Tag Archives: schools

Creativity in Schools – A Decade on from Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk

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Creativity in Schools – A Decade on from Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk

Creativity in Schools – Sir Ken Robinson

So, what has happened almost a decade on?

The first of a series of iconic TED talks about how education needs to ‘shift paradigms’ occurred almost a decade ago back in June 2006 (yes, that was ten years ago this year). Sir Ken Robinson set the ball rolling with his TED Talk about how ‘schools kill creatively’ – a talk that still tops the ‘all time viewed’ lists with 13 million views in 2012…and over 37 million views as I type this in February of 2016.Sir Ken

Sir Ken has his critics who say that it’s easy to be seduced by his words when there is no action plan to apply (read his books and there are plenty of sensible and useful words of wisdom as to how we can improve things….). Personally I totally agree with Ken (and in fact saw Ken give some similar insights earlier in his career when he was professor of education at Warwick University in the UK).

So, a decade on, where do we stand?

Sadly, given all the hype and constant gossip about how wonderful Sir Ken’s vision is, we (schools) seem to be achieving very little in terms of creating (no pun intended…) a genuine shift in approach to how education is responding to the needs of business and enterprise, cultural and social anthropology and a rapidly changing modern world.

We know that schools are notoriously slow on the take up of most things. Actually, that’s not quite true. They are often quick to buy in to an idea but then lack the strategy and vision (planning and money) to see it through. I remember on one of my first teacher training experiences at a school in Edmonton, North London (around 1983) seeing a white van back up to the Design department to unload fifty brand new BBC Master computers with screens. This was the age of change and technology…this would transform what we were to do. My Head of Department was grinning like a Cheshire cat…but quite quickly I discovered that not all was well. I was asked to give some INSET on their use to all teachers (two weeks in to my first teaching practice aged 19 or so…) and thereafter all but two machines ended up in a locked cupboard. I had one BBC Master to play with and one other was taken to the front of school for administration staff to play on.

And there is the rub.

Staff had no time to ‘play’ and many believed that these contraptions were the devils spawn (and to be honest many struggled with the Banda copy machine in the staff room let alone any other technology above a hole punch and stapler). Government gave high end kit to schools to help stimulate creativity and technological change without offering time and budget to allow it to happen. Things stalled and ground to a halt. I remember re-visiting the school for another training period about two years later and the BBC masters were still in the same cupboard….although a couple of Atari ST machines had entered the department now with their ‘colour GUI’ and a Meg of RAM if I remember correctly.

The desire for change

This may seem harsh but schools are not always great at adapting to change from a strategy and vision standpoint. They mean well, and those in seats of decision making will often embrace the idea of something new from a concept standpoint, but very few understand the need to support that vision with a hands on, practical and feasible plan of action. This is frequently not about money; it’s about the desire to want to change the way we do things so that they improve; to help children get prepared for a world of work that we don’t really fully understand ourselves (the frequently banded about quote ‘we are preparing kids for jobs that don’t yet exist’ springs to mind) and to fundamentally change the curriculum content and approach we have in place.

Subjects change but curriculum’s, on the whole are antiquated. Creativity is not a new thing in schools. Arguably primary and kindergarten staff have been doing ‘STEM’ and ‘STEAM’ activity in schools for decades – playing, building, failing and working in teams often in a sandpit or on the carpet with tons of Lego, Stickle bricks (remember them?) and other cool things – combining Art, Science, Design, Language, Maths…

What we need, as students move up to secondary or high school, is a rudimentary change to what is delivered at the curriculum chalk face. For this to happen we almost need to wipe the slate clean and start again.

The problem we have is that many who are at the decision making end of directing and developing curriculum’s at government or school level have frequently come up through that industrial age of education that Sir Ken refers to in his original TED talk (and so expertly captured in the RSA animation of that talk RSA Sir Ken Robinsons TED Talk). These folk have been button-holed as ‘bright’ or ‘academic’ (and many are…) and have seldom been through a creative area of study at school. Rote learnt knowledge has been seen as a better foundation than one where they have had to solve complex problems on paper through an iterative process or with their hands in Art, Design and Technology – or indeed on stage through performing arts. Arguably, the nearest many have come to creative thought or play has been on the rugby or hockey pitch (or other team sport where spontaneous flair and decision making is often required).

