PR and Comms.

Are you creating a new partnership, taking a fresh new educational direction, or purchasing another school?

Whatever change you are managing - however big or small - we can help you deliver the news in the most effective way with a PR, marketing and comms package.

We work with you to…

  • create a Master Information Document

  • understand the pros and cons of the situation for all stakeholders 

  • write the communications plan down to the minute on launch day

  • write the FAQs

  • create your story and write all comms content

  • design the visual messaging and promotional materials 

  • deliver the news and answer questions with confidence

  • "The best thing about Carolyn and Katie is that they are very good listeners, calm and respond VERY QUICKLY when the situation demands it! They also remain patient even when faced with the ‘8th version’ change!"

  • "Carolyn and Katie have been highly responsive, unflappable, and happy to talk through questions fully. Throughout our collaboration, I have been very happy with the service they provided."

  • "RBC were fantastic in helping us to get underway with our planning and set us off on the right foot. We thoroughly enjoyed our workshop session and were so grateful for your wise and thoughtful input to our particular situation. "

Independent schools face a range of challenges, so it’s vital that you maintain regular and honest communications with your current, future and past stakeholders to ensure they have trust in you, whatever the future holds.

If major change for your school is on the horizon, then we can steer you through the whole process: from sensitively repositioning your school, writing the communications plan and the messaging all the way through to launch and afterwards.

CASE STUDIES

For obvious reasons, names and details have been omitted to protect the identities of our clients.

Girls’ school merges with boys’ school from same group, but with entirely different cultures

CHALLENGES

  • Change of management midway through process

  • Different school cultures

  • Disposal of much-loved heritage building

  • Recent negative reports

  • Recent change communication disaster

  • Embedded staff and alumni resistant to change

  • Complex overlap in stakeholder groups

  • Lack of confidentiality

DELIVERABLES

  • Master Information Document

  • Rationale and narrative for change

  • Identity development to accommodate change of structure

  • Identification of key stakeholder groups and sensitivities for each

  • Schedule for announcement

  • Briefing and management of in-house comms team in lead-up, including schedules of work

  • Communication to stakeholders: letters and launch presentation materials

  • Support for Principal and Chair of Governors throughout the process and afterwards

Co-ed prep merges with girls’ prep and extends the age range to 16

CHALLENGES

  • Parents invested in single sex education

  • Structural change for staff

  • Site and transport changes

  • Head of one school leaving imminently

  • Communicate as partnership, not takeover

DELIVERABLES

  • Master Information Document

  • Rationale and narrative for change

  • Identity design for new school

  • Identification of key stakeholder groups and sensitivities for each

  • Schedule for announcement

  • Dealing with potentially harmful local press interest

  • Briefing and management of in-house comms team in lead-up with schedules of work

  • Communication to stakeholders: letters and launch presentation materials

  • Support for Heads and Chair of Governors throughout the process

Girls’ school decides to drop Earlier Years provision to start at Year 3

CHALLENGES

  • Job losses

  • Change of culture without Early Years

DELIVERABLES

  • Master Information Document

  • Rationale and narrative for change

  • Identification of key stakeholders groups and sensitivities for each

  • Schedule for announcement

  • Communication to staff: job losses and structural change

  • Communication to parents, local schools and press

  • Presentation of proposed estate visuals

Schools’ Trust launches, bringing a boys’ prep into a group of girls’ schools

CHALLENGES

  • Single-sex prep schools becoming co-ed in Early Years

  • Parents having bought one type of school but getting another

  • Sense of the boys’ school potentially being perceived as the underdog

DELIVERABLES

  • Master Information Document

  • Rationale and narrative for the partnership

  • Identification of key stakeholders groups and sensitivities for each

  • Schedule for announcement

  • Communication to stakeholders: letters and launch presentation materials

Mixed co-ed day and boarding all-through school seeks change of culture and identity to shed past and become future-facing

CHALLENGES

  • Embedded staff, resistant to change

DELIVERABLES

  • Master Information Document

  • Rationale and narrative for the change

  • SLT workshops to establish School’s core message

  • New identity design to embody the change

  • Translating brand strategy into marketing

  • Schedule for announcement

  • Communication to all staff members: rationale and strategy for identity and culture change

  • Presentations to Governors, SLT and staff

Let’s chat.