First impressions are hugely important. Get these wrong and parents won’t bother attending your school open day.
An unfriendly response to enquiries will be enough to put people off before they’ve even attended a school open day. Admin failures will sow doubts regarding your competence.
A website that lacks basic information about the head, catchment areas, special needs, open days and so on will leave a further poor impression.
Make sure it’s up to date. It shouldn’t display leavers’ destinations and school results from three years ago, and nine-month-old newsletters.
School open day
Choosing a school is an immense decision. Parents need to see that your school takes this seriously. This means you, the headteacher, taking a big part in the day.
As one parent told us, “For group tours during a school open day it works best when the head takes on the job. It’s good to meet the person running the show and gives a great first impression.”
You need to convey the ethos of your school and what makes you different. Tours given by receptionists or pupils on their own can leave parents cold. They may feel that they haven’t had their questions answered.
Parents don’t want tours and school open days to be too formal, but they do want to feel their child will be in safe hands.
They prefer an organised, structured day that affords a chance to see the school operating as usual, and plenty of time to quiz key staff.
An unimpressed parent once told us, “One school open day involved parents wandering around as they pleased. Staff were dotted around to chat to, but they were cornered by a few so most people didn’t get to speak to anyone.
“It was chaos. Everyone was blocking corridors and classrooms and nobody knew where they were going.”
Include the children
Parents like it when schools take an interest in their child, so remember to address them as well as their parent. Laying on activities for kids while parents have a Q&A session with the head and EY teacher is a winner on school open days.
Tidy up. Make the place presentable. General chaos and grubbiness will be a strike against you, and parents despise litter. Don’t make it too sterile, however. Creative mess or muddy feet from outdoor activities is charming.
Along similar lines, put up pictures of school trips and exciting extra-curricular events, and display pupils’ work on your walls, in exercise books and on computers.
However, be careful to not just display your star pupils’ work. This might suggest that the others never get a look in.
Melanie Sanderson is managing editor at the Good Schools Guide. Follow on X at @goodschoolsuk