Reverse Engineer the way we do things

To achieve the change that Sir Ken spoke about needs a fundamental upturn in philosophy where the practical application of knowledge is seen to be on an equal footing (?) with the ability to simply rote learn facts for an exam. For this to happen we need to reverse engineer the whole structure of academic acceptance.

What do I mean?

The world of work needs a workforce who are creative, flexible and can apply previously harboured knowledge well (be that from school, university or work experience).  They need to be worldly, good communicators, gregarious, empathetic, skilled and confident.

Firstly, governments need to have ministers responsible for education in employ who have actually come from an educational background – folk who have delivered and managed in schools and who have a better (more realistic?) understanding of what students and teachers need to deliver.genius-quote-albert-einstein

Secondly, if a student chooses to go directly into the world of work from school, rather than attend University, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Parents and schools need to understand that in the same way that industry does. Getting hands on experience of a business may well put them in better stead than doing three years in further education with no guarantee of a job at the end of it. Accepting that is key and is normally a fight for parents who get caught up in the ‘league table’ nonsense where students often achieve artificially high grades centred on a factory process – the success of which is based on sitting a one and a half hour paper at the end of two years study. Not good. You also have the ‘when I was at school’ scenario when parents of a certain generation were educated in schools that led them to believe that some subjects were more academic than others. It’s a big rut to climb out of psychologically.

Thirdly, universities need to supply courses that are current, flexible in delivery (able to change content mid course to satisfy employment demands) and that allow students to apply what they have discovered at school rather than treating them all as ‘starting from scratch’. I have heard of universities that take students onto certain courses and simply tell them that they have to ‘unlearn’ what they did at school and do things differently; so your first year becomes, in effect, a foundation year. What a waste of schooling and finance. Schools and universities need to talk to each other more.

Schools need to de-construct and review current curriculum’s. They need to have the confidence to do it. Do we still need Latin? Do we still need to study Shakespeare (as opposed to other more contemporary writers…)? Should everyone study at least one foreign language? Do we continue to have the mainstay of ‘core’ subjects at the heart of what schools do – Maths, English and Science (with extra languages, Art, Geography, History, Design and Technology in tow)? I don’t know, but questioning and jiggling to take some risk would be healthy.

keep-calm-and-carry-on-designing-12For me I’d love to have Design at the core of the curriculum with science, business, humanities, languages, maths and the arts radiating off. The idea that working with your hands (manufacture, creation, enterprise) is the realm of ‘less able’ students is totally unfounded. Bright students can, and do, work with their hands. Art has long been considered the ‘accepted’ manual skill for bright students along with Music. Sadly Drama, Dance and Design have always struggled to gain the same acceptance along with physical education (a tough A-Level in reality).

In essence, anything that has not grown out of the land or ‘popped’ out of a human has been designed; someone, somewhere, has sketched the idea and developed it. That’s both academic and creative in my book.

As Sir Ken said, we need to ‘shift paradigms’.

We need to educate and nurture future wealth creators (not just financial – anthropic wealth too) who can develop innovative products and services. I reiterate, despite Sir Kens 37 million ‘likes’ on the need to have creativity in the curriculum there are still many within government and education who feel it’s not required a decade on. The current EBACC debacle in the UK is looking to throw out creative education from the curriculum and quite rightly there is uproar from many sides across business and education.

The biggest anxiety for me, in all of this, is that we will probably still be having the same conversation in several years’ time, recognising that creativity is important, that we drastically need curriculum change and so on. But will folk have listened? Will there have been change? I truly hope so.

By that time Sir Ken’s original talk will be up past the 100 million views mark. Probably.

 

Schools Need to a Embrace Mobile Technology & Social Media, not Ban it.

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I’ve noticed more and more that schools are caught in a rut on the use of mobile technology/Social Media. I think this is born out of ignorance or fear rather than a genuine belief that this mobile tech is ‘bad news’.

I cringe when I see see staff ‘take in’ mobile phones when on a school trip, or ban mobile phones in the classroom,  thinking that they will dominate the social side of things….and of course they could UNLESS you EDUCATE the kids to use the tech correctly. Banning or taking them in is not the answer. Educating youngsters to use the tech at the right time and correctly is key.

