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Hints for open day

success

Ten years on – what have we learnt?

JAMES LEGGETT, Research

Director, reflects on what has

changed ten years on from the

publication of the first Sector

Report.

H aving just written the fifth edition of our

independent education sector report, it

was interesting to look back and reflect on

some of our original predictions.

Even in our 2013 report, we had a rather negative

outlook, predicting a fall in rolls of 0.25% by 2024.

Whilst that does not sound much, general

demographic growth trends would suggest schools

should be expecting growth of some sort. However,

our data suggested an affordability threshold had

been reached. The reality has been nowhere near as

severe as we expected before the banking crisis, with

the ISC even publishing record numbers in 2015 – the

highest since 1974.

Particularly for middle earners, the squeeze on

household budgets has been very real, fuelled in part

by rising food and fuel costs. However, prices for both

have decreased this year and the record low interest

rates and a relatively buoyant job market have

prevented a major cut in household spending. Just as

premium supermarkets such as Marks and Spencer

and Waitrose have managed growth during the

economic downturn (with those operating in the

middle market facing the greatest decline), even the

most expensive fee-paying schools have continued

to attract record numbers of pupils. Indeed, our data

suggests the schools with the highest fees have seen

some of the largest increases in numbers. However,

much of this growth is coming from overseas and the

ISC Census has indicated that around a third of

boarders have parents who live abroad.

While fee rises this year may not have been quite as

eye-watering as previous years, they are still well

ahead of inflation, and the issue of affordability

remains the single most dangerous threat for the fee-

charging sector. Schools face a delicate challenge

of modernising, maintaining and improving facilities

while keeping expenditure in check. They are

increasingly looking to outside sponsors, fundraising

and efficiency savings to ensure they minimise future

fee rises. While offering academic excellence is

important for all sectors, extra-curricular activities,

strong pastoral provision, longer school days and flexi

boarding may be of particular importance for

younger children, while for senior schools the

emphasis should be on a more personalised

education, low staff:pupil ratios and innovative

teaching methods.

So what of the future? The numbers choosing

private education may be on the increase, but this is

no time to be complacent. Marketing teams have a

difficult job to convince prospective parents to meet

increasing fees, and the competition between

schools across every region has never been fiercer.

With more academies and free schools making their

mark and possible signs of grammar school

expansion, independent fee-charging schools have

to play to their strengths and offer something

different, and ultimately better, than their non-fee

paying rivals.

Page 3:

Latest available

research

Page 6:

Academisation – threat

or opportunity?

Page 4:

Expanding your potential

market in your catchment

New colours, fresh approach

school matters ISSUE 22

MAY 2016

Page 5:

DIY catchment mapping

E: [email protected] Twitter: @mtmconsultinguk

02

ISSUE 22 MTM SCHOOL MATTERS

W hile preparing this presentation for the MTM

conference, I found it hard to start because

one phrase just kept running through my head,

“excellent customer service”.

This is at the heart of everything we do at Abbotsholme

School with regard to both recruitment and retention, but

that was clearly not going to fill an entire presentation, so

here after some consideration are some essential top tips:

♦ Customer first as

regards your open day

dates and frequency –

Are your open days on

customer friendly days or

staff friendly days? Think

about holding an all-day

open day on a Saturday

to work around your

c u s to m e r ’ s f a m i l y

activities and making it

easy for them to attend.

Today’s customer is cash

rich, time poor and you

need to consider this in

everything you do.

♦ Create good first impressions – Have all staff been told

how to act when a parent comes into a classroom,

and what to wear on an open day? To some staff this

could seem patronising, to others useful guidance.

Have you considered signage from the car park to the

main entrance both generally and on your open day?

Are there enough refreshments throughout your event

as well as food to suit all diets? These events are

incredibly tiring for families who are taking in a huge

amount of information. Don’t forget to smile and be

welcoming!

♦ Be the customer – Today’s market includes two key

types of customer: First-time buyers, and those that are

comfortable with independent education and the

jargon that goes with it. Remember to ensure your

pitch is tailored to match your customer.

