Ross Garrod
Chief Executive Officer
7 Ops Challenges Schools Face…
Published: 15th Jan 2025
…And Why They’re Not Going Anywhere
School operations are like that one sweater in your wardrobe: functional, but full of holes; ill-fitting, yet somehow still in your regular rotation. Schools wrestle with a unique set of challenges that refuse to fade, no matter how much tech, training, or time they throw at them. Let’s un-pick the top seven, stitch by stitch.
1. Too Many Platforms, Too Little Curation
The typical school is signed up to more software platforms than you can shake a stick at. In fact, they’re completely drowning in platforms. The problem? Schools delegate these procurement decisions to department heads. Smart though this may sound, it isn’t long before one department has picked “Shiny Tool A,” another “Bells & Whistles B,” and before you know it you’ve got a Frankenstein’s monster of software, with functionality overlapping so much your Venn diagram just became a circle.
Oh, and modular platforms? They’re just multiple platforms in disguise. Pro tip: stop trusting the glossy brochures.
2. Scheduling: The Jenga of School Life
Scheduling is where optimism goes to die. These days, timetables are less about “History at 10” and more about juggling a revolving door of needs for every pupil. Fun fact: since 2015, the number of students needing SEND support has risen by over 50% (DfE Special Educational Needs in England). Post-pandemic, the challenge is even greater—teachers are working miracles to balance core curriculum time with interventions that pull kids out of class. And with no central calendar to keep tabs on it all? Well, chaos reigns supreme.
3. Legacy Staffing: The Ghosts of Job Titles Past
Schools have historically had a habit of creating roles like they’re collecting Pokémon. MIS manager? Got it. Head of Calendars? Sure. Diversity tsar? Why not! These roles often start with noble intentions, but no one stops to ask, “Do we actually need this in 2025?” The result: a bloated org chart filled with titles that sound like someone just hit ‘randomise’ on LinkedIn. Maybe it’s time for a Marie Kondo moment.
4. Email Burnout: The Inbox Hunger Games
What’s the one place more cluttered than a teenager’s bedroom? That’s right: a school teacher’s inbox! Marketing emails, internal updates, and the dreaded “Reply All” chains—oh my! What starts as “important info” ends up as white noise. Teachers need context, not chaos. But instead, they get email novels with attachments so heavy they should count as CPD credits. It’s no wonder half the important messages get buried under announcements about the school disco.
5. Parental Communication: The Great Divide
Parents have two modes: overwhelmed or out of the loop. Post-pandemic, over 60% of parents report feeling like schools communicate too much or too little—but never just right (Parent Kind). Add to that the closure of playground meet-and-greets and the ruthless efficiency of parents’ evening booking systems, and you’ve got a recipe for frustrated families. Schools need to bridge the gap without drowning teachers in extra work. Spoiler: this is harder than it sounds.
6. Staff Improvement: A DIY Disaster
Teacher training is basically a scavenger hunt: find your own CPD, hope it’s good, and cross your fingers it actually helps. And let’s talk about tech skills. Teachers, we love you, but when it comes to tech literacy, you’re competing with your students—and they’re winning. Combine this with outdated systems, and it’s no surprise the sector struggles with professional growth. But hey, at least everyone knows how to reset a projector, right…?
7. Data Confusion: The Excel Sheet Circus
Ah, data—the holy grail of school improvement. Except when it’s not. With data scattered across a dozen platforms, schools end up with a fragmented mess that’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Worse still, low quality data entry turns even the shiniest dashboards into meaningless graphs. PowerBI can only do so much when your foundation is built on quicksand. Spoiler alert: the answer isn’t “more spreadsheets.”
The Bottom Line
Fixing these challenges isn’t about throwing more tech at the problem (although some better curated software wouldn’t hurt). It’s about rethinking systems, cutting through the noise, and finding solutions that actually work for schools in 2025—not just 2005. Top tip: take a look at our Shortest PATH Framework for School Ops. Let’s stop treating these issues as inevitable and start tackling them with the attitude they deserve. Your teachers—and inboxes—will thank you.