This article builds a conceptual framework to examine how school leaders can move away from a planning framework that emphasizes only short-term target setting and move to an effective strategic approach. It examines early evidence from research on what dimensions are critical in establishing a strategically focused school within a medium-term timeframe. It concludes by outlining possible characteristics of strategically focused schools. This article builds a conceptual framework to establish a model for researching the characteristics of the strategically focused school. This is the first part of a National College for School Leadership (NCSL) research project focusing on strategy and strategic leadership in schools. While indicators from the research will be used to illuminate the framework of the conceptual model, the full results will be the subject of later papers.