This ideal has to come from the top – the leadership team. Your Head/Principal should have a blog/use twitter to convey thoughts, ideas and establish the vision for his or her school. Deputies should be using social media to contribute to ideas and convey issues. Schools and departments should use Pinterest to harbour new ideas and share good ones. Youngsters use these mediums. They get it. Why don’t the adults that pride themselves on being educators and ‘educating the youth of tomorrow’? As for Facebook…well, if you are reading this, and your school is not on Facebook (at least to show others what is going on and good in your schools) then I am afraid you are already way, way behind if not lost for good.

There is an annoying culture amongst many adults that Social Media and Mobile Tech is bad for youngsters. Sure,  like anything, there can be problems and these need to be carefully managed BUT if you do not embrace the opportunities social media presents, and the technology that facilitates it’s use, you, and your school, will rapidly find yourself fighting a battle you will never win.

This stuff is here to stay and is not going away. Establish the vision, find ways to best use it, to harness it’s learning power and you will have students and staff banging on your door to show you ways that their education and learning is improving as a consequence.

Ignore it, or don’t embrace it, and you will find yourself  significantly out on that educational limb.

3D Printing on the go – a fad or genuine development of a wonderful technology?

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I think this article that I found on inhabitant.com is really interesting. 3D printing on the go – developed by a French designer and supported by crowd funding. Is this the future of manufacturing for independents and designers in this fast paced world that we live in?

3D Printing On The Go

When Marketing Fails in Schools

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There are many ways marketing in schools can fail.

Banana skin

Marketing is one of the few business disciplines that can do as much in the future for a school as it does in the present.  Successful schools are aware that ‘planting seeds and tending to the crops’ will reap rewards down the line.  But, at the same time, those involved or leading marketing in schools can also bridge the gap of the ‘now-until-then’ and provide immediate benefit. That is when schools really win.  Too many long term activities with no short term view will cause failure.  The flip side is that if there is too much of a focus on the ‘now’, schools tend to wobble into the future with uncertainty.

So, what’s the right balance?  How do you know if you’re getting it right?

We’ve all seen it.  Sales’ driven schools like to pull marketing into what becomes frequently known as ‘sales-support’ (pupil registration or the proverbial ‘bums on seats’). With marketing attached to the hip of the sales team (admissions/registrars), they can provide great assistance with proposals, research, audio-visual presentations, and more equally riveting immediate activities.  If this becomes all consuming, then marketing becomes highly tactical however this can lead to strategic oversight on all sorts of critically important activities:  messaging, branding and positioning within the market.

Marketing that is only future-driven will lose perspective over what’s actually resonating with current forecasts. Currently independent education is going through massive peaks and troughs due to many economic uncertainties. Consequently they can miss out on critical input that can hone in on positioning and target numbers.  What’s more, and maybe more importantly, is that the admissions organisation and marketing tend to lose sight of each other.  Marketing within schools is often seen as out of touch and irrelevant to business generation (you just have to look at the relative lack of social media use in schools currently – by Heads, Governors and so forth). Those involved with marketing in this scenario are often confused because they are bringing in the leads – but sometimes many, many months too late.

Like all successful business functions, solid marketing teams put together marketing plans that specifically address both dynamics.  Their plans highlight the intended rewards and challenges.  They scope out resources and expectations.  They also identify Service Level Agreements for the business.  Nothing makes a Head happier than knowing ‘how’, ‘when’ and at ‘what speed’ they can rely on marketing.  Nothing makes a marketing team member happier knowing that they can do their “day job” and not be expected to drop everything on a penny to support pupil recruitment on an impulsive notion.

Marketing is a balancing act.  It takes strong leadership that can see the need to invest in marketing when times are hard (the last thing you do is ‘cut back’ when your chips are down…); rally the troops and enthuse when required; say “no” when needed; and have real courage of conviction.

The long term view of what marketing does for a school requires some internal fortitude to know that any bets placed will become realised.  The short view of marketing requires crystal clear expectations and the strength to pull away, or add more, at the right time.  Marketing departments fail when any one of these is not accomplished.  They also fail when the balance is not effectively achieved.

