Three programmes. Three layers of the system.
Each Dinaledi programme is designed for a different point in the education system: the school, the next generation of leaders, and the district itself. They share a methodology, but the unit of work differs.
School Transformation Programme
Developing a school’s leadership to lead its own improvement.
What it is
Our flagship and longest engagement. Over twenty-four months we work with the principal and full School Management Team together, bring the whole school community into the work, then hand it back so the school sustains its own improvement.
How it works
Two phases (build the team, then deliver and sustain), with the district kept close throughout.
- Build the teamBaselines, stakeholder workshops and coaching, anchored by an improvement project the school chooses itself.
- Deliver & sustainThe school’s own plan sets the agenda: SMT and educator workshops, coaching, and community engagement.
- Stay accountableReference Group meetings keep the District Director and Circuit Manager close through the cycle.
Outcomes
A 31-statement diagnostic runs at the start and again at the end. The shift in the ratings shows how far the school has moved.
Proof 31-statement diagnostic
Emerging Leaders Development Programme
Preparing second-tier leaders to step into senior roles.
What it is
A six-month intensive preparing second-tier leaders to step into senior roles, ahead of a wave of retirements moving through the system. Blended in-person and virtual, it develops individual leaders rather than whole schools.
How it works
Six themes take each leader from Leading Self to Leading to Life.
- Leading SelfWho wants to be a leader, and what does it take?
- Leading as CoachMoving from compliance to enabling, through coaching practice.
- Leading TeamsBuilding and inspiring a fully-functional team.
- Leading StrategyA shared image of the future, and a plan to get there.
- Leading ChangeLeading a school through change without losing momentum.
- Leading to LifeWellness and resilience: caring for self and others.
Outcomes
Each participant carries a Personal Growth Initiative throughout. Delivered with WCED Metro South since 2021, and with the West Coast and Overberg districts.
Proof With WCED Metro South since 2021
District Development Programme
Aligning the district so school-level gains survive.
What it is
A six-month engagement with the district office itself (the District Director, Circuit Managers and functional teams), running in parallel to Phase 1 of the School Transformation Programme. Where district authority is aligned and clear, school-level gains survive after we exit.
How it works
Coaching for each Circuit Manager, plus workshops for the full district team.
- Coach each Circuit ManagerUp to eight sessions strengthening the link between Circuit Manager, Principal and District Office.
- District Management Team workshopsThree workshops for the full team, focus agreed with the District Director.
Outcomes
Districts are the often-invisible variable in school improvement. Get them aligned and school gains hold. Clearest example: the Overberg, since 2024.
Proof Overberg, since 2024
The methodology is the same. The unit of work changes.
All three programmes share one theory of change: lasting improvement starts with leadership, and it takes sustained engagement to hold.
Coaching is the tool our practitioners reach for first, but only one of several, used alongside diagnostics, structured workshops and stakeholder engagement.
This is deep by design, a few schools fully rather than many schools fast, because leadership of a school changes through relationships, not throughput.
We describe the framework in detail on Our Approach.
Read about our approach- School Transformation Unit of work
- Emerging Leaders Unit of work
- District Development Unit of work
Considering one of these for your school or district?
Every engagement starts with a conversation. There is no application form. We want to understand the school or district before anything else.