♦ Advertise, plan and communicate – What is your

promotional plan of attack? Advertising (online and

offline) and website (online booking form for parents

to download during the evenings which might be the

only chance a family has to look at your school and

organise to come to an open day – although do

make them aware they can just turn up too)? What

about email marketing, fliers, direct mail (targeted

and door drops), more email marketing and then send

personal invites to those who book as a reminder?

Ensure your staff are aware of what is going on, what

The art of holding a great open day

activities are being held to create a vibrant

atmosphere. Internal communications are just as

important as external communications. Most

importantly, say thank you to the staff. It goes a

long way.

♦ Parents are buyers, schools are sellers – Gone are

the days when parents were parents and schools

were educators and reactive to parent’s needs. It

is a fierce market out there. Schools have to be

proactive sellers of their product, as parents have

a wealth of amazing schools to choose from (and

spend on fees what will equate to the value of a

house!).

♦ Excellent customer service. . . Did you know the

biggest single reason an organisation loses a

customer is because of the indifference of one

employee? Everyone has to be singing from the

same hymn sheet!

♦ . . . excellent customer service is listening, being

sincere, and having integrity in the sales pitch – It

is not about a hard sell, or stalking parents around

the school being overly enthusiastic and

amenable with answers (and I have seen this!). It is

about sticking to the ethos. Pupils are far better at

this than staff, so do ensure pupils form part of the

tour.

♦ Follow up, follow up . . . and follow up again – You

can never follow up with a family too much unless

the frequency is every hour of every working day.

Parents have full lives juggling work, children,

holidays, family etc. Make it easy for them by

ensuring that they do not have to chase you.

Some further tips for the day itself include having your

guides in separate areas and not the main reception

area, as well as ensuring they have refreshments.

Everybody should be in their place 30 minutes before

the start of the event and only have key staff in the

reception room rather than a wall of staff! Finally,

make sure you have lots of exciting activities going to

create a buzzy and lively educational environment.

LUCY BARNWELL, Head of Marketing

and Admissions at Abbotsholme

School, shares her secrets and tips

for success

T: 01502 722787 W: www.mtmconsulting.co.uk


03

MTM SCHOOL MATTERS

Latest MTM research publications

Independent Education Sector

Report 2016 The MTM Independent Education Sector

Report 2016 analyses pupil trends based

on demographic projections, the current

financial climate and the effects of an increasingly

competitive state sector. We use unique primary

data taken from our 2016 Missing Million and Fees

Surveys (of affluent state sector and current

independent sector parents) to understand what

motivates current users and deters potential buyers.

This report offers insight in to how schools can build

on their strengths and break down potential barriers

to optimise accessibility, makes predictions about

the future, both in the short and longer term, and

offers suggestions as to how schools can maintain

their competitive edge.

Price £145 (inc. p&p). See below for details on how

to order.

The Missing Million (updated for

2016) Increasing the size of the home day

market and increasing penetration in

traditional markets are perennial

challenges for the independent education sector.

Finding ways of tapping into this pool of potential

parents is crucial. This report is aimed at forward-

thinking heads, marketeers and anyone with an

interest in growing the fee-charging independent

sector, turning a spotlight on the attitudes of non-

buyers and practical strategies for success.

Price £29 (inc. p&p). See below for details on how to

order.

The School Fees Survey (updated

for 2016) Almost ten years on from our original and

ground-breaking research into current

buyers of independent education, MTM

has once again surveyed parents to assess their

attitudes, specifically towards school fees, how they

pay them and their confidence in the future. It builds

on and examines the trends in the results of our

previous surveys undertaken in 2007, 2010 and 2012,

and many of the new survey’s findings reveal

interesting developments, particularly in parents’

confidence in their ability to continue affording fees,

and the sacrifices they are prepared to make.

Price £29 (inc. p&p). See below for details on how to

order.

It was a great pleasure to welcome so

many faces, some who we have known

for many years and several newcomers,

to our conference on March 8th.

We all had an enjoyable and informative

day hearing from a variety of speakers,

clearly demonstrating that MTM has

gone from strength to strength over the

past year, remaining one of the few full service market research

agencies that exist solely for the benefit of the education sector.

The conference highlighted that, as ever, the landscape for

independent education is constantly evolving – the market is

changing and perhaps more than ever before the new strategies

that are adopted will determine the continued livelihood of

schools.

