Talk to us
01993 702639

Using Facebook to promote your MAT

When it comes to Facebook we often say to our clients ‘you don’t have to like it, or use it in your personal life, but it’s essential in your professional life’.  Facebook and MATs may not seem like they should go hand-in-hand, but when it comes to promoting your school, or creating a sense of […]

Why you need good photography on your MAT website

It’s an age-old saying that a picture can tell a thousand words. And we think that it’s true.  Often when clients come to us and ask us to comment on their existing MAT or school website, we say that it’s far too text-heavy – too many long and complex paragraphs and not enough good photography. […]

New requirements for MAT websites

Earlier this summer, the Department for Education published its Academies Financial Handbook 2020. The handbook contains some significant changes to the guidelines around finance. These relate to: Governance  Executive teams  General controls and transparency  Internal scrutiny  Annual accounts  You can see the full list of changes by clicking here.  There are also new guidelines around […]

How we run a successful student recruitment campaign

Since 2012 the birth rate in England has fallen 10%. It doesn’t take much working out that this, eventually, will mean a decrease in student numbers in our primary schools. But this is by no means the only reason why more schools across the country are struggling to recruit students. There can be local reasons […]

Why PDFs are an out-of-dated communication fail

What were you doing in 1993? Sir Alex Ferguson was winning the inaugural Premier League as manager of Manchester United. Gary Barlow and Take That were having their first No 1 single in the UK. John Major was being the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, 1993 was also the year that a company called Adobe was unveiling […]

Marketing? It’s not just for private schools

“What you are suggesting seems to be what they do in the private sector. This is the state sector. I didn’t come into teaching to spend my time marketing, I came into it to educate.” That’s the gist of a conversation I have had a few times of late. Posters on railway station platforms with […]

The Five Golden Rules of Handling a Media Crisis

Be Honest… Think very carefully about trying to cover things up. A lie is always more damaging than an unpalatable truth, as people are more understanding of genuine mistakes than they are of dishonesty. You might get away with a cover-up, but you will – quite rightly – pay a high price if you are […]

How we got a contentious project approved

What was the job? In 2017 we were hired to create the branding and website, and manage the media and marketing for a proposed new secondary school in a major English city The branding work was top class – our creative team are good like that – but a lot of agencies out there do […]

Don’t be ‘disappointed’ with a poor Ofsted rating

I have lost count of the number of times that I have seen the head of a school that has just received a poor Ofsted rating tell their local paper that the judgement is “disappointing”. Well, I haven’t actually lost count – it’s 2,137 times. Occasionally, you get a full-on, toys-out-of-the pram rant in which […]

How to not upset people who get upset about academisation

You wouldn’t go into a rough trawlerman’s pub in Cornwall dressed in red chinos, a multi-coloured blazer and a cravat. Trust me, I did it on holiday in the Duchy this year and it was not a great experience, especially as they didn’t sell decent Tuscan red and they hadn’t heard of sourdough focaccia either. […]