How are you perceived?
League table data, exam results, Ofsted reports, even gossip in the local coffee shop. Both individual schools and MATs have never faced such high levels of public and parental scrutiny before. A single piece of bad publicity, however unfair or misinformed, can lead to a fall in student numbers, a more distant relationship with parents, or see an already delicate union matter become even more problematic.
Every school now needs its own proactive PR campaign to maintain and build its reputation or risk being judged through someone else’s perspective. On a scale of one to ten, how strong and developed would you say your schools’ communications are?
Understanding today's media landscape
Gerard Kelly & Partners (GKP) is run Gerard Kelly, the former editor of the Times Educational Supplement. Every day Gerard and his team advise schools and MATs on how they can tell their stories to build and maintain their reputations. The team helps schools understand how today’s media operate, plans and delivers professional communications strategies, provides a press office function, revises and updates crisis plans and, when an incident occurs, offers senior support to manage the school’s reputation through the period.
Developing a proactive PR plan
GKP offers silver, gold and platinum PR plans, providing management and governing bodies with a clear and transparent explanation of the services they provide each month. The packages are time-related and we charge the same rate whether the activity required is focused on ways to help a group of schools celebrate exam results or advising on how to handle a crisis situation that national media want a comment on.