All the presentations made clear

that now is not a time for schools to rest

on their laurels. New competition is

emerging from home and abroad,

and from the state as well as the

private sector. Old established brands

are disappearing and new ones are

emerging into the marketplace with

vision and vigour. Good teachers and

leaders are being lost, lured away

from the UK by larger salaries and, in most cases, substantially

better weather. Buildings are costing more to maintain, staff costs

are increasing and fees are rising. There is and will continue to be

more red tape, legislation, policies and procedures.

The challenges may have come to the fore early on in the day,

but it was clearly emphasised that good schools furnished with the

best marketing and admissions staff will have direction, purpose

and exciting plans. After watching presentations on branding,

customer service, international marketing and digital strategy, we

learnt that in this new world it is no longer enough to market your

school on the basis of small class sizes and academic

achievement. Parents want more for their “buck”, needing to

know before they even walk

through that front gate that you

will foster and grow the individual

personality of each and every

child and give them the skills (not

only academic) that will

encourage lifelong learning and

development, and they shouldn’t

just read about it on your open

day advertisement. They need to

hear it whilst they shop in Waitrose, post on mumsnet or go out to

dinner with friends.

A great variety of feedback was provided following the

conference. Next year you can expect to see more variety, more

choice, more breakout sessions and more new speakers from

different backgrounds that haven’t been seen on the circuit

before. Watch this space!

All of the presentations from the day are now available on our

website at www.mtmconsulting.co.uk.

Has your school got exciting plans?

ISSUE 22

How to order: call 01502 722787 or visit

www.mtmconsulting.co.uk/publications

Did you know? MTM regularly blogs about the latest trends and available

research in the independent education sector. You can read

our blog on our website

www.mtmconsulting.co.uk

T: 01502 722787 E: [email protected]



04


Looking to expand your market? Then turn your attention to the Missing

Million . . .

capital projects for schools who rise to the challenge of

reconnecting with former pupils.

The old adage that “awareness of independent

schools increases with affluence” is still true today.

However, 25% of respondents who live in households

earning £80,000 per annum have no knowledge about

the benefits of independent education. The sector

awareness is general rather than school specific and the

research reveals an array of demographic opportunities

for marketeers to target – especially once you consider

how scholarships and small bursaries could be directed

to the £50,000–£60,000+ households to ensure maximum

pupil recruitment.

How do parents research schools?

Interestingly, the research clearly demonstrates that

most of our marketing collateral is not of any value with

social media, the prospectus, print advertising and

internet searches rarely used. So how do we reach these

parents? We must consider the best ways to get your

message across.

Whilst many schools in the sector are recruiting well

and maintaining positive perceptions in the community,

there is clearly work to be done to optimise the

conversion of those missing “non-buyers”. The research

demonstrates that individual schools’ marketing

messages are still missing the target.

D espite our best intentions to have a

holiday, school marketeers inevitably use

the down time to plan strategy for the next

term or catch up on their industry focused

research.

If you attended the MTM conference, you will have

heard my presentation on the 2016 Missing Million Report

and already have a well-thumbed and highlighted

version of your own. For those who did not attend, here

are the reasons you should buy this report today and

share it with your senior management team.

Confidence in our sector is stagnating

The research shows that since 2010 there has been a

decline in the number of parents who believe that

independent schools offer the best available academic

education. Clearly this has an implication for our key

message statements but at a time where school fees

continue to grow, the need to demonstrate the value

added nature of our schools increases hugely.

Despite the media hype suggesting that pupils at

independent schools are now less likely to get a place at

Oxbridge, there has been a 19% increase in parental

belief that private schools offer the best chance of

admission to a good university. Careers education and

employability are high on the agenda for some schools,

but could you be doing more to exploit this section of

the potential market? Conversely, there has been a 30%

decrease in the number of respondents who believe that

the sector offers a genuinely all-round education – a

message that figures in most prospectuses for

independent schools.

Why do non-buyers consider independent education?

There are no surprises here with academic reputation

and smaller class sizes as well as high-quality teaching all

featuring heavily. The research unearths other reasons

too – but to find out what they are, you will need to

purchase a copy for yourself!