I have failed.  And, that’s the last thing.  Those successfully involved in marketing (and other disciplines associated with schools) have failed as often as they have succeeded.  I have learned to embrace my failures; learn from them, review and go forward armed with that experience to hopefully avoid further pitfalls where possible. Have you?

What Are The Skills Required For A Teacher Of Product Design?

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Product DesignI have just answered a question on a forum I use whereby a colleague has asked what, exactly, are the skills required for a teacher of Product Design?  As someone who has taught and worked with Schools & a few Universities over 27 years delivering Product Design (and has now moved on into a consultancy capacity) I felt I could offer some thoughts based on reasonable experience.

For me, the key skills (in no particular order) are:

  • The ability to sketch with a pencil/biro on paper for me is the most important. You don’t have to be a ‘brilliant sketcher (some are, some aren’t…) but a picture really does paint a thousand words. Convey your ideas freely and spontaneously in the first instance. You can then sieve through all the ‘reality’ checks regarding manufacture, costs, health and safety etc. as you develop your concepts and ideas.
  • Modelling/prototyping and manufacture is vital.  Forget any CAM at this stage but having basic key making skills across a range of resistant (woods, metals, plastics) and compliant (paper, card, clay) materials is a requirement of the job, not incidental.
  • Don’t have a fear about the latest CAD/CAM software or latest technology. Be aware of it, have a grasp of what it can do for you then look to use part of your team to apply the bits you need. Don’t expect to be a knowledgeable user on everything.  Know what you want and drag the resources (human and other…) towards your goal. You will have skills in one or two areas but invariably as a product designer you will be, re-wording a well-known phrase slightly, ‘Jack of all trades, master of one or two possibly…’
  • Take risks. Challenge the status Quo BUT be prepared to support and justify your decisions – back them up with substance.  Always ask ‘Why not?’ rather than simply ‘Why?’
  • Stay on top of communication throughout a project be it Twitter, email or phone calls. Above all else, don’t forget that ‘facemail’ i.e. talking to someone over a beer, coffee etc. is the most important part of a project and establishing a rapport with your pupils/students/clients/customers/colleagues is vital. In today’s society it is being rapidly forgotten but people skills are crucial to success.  Don’t lose them.
  • Don’t be afraid to say to a student/colleague/client simply ‘I don’t know’. On teacher training I have seen so many good practitioners trip and stumble by trying to pretend that they know an answer because they feel that they will lose face. Don’t. Be honest. You will get more respect that way. Admit you are unsure and then say ‘…however, let’s go and see what we can find out about this to try and get an accurate answer…’ Everyone learns then.
  • When using the World Wide Web to research things don’t just search in your own language. Use words from other cultures. I am still amazed when I see youngsters (and adults) gathering research by, for example, just typing in English words. Use French, Spanish (Mandarin or Japanese if you want to show off…). Chair/Chaise/silla, car/voiture/coche and so on. Not everyone writes their websites in English (or French or Spanish…). You open up a whole extra slice of the internet regarding idea generation by doing this.
  • Listen to your students/clients. Show an appreciation for what they are saying to you. Tease out the important bits of information. Never wade in directly and say to someone (especially a youngster) that their idea is stupid, silly or fantasy. You don’t have that right. Guide them, educate them, inspire them but never stamp on their ideas.
  • Above all else, enjoy what you do. As a teacher of design, irrespective of discipline, every day brings a new challenge and that is a wonderful way to work.

New Website for V2Education (Vee2.com) is Live

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V2Education Consultancy

At long last my new website is up and running.

Designed by an ex student of mine from some ten years ago (check out his excellent work at http://www.willpaige.co.uk) I am really pleased with the design and simple yet sophisticated interface of the site. A classic case of ‘Less is More’.

Great Job Will…Great Job…[Thumbs Up Icon]

Education and Creativity – Who needs it?

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The simple answer is that we all do.

But I am not talking about an ability to reel off all fifty (or sixty seven depending on what you read) European Capitals or spell the word ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ in 10 seconds or less.

I am simply talking about the ability to apply knowledge effectively to solve problems creatively and innovate. Oh, and work with your hands – be practical. That’s important too.

