Ask a group of school leaders which tool they should use in their upcoming strategic planning, and the SWOT will invariably get a mention or two.

Why?

Maybe it’s the simplicity of liturgically itemising the things we already know. We spout our Strengths: music program, extra-curricular activities, etcetera, etcetera, while hoping others might suggest the clear-as-day Weaknesses so we can all nod in agreement.

The Threats are more manageable. They’re less personally affronting, so we can remain impartial to their identification and acknowledgement. The buzzwords rear their heads like a choral group standing to sing: AI, cyber-security, payroll tax, cost-of-living, and on they go.

Finally, the Opportunities stage allows us to promote that one idea we’ve harboured - or unabashedly banged on about – suggesting it might be the sole killer idea that garners the school’s success.

But while the SWOT analysis feels like a security blanket, it may also be keeping schools from seeing the bigger picture—particularly in a sector increasingly shaped by competition and the evolving expectations of parents and students.

Relying on a SWOT to plan your future is reminiscent of a cult teaching its members their world perspective through introspective navel-gazing. It sets a baseline that the school in question is the centre of the universe, which it obviously can’t be.

Enter the Strategy Canvas, a tool borrowed from business strategy that offers a clearer, more dynamic way for schools to understand their position in the market. Unlike SWOT, which operates in a competition vacuum, the Strategy Canvas pushes schools to measure their perceived value against competitors and pinpoint the factors that truly set them apart.

Let’s dive into why it’s time to swap SWOT for a Strategy Canvas—and how making this shift can unlock fresh insights and sharper decisions for your school.

The SWOT Analysis Trap: Limited Vision

At first glance, SWOT feels comprehensive. It asks leaders to catalogue what their school does well, where it’s falling short, and where it might thrive or falter. However, the framework’s greatest strength—simplicity—is its Achilles’ heel.

1. Internal Focus, External Blindness
   SWOT’s focus on internal strengths and weaknesses encourages introspection but often neglects how these qualities stack up against competitors. For example, a school might list “dedicated teachers” as a strength. But is that truly a competitive advantage, or is it something every school in the area can claim? Without context, it’s impossible to know.
2. Opportunities Without Priorities
   SWOT invites leaders to dream up opportunities, but it doesn’t help them rank or compare these ideas against the opportunities their competitors might be pursuing. The result? A laundry list of possibilities with no clear direction.
3. Static Thinking in a Dynamic World
   Education is a fast-evolving sector, yet SWOT is a snapshot in time. Once the analysis is done, it risks being shelved, as the framework doesn’t encourage revisiting or adapting strategies in response to changing competitive landscapes.

Uplifting with a PESTEL

Those who are more adventurous – and possibly more courageous – realise the limitations of the SWOT and reach for a PESTEL instead.

Standing for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors, PESTEL broadens your focus to the macro forces shaping the world around your school.

This tool is handy for identifying trends and disruptions that may not yet be visible locally. For instance:

• Political: How might government funding or education policy shifts impact your school?
• Economic: Are rising costs of living affecting parents’ ability to afford fees?
• Social: How are changing family dynamics or demographic trends influencing enrolments?
• Technological: Could education technology advancements revolutionise how your school delivers learning?
• Environmental: Are parents increasingly prioritising schools with sustainable practices?
• Legal: How will new compliance requirements affect your operations?

 The Strengths - and Limitations - of PESTEL

While PESTEL is invaluable for understanding the broader context in which your school operates, it has a blind spot: it largely ignores your local competitors. This can lead to theoretically sound strategies that fail to address families' real choices when deciding between like schools.

For example, while a PESTEL analysis might reveal the rise of sustainability as a societal value, it won’t tell you whether the school down the road is already positioning itself as the "greenest" option—and winning enrolments because of it.

The Strategy Canvas: A Competitive Perspective

Now that you’re convinced that neither the SWOT nor a PESTEL analysis will help you craft strategy, it’s time to introduce a tool that can.

