The anticipation of “the call” from Ofsted is always felt by schools when an inspection is due. While many will say they do not live to serve Ofsted, it is still a necessary evil they cannot avoid and all want their inspections to go well.
Whatever the outcome, I work closely with my schools as soon as the inspection team has left the building. I get sight of the draft report as soon as it is received and, together with the headteacher, I put together an article highlighting the very best of the report, along with a quote from my client. We get a photo taken of the head with students and then we wait until publication date when I can share the news with my press contacts immediately.
News reporters who do their jobs well will have news alerts set up, so the moment a school in their patch has an Ofsted report published, they will be notified.
With the way I work, it means even if the press get notification the moment the report goes live, we are ready to hand them an already-written news article many will simply cut and paste onto their pages. Today’s press teams do not have the manpower or time to do much more than that – so, it means we take control of the coverage we receive.
Take a look at just some of the publicity I have secured for my clients when Ofsted came knocking…
Mayflower High School – Echo
Mayflower High School – Echo
Mayflower High School – EssexLive
Hogarth Primary School – InYourArea
Hogarth Primary School – Romford Recorder
Mayflower High School – InYourArea
Discovery Educational Trust – InYourArea
Hogarth Primary School – Brentwood Gazette
Hogarth Primary School – Romford Recorder
Larchwood Primary School – Brentwood Gazette
Larchwood Primary School – Romford Recorder
Mayflower High School – EssexLive
Mayflower High School – Brentwood Gazette
St Martin’s School – Brentwood Gazette
St Martin’s School – Romford Recorder
But, what if your inspection doesn’t go well? What if you have a negative experience and it results in a poor Ofsted report?
Whether it is a fair representation of what is going on in your school or not, it is something that your public will use to judge you by. It’s the snapshot of your school prospective parents will use when deciding whether they want to pick you for their child.
The instinct is, of course, to keep quiet about the report and hope the press do not get wind of it. To refuse to speak to the press as and when they do pick up the report and want to write about it.
But, and this may feel uncomfortable, my advice – having been a news journalist for 30 years – is to own it. To speak up. To be honest. To appeal to the human nature of your community. Otherwise, the press still has every right to tell its readers about your Ofsted report, whether you choose to add your comment or not, and that will result in a wholly bad piece of press for you.
With my advice, you are certain to get much more positive news coverage, even with the most negative of Ofsted reports.
When an extremely negative Ofsted experience left one of my clients devastated, they trusted my expert guidance – and they spoke out. It meant the resulting press not only covered the negative comments in the report, but just as much coverage of my client’s side of the story. And, by playing ball with the press, it means they are more likely to give wonderfully positive coverage when the tide turns for you…
Chase High School – InYourArea
Chase High School – InYourArea
If you are due a visit from Ofsted soon, get in touch on words@kellylouiseclark.co.uk to discuss how my PR services can work for you.
