Student Numbers Campaigns

We aim to inspire parents to choose your school

We create solutions tailored to each school, listening and analysing to gain insights and then using great communication to reach the right people.

Our campaigns are ideal for schools that have seen a fall in the number of applications or that are about to feel the effects of the UK's plummeting birth rate.

How do we do it?

We don't have a one-size-fits-all approach, but there are some key things you should know about how we work and what we do.

  • We talk to all your key people to find out the kind of school you are and what you believe might be affecting admissions.  

  • We analyse local demographics to identify the right audiences, because we want to be talking to people who might choose your school.

  • We audit your current communications to identify how you can best reach the right people. We then help you do this.

Why this is important...

Falling birthrates

There are parts of the country where there are soon going to be 25% fewer children entering primary school than there were when current year 6 pupils started.

In some areas, this fall in numbers has already started and is about to get worse. In other areas, this fall is about to start.

Do you know the situation with the birth rate in your area? Are you prepared for a potential drop in the number of children entering local schools?

Check the birth rate in your area

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Good schools still struggle

Sometimes a school has a great reputation and delivers fantastic outcomes for children, but it is still failing to fill its classrooms.

We help with that, because there is always a reason and always an opportunity to improve things.

Sometimes a school has fallen out of favour with local parents and must rebuild its reputation. We help with that, because we know how to communicate.

Work with experts

We examine the demographics of your catchment and the catchments of surrounding schools to find out how and why they might be winning and you might be losing out.

We then scrutinise how you are communicating to your audience. Is it working effectively to deliver to BOTH audiences – current AND prospective parents?

All of this is working towards a situation where we have identified the people who will find your school attractive, the most effective way to reach them and the messages you should be giving them to make them choose you.

Facebook – why should a school be using it?

When it comes to social media, we often say to school leaders: “You may be firmly in the anti-Facebook camp in your personal life, but …

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The falling birth rate in England and Wales – how it will affect schools

Stark fact No 1: The birth rate in England and Wales is now lower than it has been since records began. In 2019, some 640,370 …

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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 …

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Supporting growth of multi-academy trusts – why effective communication is key

At the time of writing, there are 775 multi-academy trusts with 2 to 5 schools and a further 1502 single academy trusts. However several articles …

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Essentials for your MAT website 

As a trust leader, you will be familiar with Ofsted or the Government’s requirements for your MAT website. These include things like having the name …

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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 …

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Case study:

Take a look at a live example of our work
Click Here

The Bottom Line...

Most headteachers and school leaders did not come into education because they wanted to do marketing. It is, however, fast becoming an essential part of the job of managing a school or schools.

It is often no longer good enough to be a good school. You have to tell the right people that you are a good school.

To do that you need to identify who the right people are, find the right way to reach them and then give them the right information in an engaging way.

That’s what we do.

What our clients think

Worth their weight in gold…

Comms For Schools ran our staff recruitment drive. Their innovative campaign meant we were almost overwhelmed by outstanding candidates. They are worth their weight in gold

Headteacher, secondary school in Oxfordshire