Skilton, DebbieZoellner, AnjaBadenhorst, MareliseMossman, KateSalmon, DanielleKeung, SierraThompson, KylieLucas, PatriciaWalters, SimonSole, Gisela2026-06-072026-06-072026-06-06Brain Inj, ISSN: 0269-9052 (Print); 1362-301X (Online), Informa UK Limited, 1-12. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2026.26835100269-90521362-301Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/10292/21329INTRODUCTION: Concussion can cause lasting cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges, impacting academic performance. New Zealand secondary schools lack sufficient knowledge and resources to support affected students. We co-designed and implemented the Framework for Management of Concussion in New Zealand Secondary Schools (FRANCS). AIM: To explore experiences and perceptions of school stakeholders during 2 years of FRANCS implementation. METHODS: Sixty-nine participants from 12 schools (students, parents, staff, and healthcare providers) took part in semi-structured interviews or focus groups. Data were analyzed using framework analysis to identify themes. RESULTS: Four themes were developed: (1) Flexibility of implementation - friend or foe; (2) Owning the process; (3) The process is too onerous; and (4) External context and confounders. CONCLUSION: FRANCS' flexibility enabled some schools to adapt and integrate it into existing communication pathways, supporting students' return-to-learn. Others faced challenges, resource limitations, and low engagement. Effective implementation requires initial external support to tailor FRANCS to school contexts, establish communication and monitoring systems, and embed return-to-learn processes.© 2026 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Concussionmild traumatic brain injuryqualitative methodsreturn-to-learn processessecondary schools11 Medical and Health Sciences17 Psychology and Cognitive SciencesRehabilitation3202 Clinical sciences4201 Allied health and rehabilitation science5203 Clinical and health psychologyJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1080/02699052.2026.2683510