ImageFor me a little knowledge applied well is of far greater use than a mountain of knowledge that resides in someone’s cranium never to see the light of day.  Many schools simply work on the ideal that ‘cramming’ is the way forward; Learning the ‘way of the exam board’ by constantly doing past papers so that technique is assumed. The aim being to avoid ‘red ink’ on your papers so you know that you have been coached through the process with apparent effectiveness? What happens if that exam paper changes the format of its questions and no one knew? A ‘two point’ marker was now obsolete and all the questions were ‘four point’ markers? Oh the shock horror of it all. It happens. The secret though is how you respond to the change – think on your feet and apply the knowledge you have gathered irrespective of how the question is phrased/set. Sadly many are unable to do that.

I often think that it would be great for everyone studying GCSE’s (a UK qualification for 15/16 year olds) to sit one exam paper in a subject. Let’s take Mathematics for example. The syllabus is set by a central agency (government possibly – like in France) and the teachers deliver that body of content as they see fit, in their own way. All the students in the country then sit the same paper at the end of two years study – a level playing field for everyone.

ImageI realise that there are countless issues with the idea (not least the financial ones relating to the various syllabus providers that make their money from ‘bums on seats’ as teachers and schools choose a syllabus for a myriad of different reasons…) but wouldn’t it sort out the wheat from the chaff regarding ability? Everyone had to answer the same maths questions – no coaching of exam paper techniques, just applying the ‘language’ of maths that they had accumulated over two years of study.

In my subject, Design (and Technology), you can’t really ‘train’ students to answer questions because invariably the outcomes are often different; unique. None are really wrong, or right – they just need justification as to why you have chosen your final idea over another; A bit like Art in many ways.

Of course there are areas of material science and engineering skills that have to be applied and learnt for the theoretical and practical parts of the course (written exam and coursework components). Not only do we have to apply that knowledge but we need to learn how to grow that talent – that is  the key to an innovative and creative outcome.

ImageThe fact that for so many the process of idea evolution as a consequence of sketching, modelling, making mistakes, communicating, evaluating and modifying to improve your idea… is alien to many… to me is very sad.

This is especially so as it is these core skills that so many youngsters are lacking; and it is these core skills that are required in the real world of work irrespective of academic (or other) discipline. 

Radical? Design Thinking? Not really; Just education.

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School Open Days – What Should You Look Out For?

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I read an article some years ago that I bookmarked because it had some interesting points in it. The article appeared in the ‘Good Schools Guide’ and offered some advice to parents who were thinking of attending school ‘open days’.  As we look to start new terms and academic years I thought it might be prudent to revisit this topic adding from my own experience as someone who has worked in several independent schools nationally and internationally.

In reality ‘open days’ serve two purposes. Firstly to allow schools the opportunity to ‘show off’ what they have regarding facilities, campus and to a certain extent key staff (you could call it marketing opportunity) in the hope that they attract you, the paying customer, to buy in to their product.  The second purpose should be to allow prospective parents the opportunity to have a good ‘nose around’, to be able to ask key questions about the place and to facilitate the initial gathering of important information.

Independent schools pursue various open day strategies. According to the ‘Good Schools Guide’…

“some aim to maintain a business-as-usual approach (Canford,) whilst others run a “cracking good day out” (Uppingham), offer flavoured milkshakes for younger siblings (Wellington) or strive towards “the look and feel of a wedding reception” (Marlborough)”.

Initial Research – Web and Social Media

Before any shortlist of possible ‘Open days’ is made (and once you have assimilated any other information you have available to you e.g. you were an ‘old boy’ of the school, your friends have kids there etc.) your initial research must start ‘on line’ first. In this day and age the School website is the equivalent to what was the main sign outside the school gates – it is the main signage point. Check out the schools web presence – what is the site like? Is it easy to navigate and get to the information you want? What do they value most on their home page? Is it all about the Head and his/her philosophies and ‘school aims & objectives’?  Is it all about sport, outdoor pursuits and music or does it flag academic achievement too? Does it grab you? Is the impression one of traditional and ‘old school’, contemporary and ‘current’ or a happy blend of ‘heritage and forward thinking’? What are YOU looking for?