You would not be alone in asserting that those who

attended independent school as a pupil would naturally

know a lot about our schools. Interestingly, only 3.8% of

respondents who were privately educated consider that

they know a lot about independent schools in their area.

This has implications for development and alumni

managers who must therefore endeavour to reconnect

with former pupils still living close to the school who may

now have children themselves. Successful development

and fundraising begins with engagement with former

pupils through public relations activity. Therefore, a

successful stakeholder engagement plan could certainly

pay dividends in terms of recruitment and fundraising for

KIRSTY HASSAN, Director of

Recruitment and Marketing at

Colston’s School in Bristol, looks

into the findings of MTM’s Missing

Million report



Income profile of our non-buyers and current buyer samples

05

MTM SCHOOL MATTERS

Location: One Euston Square (adjacent to

Euston Station), 40 Melton Street, London NW1

2FD.

Time: 10.30 am to 2.30 pm. The event will include

plenty of opportunities for networking as well as

a delicious lunch.

Programme

MTMinsights events

Places at this event are £75 (inc VAT) per

delegate and can be booked online at

www.mtmconsulting.co.uk/mtminsights or by

calling (01502) 722787.

10.30 Arrival and Registration

10.45 Paul Scott (P5 Concepts) – When marketing your school

do not forget your key marketing tool – TEACHING STAFF CAN

DETERMINE POSITIVE “WORD OF MOUTH”

♦ “A school’s staff and pupils are its most valuable marketing

tool.”

♦ “Internal marketing is critical to pupil retention and securing

the future of the school.”

♦ “When ALL staff sign up to the school ethos and work to

strengthen that message, the school thrives.” This creates a

POSITIVE PERCEPTION.

11.45 Kirsty Hassan (Director of Recruitment and Marketing at

Colston’s School in Bristol) – The Colston’s Approach

♦ What is school branding?

♦ Why does it matter?

♦ What is involved in re-branding your school?

12.30 Lunch

13.30 Emma Leech (Director of Marketing and Advancement,

Loughborough University) – Marketing Lessons From a

University

This session will look at some of the drivers behind developing a

successful marketing strategy for your school. From brand,

profile, reputation and PR strategy to social media, content

marketing, conversion work, events and outreach, the session

will explore current trends in youth marketing more broadly,

including what works and what doesn’t, what channels you

should be thinking about, the power of peer recommendation

and how to work your budget until it drops – however large or

small it may be.

Tuesday 7th June 2016 – Sales

& Customer Service Tips for

School Marketeers

DIY catchment mapping – what’s the

limitations?

With marketing budgets squeezed ever tighter, the more you

can do yourself, the better. At MTM, we are supporting more

marketeers in building and using their own DIY methods of

measuring the return on the investment from their marketing

spend.

The current school marketing revolution is driving an increase

in data requirements. Schools now take a more commercial

approach to their marketing activities. All spend has to be

justifiable and justified. One area we increasingly help with is

DIY mapping of current pupil catchments. Knowing where

your pupils come from and whether there are any holes in

your catchment is the first step to understanding recruitment

behaviour, and from there you can build on this knowledge

and implement other marketing techniques to drive new

enquiries.

When you know where your “buyers” are coming from (or

not), the following questions start to emerge:

What are the travel times from the “holes”? Just because they

look relatively close, are they accessible? Online journey

finders are a good start here. Ask the site to give you directions

from a place name to your school as a guide to the realistic

travel times. It could be that the area is close as the crow flies,

but is relatively inaccessible. Draw these travel times on your

map.

Where are your competitors? We typically find a high

proportion of day pupils travel less than 10 minutes to their

school, so identifying the locations of your competitors will help

you to identify another reason for reduced recruitment. You

can even run some journey times from key areas in the

catchment to your competitors to draw catchments around

them.

Is there any evidence of the catchment contraction? Overlay

your past and future pupils. Have the holes in the catchment

always been there?

Unfortunately, there are some things that DIY mapping will

just never do. The knowledge that ten pupils are coming from

a postcode sector doesn’t really tell you how well you have

penetrated the market overall. What is the potential market

within that sector? If there are only ten children in families who

are realistically able to afford your fees, then it may not be

worth investing any further effort. However, if there are actually

100 target pupils, then further investment is likely to prove fruitful.

