Latest News

What are a school governor’s superpowers? We’re going to explore the attributes and skills that a governor can bring to the role, particularly from a marketing perspective. From the get go, what a status to have - we know that you’re popular

We all know that these are unprecedented times and the world will never be the same again, but one thing is for certain in the world of education and that is that the wheels will keep turning.

Warning: Just to keep the January blues away for a little longer, this article should be read alongside this specially chosen blog playlist – a blend of resolutions, leadership and marketing views.

Which came first? Great question! It’s that age old riddle that has sparked many arguments and debates.
The same great riddle can be posed around the term ‘teacher recruitment and retention’ – or should that be retention and recruitment?

The term ‘marketing’ in the education sector is no longer a swear word and is now a discipline that schools and colleges are interpreting and using to maximum effect. We believe there’s another term that is so commonly misunderstood but which schools and colleges should be embracing and capitalising on – Brand. 

The stakes have never been higher and the maelstrom continues around leaders in our education system, particularly new headteachers. It’s halfway through your first term, in a new role, probably in a new school, all in the midst of a pandemic.

In our experience of working with new headteachers, the priorities in terms of marketing and communications are at their height in the autumn term. There is also the balance of establishing credibility and promoting yourself to internal and external stakeholders whilst communicating and embedding yours, and your school’s culture, vision, values and key messages.

As the debate continues on the conversion of schools to academies, growth of MATs, financial efficiencies, school improvement….. our take on it is that there are a raft of additional opportunities - if only they were viewed from a strategic marketing and communications perspective. There is no getting away from the statistics and the ever-greater number of schools that have converted to become academies; half of all pupils in England attend an academy, over 33% of schools are now academies and over 75% of academies are part of a MAT (S, M, L, XL)!

In our view, a successful Trust (whatever its size), and its ability to establish a quality reputation, is directly linked with the success of its schools – and in most cases a Trust’s reputation will only be as good as its weakest school(s).

The staff room is typically the central hub of a school pulsating with everyday trials, tribulations and jubilations along with chocolates, biscuits and cakes! This autumn term the key priorities of communications, pupil recruitment and managing the school’s reputation continues at a pace with the same deadlines but complicated by new and additional problems and challenges. With a whole new world ahead of us, rather than looking to overcome these challenges is it time to face them head on? Is it time to adapt and do things differently? How ready is your school in dealing with these key areas that will ultimately impact on the school’s future?

Who doesn’t love a motivational quote – and moreover a sports motivational quote, in fact a ‘Yogism’ from Yogi Berra, an American professional baseball catcher of the 1940s-60s. This quote is particularly relevant to the autumn term and the strategic marketing of secondary schools.

“Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes” – these are the words of Thomas W Higginson, a 19^th century theologian, and we believe they resonate strongly in terms of marketing your sixth form. 

It is easy for any organisation to become too inward-looking. Additionally so, in the education world where year in year out, at the same time of year, schools and colleges communicate the same marketing messages through the same marketing channels.