Our introduction to great communications habits is based on years of experience of communicating effectively on a shoestring budget. It can help you improve your information sharing, reputation and processes and ultimately save you time.

The main focus of these tips is on communicating with parents and staff but they can help you smarten up your communications with pupils and the wider public too.

Schools that are successful with their communications…

1. Are open and honest. Just like people, organisations that are open and honest tend to be trusted even when they have tough decisions to make and forgiven when they make a mistake. Being open and honest with your communications buys people’s trust and even, goodwill ‘credits’ to cash in when you need to take controversial action.
2. Welcome feedback but set boundaries. Parents, the community, staff, pupils or others are more likely to think and speak positively of you and to co-operate if they feel listened to. Having no voice leads to frustration, discontent and inflexibility. That said, drawn out debates about how your professional decisions are made are undermining so make it clear how parents and others can engage with you and have the confidence to acknowledge concerns, make a balanced decision and move on when needed.
3. Think about audiences (the group/s of people who receive your communications). Your audiences’ abilities and preferences vary. You may have groups of staff or parents who are reluctant or unable to use digital communications. Factor them into how you send out messages, particularly important ones, such as by giving more time to respond to requests or the option of a paper newsletter.
4. Provide reliable and consistent communications. That means making sure your website is up to date, fact checking, proofreading newsletters and emails before they are sent and keeping in touch regularly.
5. Get to the point. Hands up who has spare time to wade through wordy emails and newsletters. Ease the pressure on your staff and parents by using a clear heading, getting straight to the point and being crystal clear about what action you need from them: a decision, a date in their diary, a payment or simply to read and retain some information. Put extra or optional information, such as why you have chosen a particular course of action or how a trip aligns with your school values at the end of the email/letter.

6. Make use of handy familiar techniques. Use bullet points and sub-headings to help readers skim through information. Use numbered points to break down the action you need, such as:
   1. Complete permission form
   2. Pay online by 1 April
   3. Make a note of trip requirements (packed lunch, sun cream, waterproofs, sensible shoes, non-school clothes.
7. Produce great newsletters with online packages. Many schools find a weekly or fortnightly newsletter the best way to keep parents informed but if yours is a PDF sent from a school email account, think again. E-marketing packages such as MailChimp (and many others) provide easy-to-use templates and GDPR-compliant contact management systems. Emarketing packages are far more user friendly for recipients and give you data on opening rates.
8. Are open to new ideas. Novelty and change can be good ways to grab people’s attention and improve efficiency so be open to trying new ways of communicating. E.g. A short, informal video message from the head of year to students is more impactful (a ‘human’) than a notice read out by another teacher.
9. Use social media wisely. There is no requirement for schools to use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc although many do so well. Use it to share good news and build your reputation in your community but remember that doing social media well requires resources. Be prepared to provide staff with training to get the most out of it. As a minimum, search popular platforms to see what, if anything, is being said about your school.
10. Revisit the school website. Your website probably holds masses of useful information for parents but often, users have to know where to look in order to find it. Websites can also become huge depositories of historic and out of date information. Reviewing your website with ‘fresh eyes’ from time to time can help improve it. Start by thinking about the top tasks or information your web visitors will want to do or find and make sure these are in sensible places and are up to date.
11. Produce mobile friendly communications. Your parents are likely to use their phones for their everyday communications as least as much, if not more, than laptops or PCs so make sure your communications are easy to read on a mobile. Take a look at your website, newsletter and emails to parents on your phone to make sure they are user-friendly and quick to read.
12. Value face to face communications. This is often employees’ preferred method of receiving information and although it is not always practical, for some purposes, it is the right choice. When information is delivered face to face, staff (or pupils) have the chance to ask questions and managers can gauge how well information is received, particularly on tricky or complex news.

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We hope you found these communications habits useful and that you take up our offer for a free appraisal. At Essential PR & Marketing, we specialise in helping organisations achieve their goals for success with bespoke strategies to attract and retain staff, attract different sources of funding, deepen relationships with the wider community, and more. How can we help you?