Archive for January 2009

Guaranteed coverage in educational journal with school mailings

22/01/2009 by Tony Attwood.


In a unique development, when you next do a solo or shared mailing, Hamilton House will not only send out your mailing as requested, our Public Relations division will also take your advert, turn it into a news item, and distribute it as a press release to educational magazines and the national media.

 

And we’ll do all that at no extra cost.

 

What’s more because of a unique arrangement with one particular publication, (Educational Management News) we guarantee that as long as you target one of the areas EMN covers you’ll get an article in that publication.

 

What’s more, once your press release is prepared, we’ll let you have a copy so that you can send it on to other publications where you have a contact, and to your local media.  

 

We’ll also supply you with a free copy of “Making the most of Educational PR”, an invaluable analysis on how to get coverage in the educational press on a regular basis prepared by the Hamilton House PR Agency.

 

These free offers apply to solo and shared mailings where the total number of schools mailed is 3500 or more. 

 

Education Management News:  Because of the nature of its coverage we can only guarantee coverage in Education Management News if your advertisement fits into one of the following areas: administration, behaviour & discipline, careers, deputy head, drama, dyslexia, dyscalculia, English, fundraising, headteacher, history, ICT, literacy, marketing/PR for schools, maths, music, numeracy, PSHE, special needs, sixth form, visits & school trips.   Also we can only place one piece in the publication per company per term.   This does not mean that topics in other areas won’t be carried by EMN, but we are unable to guarantee coverage.   We can however still produce the press release, send it out to appropriate magazines etc, and supply you with a copy.

 

Finally, here’s a couple of extra bonuses.   If you have journalists or publications with whom you have a particular relationship you’ll be able to send the press release to them yourself (in addition to all the copies we send out).  And you’ll also get a free one-year listing on the School Procurement web site (www.top5.org.uk) which is used increasingly by teachers to locate possible suppliers of products and services.

 

For more on shared mailings please visit www.shared.org.uk

For more on solo mailings to schools please visit http://www.hamilton-house.com/gateways/education%20mailing%20lists.html

 

Or, with any enquiries please call 01536 399 000 or email Sales@hamilton-house.com 

   

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School results suggest opportunities

15/01/2009 by Tony Attwood.

Results from this year’s league tables show that dividing schools into academic groups when mailing is a good idea.

At the top end of the charts there are the schools where all pupils are getting 9 or 10 GCSE passes between A* and C.  Talking to them about improving GCSE grades is pointless.   At the other end, the situation is serious, but those schools are often more worried about behavioural issues than academic.  It is, after all, very difficult (although of course no impossible) to improve exam grades if there are severe behavioural issues in the school.

Today’s figures however go further, and show that half of the pupils taking GCSE do not get a basic qualification in science and 70% do not have at least a C-grade language GCSE, figures released today show.

The figures also show that at the bottom of the league 10% of schools have failed to meet the targets set down by the government in terms of basic academic success as measured through exams: that 30% of pupils should get 5 or more A* to Cs by last year.

This is the first year the government is showing how many pupils got a C or above in a language GCSE or a double science qualification (worth two GCSEs).  The figures suggest deep specialism going on within schools where A-level entries in chemistry, biology and maths have risen.  It may be that pupils who are interested in science are groomed for the subject from an early age, while others are left behind.

60% of pupils met the target of getting at least five good GCSEs.  At A level there is a further narrowing of the gap between pupils in poorer and wealthier regions.   The gap between girls’ and boys’ results at GCSE and A-level has widened and the huge differences between independent and local authority schools, and between comprehensives and selective local authority schools.

It is certainly worth looking at marketing science and languages programmes to schools on the basis that they will raise GCSE grades.

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An excellent time to sell to schools

13/01/2009 by Tony Attwood.


It is never easy to get a complete picture, but as far as can be seen a significant number of schools have held back on their purchasing during the last two terms.  As a result of this, and changes in the financial regulations controlling schools, there should be a lot of buying between now and Easter.

 

There is a combination of reasons as to why this has happened.  First, e-learning credits came to an end in August 2008, so there was a lot of focus on spending those in the summer term.  Also the year 07/08 had seen the enforced using up of previously held back money, which had resulted in a lot of expenditure prior to April 2008.

 

In the autumn term 2008 there was further cautiousness, as schools got used to the new financial system. 

 

But this term brings us to the end of the school’s year, and for the first time around 95% of the school’s budget must be spent by April 5.  Hence the expectation that sales will be interesting, to say the least.

 

(If you would like to know more on this topic, there are further details in the School Expenditure Report.   There’s a link at the end of this email).

 

At the same time we have interesting changes afoot in terms of methods of advertising.  By and large the number of campaigns aimed at schools has remained static for the last few years.  But the means of sending the messages to schools has changed.

 

Many of the campaigns that were running through solo and shared mailing have gone across to email – some companies emailing schools, and some emailing teachers direct.   This has benefited everyone because it has made it more likely that each message will get through and be read.

 

If we take shared mailings for example, the number of items per pack is now smaller than three years ago, and this is always good news for response rates.  Likewise the amount of solo mail reaching each teacher is considerably reduced.

