Pestle Analysis for Education

Political| * Schools being privatised (like the NHS) * A government initiative creates the risk that the school may fail to deliver the policy or be diverted away from local priorities etc. * Changes to the skills required to be a teacher/ tutor * Changes to curriculum with short lead times * Requirement to be self managing * Requirement to be self financing| Economic| * Central or local government funding decisions may affect school/ establishment finances * Closure of a local industry may affect fund raising plans etc. Ability of parents to raise funds for optional activities * The need to run breakfast/ after schools clubs * Ability to invest ‘savings/ surpluses’ * Cost of providing resources: * Staff – teaching & support * Basics – books/ paper * Technology solutions laptops etc * Interest rates * Shortages of materials on national/ international markets * Over provision of school places in the area resulting in competition from neighbouring schools * T he risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more ‘up and coming’ schools/ academies| Social| * Decline in birth rate, reflecting national trends * Local population changes (increasing/ decreasing numbers) * Demographic changes may affect likely pupil rolls or the nature of pupils needs e. g. pupils with English as a second language etc. Closure of local firms providing employment * Inability to attract staff * Social networking – blogs, facebook, twitter * Changes to qualifications expected * Integration with local community * Integration of students with special needs * parental preference – an increase in ‘parent power’ has allowed parents more freedom of choice over their child’s school * the risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more up-and-coming establishments * Information is accessible to staff anywhere in the world via the Internet * Staff were not given enough training or access to effectively change their habits and how they expected information to be made available| Technological| * Changes to standards/ equipment required * Risk of selecting the wrong technology at times of change (i. e. windows -v- open source) * New computer viruses may affect school/ college operations, * Disturbing/ illegal images on the internet may affect ICT security measures etc. * Move from paper based books to e-book readers * Computer hardware being out of date * Computer software being out of date * Time to anage IT systems  | Legislative| * new legislation may create risks of non-compliance with the law, create new administrative burdens etc * Changes to child protection legislation * Raise the age of school leaving age * Raise/ lower the age of starting school. Nursery/ kindergarten * Change to school opening hours * Changes to funding of charity based organisations * Health & safety legislation| Environmental| * A new highway layout near the school may create new dangers for pupils etc * Waste disposal * Reduction of green space available for activities * Changes to local bus routes * Using a significant amounts of paper and photocopier toner to produce printed information. |