The Support level framework (SLF) is a tool to support organisations in understanding their development needs and where they are on the journey to embedding modern general practice – as there is no “one size fits all” approach to improvement.​ The SLF has been co-produced with general practice teams. It has been clinically developed based on knowledge and experience, together with academic research and documented best practice where available. ​It allows organisations to understand what they do well and opportunities for improvement.​

The Practice SLF should be completed via a facilitated conversation with members of the practice team with honest reflection encouraged.​ The findings should then be used alongside available data to agree priorities for improvement and development of an action plan.​ The outputs of the SLF and action plan are owned locally by the practice. The SLF is not a performance management tool.​

There is also a PCN-level version of the SLF which will be used within a facilitated conversation with PCNs.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have been asked to enable facilitated SLF conversations to take place in all practices, to help practices better understand their support needs and improvement priorities and to help ICBs provide the right type of ongoing support to practices.