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Also, don’t forget to check out the other social media ports of call – primarily Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. The former is less likely to have an actual school page (but some do) whilst Twitter is certainly the most current method of circulating information by schools and it is growing all the time. Linkedin is a useful resource to gather more information about staff and can offer insight into the nature of human resources that a school has (where they came from, how long they have been there etc.).

So, once that initial research has been made…

How do you get the most out of a school open day?

  • Upon arrival, as you drive up to the gates and on through, what does your initial gut reaction tell you? Are they well kept and organised surroundings? Clear and concise directions? Pleasant and friendly ushers/guides/parking attendants?

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  • Once herded in (I use the term loosely) and with a glass in hand listen attentively to any of the initial talks/speeches given by the Head/Headmistress. How do they present themselves? Look around at the other staff that are present (normally Senior Management, HODs – Heads Of Departments – and House staff) and gauge their responses to the speech. Are they smiling and nodding approvingly or not paying attention and standing there disinterested? You can learn a lot from how the other staff react to their boss talking.
  • Talk to as many pupils as you can around the place. Asking them which subjects are best is not always a good call (although it will offer you some insight). If they are senior pupils they may not have come up all the way through the school and will only be studying three to five out of the fifteen or so subjects on offer. That said, do ask what they do during breaks and (if it is a boarding school) what they do in the evenings. Also, if you feel a little ‘Harry Potterish’, ask them what they would change about the school if they had a magic wand.  You can get some good responses to that.
  • Try not to judge the entire school on the basis of one shy boy or over gregarious girl who shows you around. The flip side to this is that some schools do use first or second year pupils to do tours as they offer quite a fresh and honest approach to your questioning and are not yet caught up in the deep rooted school rhetoric. If schools do this – they have confidence in what they do (Cranleigh does this for example).
  • Try to chat to some other parents at the initial drinks/refreshments upon arrival. What do you think of them? Are they ‘your kind’ of people? Would you be happy for your children to mix with theirs?  It may sound very sad but you need to be honest with yourself here. It’s a big investment and needs careful consideration, as socially there is a lot to be gained for yourselves as much as for your kids.
  • Seek out the school noticeboards. Are they well kept, neat and current? Is there a lot of diverse activity going? For example, Music, Art, Design, Theatre, Sports (including details of matches), details of chapel and pastoral care, commendations/merits and awards etc. Is there a board showing all the staff photos and department heads? Do they look happy?

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  • For me one of the most important (and most underused) marketing tools in a school is its loo’s. Nothing is more revealing about a school’s priorities than its lavatories. Is there information up on the walls about recent achievements (academic and sporting) up and coming events and so forth? Are they clean and fresh looking – well kept?
  • If your child will be boarding, try to get around to a couple of boarding houses at least. Admittedly most schools allow Housemasters/Housemistresses to stamp their own feel on a place so hopefully the boarding houses will have their own individual feel but do try to take a close look at the sleeping accommodation to see what it is like. Single rooms? Dormitories? Social areas? Amid all the tours, lectures and wine, this is the part of the visit most easily neglected.
  • If your child is to be a day pupil what facilities do they have (as above minus the sleeping arrangements)?
  • If you have the time don’t be afraid to wander off-piste: you’re not a pupil, nobody is going to tell you off.

Most importantly NEVER judge the school by its open day alone!

Use it solely as a starting point. You will probably be able to drop one or two off your radar at this juncture – but then you must arrange to pop back for a more personally tailored visit or one-to-one chat with the Head/Headmistress and other key staff as you, and your child, sees fit.

Remember that a school open day is the time for that first initial contact. It should give you, the parent, an initial feel for the school and provide you with enough information to be able to make some pretty important judgement calls. If you have not got what you need don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and ask.  They should be only too keen to help.

Marketing vs. Advertising – Doing it Right in Schools…

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It is often the case that schools know too much about their product (education) and not enough about their customers (the parents).

There is a monumental difference between why you think someone should invest in your school and why someone does not invest.

This gap between the two is bridged by what we can refer to commonly as ‘marketing’.

Marketing. 

So what are we really talking about here?

If your first thought is advertising – ‘getting the word out’ and letting people know you exist/what you can offer them, then you may well be missing the most important point.

Let me give you an example of a School Head who was able to multiply their return on their efforts with parents by shifting that initial focus from advertising to marketing.

