When Broadoak School in Weston-Super-Mare received a tricky Ofsted verdict – unconnected to its dynamic new head teacher – they had the task of trying to manage the inevitable press attention.
The school had already embarked upon a new vision and this was acknowledged by the inspectors but the fact remained that the inspection report was negative and with competition in the town to attract new students, there was fear that it could be damaging,
Local Voice spoke to the head teacher and chair of governors and developed a plan.
Our first piece of advice was to tackle the problem head on. Any attempt to hope it would go away would give control to the media.
Instead, we informed them about the report and invited the reporter to see the head teacher.
We also prepared a press release which, while acknowledging the report, focused on the vision for the future.
The reporter visited the school and was given a tour and it was clear that we were trying to establish a good future relationship.
The result?
The final press report was about 80% on the vision for the future and the negativity was not the focus.
Read it here
As a result, the school’s image was not impaired and if anything was enhanced in the eyes of the community
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