MTM’s Market and Catchment Intelligence is designed to

do all this and much more. We not only map the locations

and travel times of your current, past and future pupils, we can

also tell you over 650 variables on their lifestyle habits – where

they shop, what they watch on telly, how much they spend

on credit cards, etc. This provides detail on the types of parents

you serve, clues on how to engage with them, and, crucially,

how to attract more families like them. We know the lifestyles

of all families in the UK and their ages, allowing us to tell you

where to find more families who are most likely to be

independent school buyers, and who have children of your

target ages. Our map packs provide clear and accessible

data, and we can even provide A0-size posters. A full service

mapping solution.

T: 01502 722787 E: [email protected]



06


Academisation – threat or opportunity?

These complexities will not necessarily matter if the

perception takes hold among parents that academies

have raised standards overall, something that

government publicity may well boost.

The potential for greater pressure on independent

schools is therefore strong, particularly if this programme

does improve on the figures outlined above and

translate into unequivocally better overall state-sector

academic performance and results as intended. The

fees question will only become even more prominent as

a result, and independent schools will have to find other

ways of justifying a paid-for education. Ensuring

consistently good academic results, as well as new USPs

and ways of marketing themselves, will be essential.

But it could also be an opportunity. The Education

Secretary has made it clear that the academisation

programme will rely on pooled teaching excellence

and institutional flexibility and networking to help raise

standards. The independent sector could have a role to

play in all this in a similar way to the ways in which many

independent schools already reach out to the local

community and state sector to help justify their

charitable status.

It has to be said here that academies are clearly still

controversial, with some in the education sector raising

sceptical voices about both them and whether

adopting an academy is necessarily an effective way

for independent schools to prove their charitable status.

As a result, both the progress of this programme and

attempts to improve links between the private and state

sectors may well be resisted, often from unexpected

quarters.

Nevertheless, the most radical shake up the education

system since the 1960s appears to be on the way, with

all this may mean for the independent sector. There is

no reason why independent schools cannot adjust to

these new circumstances as they have done to the

previous upheavals in the state sector, which, it must be

remembered, were also meant to raise standards.

O ne of the more memorable parts of the

last Budget was the announcement by

the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 16th

March of the plan to convert every remaining

state-sector school in England that has not

already done so into an academy by 2020 or

for them to at least to have a plan in place to

do so by 2022.

Four thousand state schools have already converted

to academy status, but this plan will substantially extend

this to the remaining 15,000 or so schools currently under

local authority control.

So what could this mean for the independent sector?

One thing is certain: a determined programme to raise

standards across the board in the state sector over the

next five years and onwards. Given that good

academics are one of the most important selling points

for independent schools, this represents a potential

threat.

Comparison of GCSE and A-level attainment data for

2010 with those for 2015 shows that standards at

academies have clearly improved over this period, with

the average percentage of academy pupils achieving

five or more GCSE grade A*–C or equivalents (including

English and mathematics) rising from 44% in 2010 to 57%

in 2015, and the average point score per full-time

equivalent A-level student at academies increasing

from 623.6 to 735.1. Although this is impressive, some

caution is necessary as this was also a period when the

numbers of academies grew strongly (from 266 to 1,983

recorded as offering GCSES, and from 218 to 1,381

offering A-levels in this period), which has the potential

to distort the figures, particularly if many of the schools

converting were comparatively strong performers to

begin with.

To try and counter this, schools that had converted to

academy status between 2010 and 2015 were also

looked at and their average scores in that year were

compared with their average in 2010 before they had

converted to see if academisation has in fact had any

effect. The figures do not suggest unambiguous success

– the average percentage of pupils at these schools

who attained five or more GCSE grade A*–C or

equivalents (including English and mathematics)

remained the same at 62% in both 2010 and 2015, while

the average point score per full-time equivalent A-level

student actually declined slightly from 767.1 to 763.8.

Clearly, the impact of academies is more complicated

than it might at first appear, but this does not mean the

independent sector can afford to be complacent.

DOMINIC KNIGHT, Senior

Researcher, considers the

implications of the recent

announcement by the

government to make all state

schools academies by 2022.



If you want to find out about how we can help you

plan to deal with any potential issues, email:

[email protected]

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