How Regular Strategy Reviews Keep Schools on Track

With 2025 well underway, it’s the perfect time for school business leaders to pause and reflect on any strategic planning efforts for the remainder of the year ahead

Developing a solid strategy is one of the most challenging and critical responsibilities a leader has. However, the process doesn’t end once the strategy is set. Regularly reassessing, reevaluating and adjusting your plan is essential for staying on track and ensuring success.

Your school’s yearly strategic planning provides the opportunity to set key goals, define metrics for success and outline the actions required to reach those objectives. While this initial planning sets the direction, it is the ongoing checkpoints throughout the year that help leaders determine if they’re headed in the right direction or if a course correction is necessary.

Here are some key questions school business leaders should consider when reassessing their strategy to determine if they are on track or if adjustments need to be made:

Have the Goalposts Moved?

At the start of your strategy, you defined a clear end goal. However, it’s crucial to ask: Is this goal still relevant? The educational landscape can change rapidly, with shifts in policy, funding, student needs, or community dynamics. By revisiting your end goal regularly, you can ensure your strategy remains aligned with the current context. If there have been significant changes in the educational environment or within your school, this pause gives you the opportunity to adapt and redefine what success looks like for the remainder of the year.

What Are the Losses and Wins?

One of the most insightful questions to ask is: What’s working and what’s not? This requires a deep dive into both new initiatives and ongoing strategies. What new projects or tactics have you implemented this year? Which ones have yielded positive results, and which have not? For example, have you recently partnered with a new supplier, and have they met expectations in terms of product quality, delivery times and customer service? Has a project been completed ahead of schedule, allowing you to allocate resources elsewhere or accelerate other initiatives? Similarly, reflect on ongoing initiatives – are they still as effective, or have they lost their impact over time? By recognising both your wins and losses, you can build on successful practices and pivot away from strategies that aren’t delivering.

Can we Simplify the Vision?

As strategies evolve, they can often become more complicated, making it harder for your team to follow and execute effectively. For instance, a school’s goal of becoming more sustainable might start with a simple commitment to reducing waste and energy consumption. However, over time, this goal can evolve into a complex set of actions, such as implementing renewable energy sources, reducing carbon footprints and creating comprehensive sustainability action plans. While these are commendable objectives, they may become overwhelming for staff, especially if they lack the necessary resources, expertise, or guidance to implement such initiatives. Without clear direction and support, the strategy can appear fragmented, and staff may struggle to understand how to contribute or feel unsure about how to prioritise tasks.

It’s crucial to simplify your strategy whenever possible, focusing on the most critical goals and ensuring that every team member understands their role in achieving the bigger picture. A clear and concise strategy not only makes execution more effective but also enhances employee motivation by providing them with a sense of purpose and direction.

You’ve Got This

Regularly reassessing and adjusting your strategy is key to staying on course. With shifts in curriculum, new technology, sustainability goals and evolving student needs, it’s important to pause and reflect every now and then. These moments of reflection help ensure your strategy stays in sync with the ever-changing landscape of education, so you can keep moving forward with confidence.