The countdown to the 2020 new school year has begun – are you ready?

Preparing for the new school year can be a challenge at the best of times. As a parent, there’s a new uniform, new equipment and possibly a new school to consider… it can all be fairly daunting! As Head, a Teacher or school proprietor, it is a completely different kettle of fish, but with previous experience of making these preparations, it is manageable and largely second nature. But, what about now? What about when we are in the midst of a largely unprecedented moment of national chaos?

Flexibility is key

Adaptability is what will separate those that will succeed to those that will fail. To be adaptable though you need to have an understanding and awareness of where you are currently, which will enable you to push forward and hopefully use those foundations to grow further.

Hopefully, come September your classes will be full of eager children who are keen to see their friends and rekindle their relationships in a setting which they are eminently comfortable with, but; and of course, there is always a but! We do not know if that will be possible, so how prepared are you for that outcome? What do you have in place to support fewer children or even no children in classrooms?

Understanding parental perceptions

Do you understand what your current families and local potential families are looking for when it comes to online learning and support?

In our recent survey on this very subject – over 60% of non-fee paying parents said they would consider sending their child to a fee-paying school based on their educational experiences during the lockdown period.

Download the full research paper here.

Get prepared now!

In order to hit the ground running in September, your pre-term checks in a COVID-19 era should include:

• What do numbers look like in each year group?
• What is the retention rate?
• What is the conversion rate of new starters?
• What does the cost per pupil look like compared to last year?
• What contingency plans do we have in place for this year?
• How will we communicate with our parents in extreme cases?
• Thinking ahead to next year, how do numbers look and where do we need to focus?

There is a clear opportunity to be taken now, and MTM would be delighted to discuss with you how you are able to grasp it, please get in touch today for a chat 1502 722787 or email us at office@mtmconsulting.co.uk. 

By Daniel Cohen, Head of Business Development