Paddling Without A Paddle

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My client, let us refer to him as ‘James’, is a colleague of longstanding who had recently taken over the Headship of a small prep school that offers a unique and diverse curriculum. He emailed me a copy of a promotional flyer he was working on. He asked for my feedback.

“So, what did you think?”  He asked.

“To be honest, I haven’t a clue.” I said.

Although a tad perturbed by my response I then asked him two critical questions:

  1. Who, exactly, are you trying to reach with this flyer?
  2. Why do you think that the main bullet points on the flyer are what your customers want to know?

James admitted that although he had a general idea of the ‘type’ of parent he was trying to reach, he didn’t have a clear answer to the second question.  His mistake is a common one.

He had made the assumption that what was important to him was also important to his clients – the parents.

James’s boat was bobbing in the turbulent waters of the marketplace, but he only had one paddle in the water – the “advertising” paddle. As a consequence he was simply going around in circles and was in desperate need of that second paddle to even things up. We will call this the “marketing” paddle.

Marketing is that essential area of management attention that is determined through on-going observation, research, and analysis to answer key questions, questions such as:

  • Who are your customers (parents)?
  • How do they think?
  • Where are they located?
  • How do they choose which school to invest their money in?

In short, your marketing efforts drive your lead generation (advertising) by revealing what is most important to your best customers.

An Important Announcement, which carries No Value.

Consider, if you will, the idea of an audacious banner spanning the front page of the school website (or indeed hanging on the school gates…) proudly announcing that the school is “Under New Management”

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To a new Head, fulfilling a lifelong dream, this is an exciting and important message.

However, to a passer-by, that banner says nothing more than that there has probably been trouble in the past, an unsteady ship.  Think about it.

To a previously unsatisfied parent, that sign may deter them even more. “What? Same uncreative curriculum, delivered differently? New teachers teaching the same old stuff?”

Had more time been spent in marketing, you might have discovered that your customers are extremely interested in your expansion to ‘embrace a GCSE curriculum, your investment in new staff to cater for additional languages, the new sports hall proposals to cement stronger links with the local community…‘ and you could have more effectively used that web banner/front gate banner space to proclaim your developments.

There really is no ‘target market’ for “Under New Management.”

Clichés are exactly that; cliché

As we analysed James’s flyer, he began to see that he had created the equivalent of the “Under New Management” banner.  He had listed significant-sounding clichés that seemed to offer important benefits:  “Conveniently located,” “knowledgeable, friendly staff,” “competitive fees,” and “wide intake selection.”

When we further considered where his customers were coming from, he understood that he was actually only conveniently located to some – and to others who might be his customers, he was on the wrong side of a constantly congested transport infrastructure.   And given that the alternative to “knowledgeable, friendly staff” is “unfriendly and clueless,” should his customers expect anything less?

‘Competitive fees’ might be important to his target market, but if James understands that his best customers come to him because of his ‘hard-to-find specialty curriculum in Design and Art’ or ‘excellent sporting facilities’, all things being equal fee pricing may not be of primary concern.

A key attraction to those parents looking at his school might be James’ ability to provide ‘products and services’ that are unavailable from his competitors. This is important.

  • Marketing is a collection of activities that go on internally, within your school.
  • Marketing is your on-going effort to question, observe, and understand your parents and their genuine attraction to your school.

In the rush to advertise, James ignored the most important key to effective lead generation:

Taking the time to understand what your parents care about, and how to most effectively communicate to them that you KNOW them.  

Marketing vs. Advertising

  • The marketing paddle is your understanding of who your parents are.
  • The advertising paddle is about clearly articulating the promises your school makes to them.

Effective lead generation comes from remaining hyper-aware of the balance between the two and maintaining that connection at every point of contact between you and your customers (your parents)

With proper marketing, advertising becomes a matter of broadcasting the fact that you know what your parents want and are ready to provide it.   It has to be based on what they are thinking, not what you are thinking.

Effective marketing efforts make your advertising decisions informed and strategic rather than solely based on your personal preference, happenstance, or what you see everyone else doing.  

The System of Marketing

Social media communication concept

As with any area of your school, you need a system for gathering data about your market.