 

If you would like to read the Schools Expenditure Report (which includes the annual “When to Mail Schools” guide) please go to www.hamilton-house.com/free%20reports/When.pdf

 

If you would like to know more about our shared mailing services please do take a look at www.shared.org.uk - or call myself or my colleagues on 01536 399 000.  

 

One more thing: I’ll be at the BETT Show this Friday, so if you’d like to have a chat there do give me a call on 01536 399 000 and we’ll fix up a time. 

 

Tony Attwood

 

PS: Final option – Hamilton House runs a daily news service for companies interested in knowing exactly the government is doing in relation to schools, and how it affects school purchases.  If you would like to receive these emails just send an email to education-marketing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com    It is completely free, and you can of course unsubscribe at any time.

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School problems predict life problems

09/01/2009 by Tony Attwood.

A survey of the health and social problems of over 3500 adults has suggested that teenage pupils who have problems at school are more likely to experience personal problems in their adult life - including divorce and depression.   The behaviour at 13 to 15 is seen as a predictor of behaviour aged 36 to 53.

The pupils in question mostly left with no qualifications.  Thus in some regards it is not surprising that they might have financial concerns later.  But the report in the British Medical Journal shows that the results hold true even when other factors are taken into account, such as sex, class, and ability..

According to official figures, behaviour problems affect around 7% of 9 to 15 year olds, and these have been increasing in the past 30 years, year on year.

Of course the figures don’t in any way say that all teenagers with behaviour issues are likely to get problems later in life, but the figures are indicators.

I was told in conversation by a colleague who usually knows what’s what that the rate of psychiatric issues within the popuations of the English speaking world is much higher than in the rest of the Western world.   The reason, he said, was our determination to follow the materialistic, success at all cost route.  If I can find the source of these comments, I’ll pass them on, because it does seem to me it adds to this debate - for there is (at least to my mind) always a social element as well as a psychological element.

This message also appeared on the Education Marketing news service.  You can join this free of charge and receive news (but no adverts) on selling into schools five days a week.  Just send an email to education-marketing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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Safer School Partnerships

08/01/2009 by Tony Attwood.


Schools, police and local agencies are being encouraged by the government to sign up to Safer School Partnerships and work more closely together to keep schools and pupils safe and reduce anti-social behaviour.

 

As part of the Youth Crime Action Plan, published in July this year, the Government committed to making Safer School Partnerships (SSP’s) the norm rather than the exception in schools. To give local areas help and information about safer school partnerships the Department will be holding a series of conferences which continue in the New Year. So far 5000 schools have signed up to SSP.  

 

For Safer School Partnerships to work and successfully embed in schools the government is trying to get everyone to be signed up to them – Government, Police, Local Authority children’s services, school heads and the school governing bodies all working in partnership.

 

Safer School Partnerships are a structured way for schools and police to work with one another, and with other local partners. They may involve having a police officer based in a school or police working with groups of schools. They help engage young people, keep schools safe and reduce anti-social behaviour in the wider community. They also help to nurture a better relationship between young people and the police.

 

Evaluations have shown that SSP’s are proving effective in improving behaviour and attendance, and they can really help reduce the risk of pupils getting drawn into crime or antisocial behaviour either as perpetrators or victims. There are many benefits to SSP’s they can:

 

• Help improve behaviour of pupils on journeys to and from school and around the school site, thereby making everyone in the school community feel safe;

• build positive relationships between pupils and the police;

• improve community relations generally within the school and wider local community;

• and support the school in preventing and tackling bullying, racism including violent extremism, weapons, illegal drugs and gang culture.

 

The government claims that SSPs encourage greater confidence in the police by making them more visible and accessible and provide young people with a valuable role model.

 

Delegates attending the conferences include head teachers, police, local authority staff, members of the youth workforce, key third sector organisations such as Children’s Society and National Children’s Bureau; and trade union representatives. As well as promoting the benefits of SSP’s, the conferences provide delegates with an opportunity to share experiences of work to keep children safe whilst at school and identify what specific strategies may be needed to address any local concerns around gangs or knife crime for example.

 

The conferences will highlight that the SSP model is a flexible one with local areas deciding what works best for their circumstances. It will also highlight the benefits of SSP’s and provide support so that schools can see positive results in areas such as:

 

o young people and police officers engaging in a positive atmosphere
o disengaged young people being identified and supported
o early crime prevention
o improved behaviour and attendance
o better control of pupils travelling to and from school
o improved community relations
o better information sharing between partners

 

Conference venues

14 January, Bristol, Marriott City Centre.
21 January, Manchester, Midland Hotel.
28 January, Newcastle, Marriott Gosforth Park.
6 February, Leeds, Royal Armouries.
10 February, Birmingham, St John’s Hotel, Solihull.

 

Note: messages like this are not only sent to the Education Marketing news group, to give you background on what schools are doing, they also reach teachers through Education Management News.  Although most items on Education Management News are news items, as the title implies, we do also run some advertisements - and because the readership is made up totally of subscribers, the response rate can be high.  There is more about this service at http://www.yesmail.org.uk/emailteachersdirect.html

 

Tony Attwood

 

Hamilton House Mailings plc reg number 2444392 VAT 354907535GB.  Phone 01536 399 000.

 

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