![\"Teach](\"http:\/\/www.greenhouseschoolwebsites.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/TSE.jpg\")
We contributed recently to a Teach Secondary article which also featured interviews with a number of the schools we work with.<\/p>\nWe contributed recently to a Teach Secondary article which also featured interviews with a number of the schools we work with.<\/p>\n
We’ve highlighted with links below!<\/p>\n
Ever hear that telltale click of a smartphone being hastily shut off as you meet with a parent?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to blame anyone for showing more interest in their Facebook feed or the latest celebrity feud on Twitter than the \u2013 admittedly often predictable \u2013 topics to be discussed at parents\u2019 evening. But what if you could enter the realm of these magical devices and deliver your school\u2019s messages on a platform that can\u2019t be ignored?<\/p>\n When new head Chris Hildrew arrived at Somerset\u2019s Churchill Academy<\/a>, he saw a more interactive website as central to his strategy to build parental engagement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cCrucial to the design was trying to break down the wall between school and home,\u201d he explains. \u201cIn a secondary school you don\u2019t get that \u2018school gate\u2019 thing you do in primary. A lot of parents The school\u2019s homepage gives star billing to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram buttons, which meet the eye instantly rather than being tucked away with the school\u2019s contact details.<\/strong> \u201cUsing social media and an accessible website is one way of opening the doors so parents get a flavour of what goes on with their child.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy team has managed to convince me of the value of Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube,\u201d says Helen Jones, head of Ysgol Maesteg in South Wales, \u201cso I\u2019ve endorsed those sites to share key messages. It was a conscious decision not to use Facebook; it has too many elements we can\u2019t control so we didn\u2019t feel it was a suitable platform to endorse the school.\u201d<\/p>\n A growing audience for its social media feeds full of students\u2019 news is vindications for the school\u2019s efforts. \u201cI see it as key to communicating effectively with our parents and wider school community,\u201d concludes Helen.<\/p>\n \u201cFor current parents, mobile apps are an excellent source of key information: news items, diary dates, newsletters, photo galleries, etc.\u201d comments Andy of web developers Greenhouse School Websites<\/a>. \u201cSchools can send \u2018push\u2019 notifications directly to parents\u2019 phones; in many cases this is the single most important reason for having a school app.\u201d Does that mean they\u2019re becoming a \u2018must have\u2019? \u201cI wouldn\u2019t personally say mobile apps are required for every school, but I think that smartphone friendly websites are.\u201d<\/p>\n Ah, yes, because do you know that parents even see your site? Unless it\u2019s \u2018responsive\u2019 \u2013 designed on architecture accessible across a range of devices \u2013 visitors may be disappointed. \u201cOver 50% of parents view websites on their mobile or tablet,\u201d advises Ruth Sparkes, director of education marketing agency Empra. \u201cIf your site isn\u2019t compatible it\u2019s not only a problem for the viewer but also for search engines. Right now Google algorithms are bringing websites to the top that are responsive, and if Google\u2019s not looking at you then nobody is.\u201d<\/p>\n Not Orbison or Keane, we\u2019re talking ROI (return on investment), the critical factor in persuading governors that a multi-functional site is worth the expenditure. \u201cThe fundamental metric for us is recruitment of pupils for September,\u201d says Chris Hildrew<\/a> of his school\u2019s ROI calculations. \u201cWe\u2019re full in Year 7 and expect to be full again next year, so that\u2019s going well. But also we have all kinds of metrics running on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram counts, and we use Google Analytics on the website to see which pages people are visiting, how often and how many clicks. We have a marketing manager in school who monitors and reports all that to the governors so we\u2019re able to quantify the value of what we put up.\u201d<\/p>\n Not everyone feels convincing evidence exists to justify taking that initial leap. The website for St Anselm\u2019s Catholic School<\/a> in Canterbury meets the eye with one perfectly nice shot of pupils, navigable menus of appropriate information and a discreet Twitter feed. \u201cWhat we haven\u2019t done \u2013 and don\u2019t have the resources to do \u2013 is create an all singing, all dancing multimedia experience,\u201d says head Michael Walters. \u201cI think what parents want is a website that\u2019s accurate and regularly updated, and beyond that I don\u2019t think we should be bleeding money from public finances out to web developers.\u201d<\/p>\n Aspiring to a private sector style site on a public sector budget is concern for others, too. \u201cI would love to be able to sit down with someone for a week and get the website completely sorted, but schools don\u2019t have the time or resources for that,\u201d says Matt Chapman, deputy head at Manningtree High School in Essex. \u201cBusinesses of an equivalent size would have someone whose sole responsibility is running the website. In schools it will generally be someone\u2019s job in addition to their main responsibilities, or it will fall between a number of people.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a challenge that each school meets with its own solution. At Ysgol Maesteg, the use of an in-house ICT technician to build the site saved the funds necessary to create an marketing officer post to maintain it.<\/p>\n At Woodside High School<\/a> in North London data manager George Georgiou delegates web tasks to various departments, acting as admin to oversee any uploaded content before it goes live.<\/p>\n And at Rastick High School in West Yorkshire implementing a harder-working website has actually saved resources. \u201cLike any school we struggle sometimes with our budget,\u201d says communications manager Louise Benn. \u201cWe can\u2019t always replace staff and our admin team has got smaller and smaller. So we needed to find new ways to work.\u201d<\/p>\n The school\u2019s solution is a user-friendly, responsive site that channels parents efficiently to specific destinations. A pop-up window reminds about an upcoming parents\u2019 evening; outsize buttons direct even the fat-fingered phone-user straight to ParentMail App, the school\u2019s calendar, Ofsted\u2019s Parent View feedback site, a cache of statutory documents or the school\u2019s prospectus.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we surveyed the parents of our new intake of Year 7s we thought they might want more information on the progress of their child. What they actually wanted was better contact with the school,\u201d points out Louise. With 98% of families reporting use of one device or more it made sense to ditch postal mailouts forever. \u201cIf you think of a whole school letter-send to 1,500 pupils, just the man-hours stuffing envelopes makes it expensive. Now it\u2019s on parents\u2019 phones with a click of a button. It\u2019s brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n 2 minutes<\/strong> 5 minutes<\/strong> 20 minutes<\/strong> <\/p>\nOpen doors<\/h3>\n
![\"teach-secondary-pg1\"](\"http:\/\/www.greenhouseschoolwebsites.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Teach-Secondary-pg1-212x300.jpg\")
![\"teach-secondary-pg2\"](\"http:\/\/www.greenhouseschoolwebsites.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Teach-Secondary-pg2-212x300.jpg\")
might feel we operate in a black box because they can\u2019t see what goes on.\u201d<\/p>\nSee and be seen<\/h3>\n
How\u2019s Roy?<\/h3>\n
Cost effective<\/h3>\n
TOOLBOX: WHAT YOU CAN DO IN\u2026<\/h3>\n
\nDiscover if your site is responsive at\u00a0search.google.com\/search-console\/mobile-friendly<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMake sure visiting speakers, partners in the local community, and institutions visited on school trips are tweeting about the great work going on in school.<\/p>\n
\nFamiliarise yourself with your Google Analytics dashboard. Discovering which posts generate most interest will help you shape future content.<\/p>\n