes co-developed with schools
- Regional networks (e.g. Wave 1 qualifications)
- Asynchronous courses and playlists
Bespoke Support
Bespoke support will be available upon request to all schools and collaboratives/clusters /groups of schoolswithin the capacity and remit of the new service. This may take a number of forms to meet the specific needs of schools:
- One-off coaching and mentoring sessions with school leaders and/or practitioners focused on a specific area of school improvement.
- A menu of bespoke PL delivered in schools, for example as INSET days or twilight sessions.
- A planned series of bespoke PL and support sessions agreed in partnership with the school and the improvement partner focused on a specific priority for improvement. This will be available where the needs are additional to or different from the PL and support activities and/or cannot be met within the capacity of the school.
Bespoke support can be requested through your improvement partner or by e-mailing CSC and member of the advisory team will contact you.
There is no cost to schools for the professional learning and support provided by CSC. However, schools are responsible for any supply cover costs.
Stakeholder Engagement
CSC will continue to engage with headteachers and practitioners to shape a responsive and collaborative professional learning and support service. We are working with headteacher groups and local authorities to co-design effective models of partnership.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions or queries.