The Strategy Canvas, developed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their book Blue Ocean Strategy, flips the script. It encourages schools to map their value proposition relative to competitors across critical factors. This comparison not only reveals how a school stands out but also highlights areas where it may be overinvesting or underperforming.

Here’s why it works:

1. Visual Clarity
   The Strategy Canvas is, quite literally, a visual tool. Schools plot their performance on a graph against competitors across critical factors, such as academic results, co-curricular offerings, pastoral care, facilities, and fee structures. This bird’s-eye view can reveal surprising insights: Are you competing on the same factors as every other school? Or are you delivering unique value in areas parents genuinely care about?
2. Forces Tough Choices
   The Strategy Canvas forces schools to confront uncomfortable truths by making competition explicit. For instance, a school might discover it’s pouring resources into state-of-the-art facilities but failing to stand out on academic outcomes—a mismatch if parents prioritise results.
3. Focuses on the Customer
   Unlike inward-looking SWOT, the Strategy Canvas centres on the perceptions and priorities of parents and students. It’s not just about what your school does but how it is perceived relative to others.
4. Encourages Innovation
   A well-used Strategy Canvas doesn’t just highlight where your school is lagging and identifies “blue ocean” opportunities—areas where you can redefine the competitive landscape by offering something entirely different.

Building a Strategy Canvas for Your School

Ready to get started? Here’s how to create a Strategy Canvas that cuts through the noise and delivers actionable insights:

1. Identify the Key Factors
   Start by listing the factors parents, students, and staff value most when choosing a school. These include academic results, co-curricular programs, pastoral care, facilities, technology integration, fee affordability, and community engagement. Be selective—you want a concise set of categories that matter most to your audience.
2. Assess Your Competitors
   Map out how your main competitors perform across these factors. Be honest and specific—this isn’t the time for wishful thinking.
3. Evaluate Your School
   Now, plot your school’s performance on the same graph. Where do you excel? Where do you fall short?
4. Spot the Gaps
   Look for areas where your school is overinvesting (high performance but low differentiation) or underdelivering (low performance on high-priority factors). These gaps are your opportunity zones.
5. Make Strategic Choices
   Use the insights to make deliberate decisions: Should you double down on your strengths, address critical weaknesses, or pivot to offer value in areas where competitors are absent?

The Power of Combining Tools

Here’s the truth: no single tool can thoroughly guide your school’s strategic decisions. Each brings its strengths—and limitations:

• SWOT gives you an inward look at your strengths and weaknesses but lacks external context.
• PESTEL widens your perspective of macro forces but overlooks localised competition.
• Strategy Canvas zeroes in on your competitive position but doesn’t capture the broader trends reshaping education.

Together, these tools create a comprehensive picture: SWOT helps you understand your school’s foundation, PESTEL informs you of the external environment, and the Strategy Canvas maps how you stack up against competitors. Crafting strategy requires all three—and the courage to embrace their combined insights.

This holistic approach can help school leaders willing to expand their toolkit move from reactive planning to proactive, strategic leadership.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

In today’s education landscape, the stakes are high. Schools compete not just for enrolments but also for trust, reputation, and relevance. Thanks to online reviews, social media, and the proliferation of school ranking tools, parents are more informed and discerning than ever. To thrive, schools need strategies that reflect this new reality.

The Strategy Canvas isn’t just a tool; it’s a mindset shift. It challenges schools to stop thinking in isolation and start thinking strategically about their market position. Knowing your strengths is not enough—you need to understand why they matter, to whom, and in comparison to what.

A Provocation for School Leaders

Here’s a challenge for you: Before your next planning session, try creating a Strategy Canvas for your school. Compare it to your most recent SWOT or PESTEL analysis. Which tool gives you a clearer understanding of where to focus your energy and resources?

The results might surprise you—and they might convince you to, at least, relegate the SWOT as the Strategy Canvas’ poor cousin when crafting strategy.