There are plenty of methods out there that work; you just have to find the one that’s right for your school. Here are some examples:

  • Using appropriate social media to inform and involve your clientele is vital. For example, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are currently amongst the most obvious, important and widely used. This will open channels of communication with your parents in addition to phone calls and email (see below).
  • Create and establish a website presence, electronic newsletters, blogs or physical brochures with relevant and informative content that your parents can subscribe and respond to. This will also help to open channels of communication with your parents.
  • Conduct simple surveys. There are many great resources for creating electronic surveys out there such as http://www.surveymonkey.com.
  • Install email marketing software such as http://www.newsweaver.com or http://www.littlegreenplane.com for reaching your clients. These services allow you to analyse and filter the results of your advertising efforts so you can immediately see what your clients respond to and what they don’t.

However you decide to gather this relevant data, there are some essential key questions that do need to be addressed:

  1. Who is it you are trying to attract? Why?
  2. Who are your ‘favourite’ parents currently – the ones you would like to clone?
  3. What characteristics do they all have in common?  Age, income level, geographic clusters, family status, etc.
  4. What are their lives like and how do you fit in to what appeals to them?
  5. What problems is your school and its provision going to solve for them?
  6. What is the most important message for your parents to hear from you as a Head? How will you emotionally appeal to them?

Once you ask the right questions of your parents, you’ll start getting the right answers. These answers will tell you what your parents need to hear from you in order to feel connected to you and your school.

What subjects to include in a modern curriculum?

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I recently replied to another blog regarding subject development and inclusion for a possible home schooling curriculum i.e what subjects should be included in the provision?

The blog is an interesting read, focusing on homeschooling, with many good points and comments added to help fuel the debate. Core subject areas such as Science, Maths, History, Geography, English and others were included but others were not. This did raise alarm bells and highlighted some issues close to my heart, notably suggesting a curriculum that seemed to have an absence of any core activity relating to learning another Modern Language or anything to do with Design (and Technology) or manufacture.

Design as an academic (yes, academic…) and creative discipline spread across all areas of manufacture (not simply ‘woodwork’ for less able kids as it is was 25 years ago in the UK) has to be included if you are to nurture and develop youngsters who can deal with a world that is changing quicker than anyone can really understand.

Design education at its core is about problem solving, prototyping, discovering, sketching, innovating, making mistakes, taking risks and communicating on paper, on a computer and/or in a range of materials. Teaching youngsters how to think creatively, divergently and appropriately to help solve a problem is key. Manufacture using smart materials, composites, textiles, metals, woods and so on with a mix of current technologies (3D printing, cnc machining…) and basic hands-on manual skills related manufacture is crucial.

Some of these skills, notably the thinking and problem solving skills, are a pre-requisite if you are to maintain a curriculum that can support wealth creation and provide genuine capability that will serve your future bankers, doctors, lawyers, politicians etcetera. Nurturing creativity is a basic subtext of education. Any proposed curriculum must not stifle it.

I also strongly feel that mastering at least one additional modern (and maybe other?) language is vital in todays world. Both my daughters (aged 9 and 17) are almost tri-lingual (English, French, Spanish) and the eldest is looking to start studying Mandarin. I am English, my wife is French – and you can probably argue that we have a slight head start here.

I am still amazed that many kids are still only taught to ‘Google’ in English – throwing in a French or Spanish word/phrase during your search will open up another third of the Internet for you allowing greater breadth and depth to your study, allowing access across different cultures and ideals. If you can really show off then throw Mandarin into the mix – the world is definitely your oyster in a few years time irrespective of academic discipline! Modern Languages are crucial to a youngsters development in this world which is becoming quite a small place to live in.

We are very naive if we think that our kids are not going to grow up and move into professions that will at least require them to communicate via email, talk on the phone or Skype to folk in another country at some point, let alone travel to another country with work (and quite possibly work abroad at some juncture in their careers). In 27 years I have either taught in a school, or worked as a consultant, in England, France, Hong Kong, Australia and Portugal. There will be more places to go as my work, or that of my wife’s, takes me there – of that I am sure. I reiterate; the world is a small place.

Of course there are a myriad of other subjects that need to be looked at, considered and either discarded or new ones thrown in to the mix but at this late hour I think I’ll stop there.

For now 😉