When building a school websites, it’s essential to consider how design and usability play a key role in how parents and pupils engage with your school.

The best London School websites do more than just inform. They capture the school’s character, make navigation effortless, and bring daily life to the screen.

In this article we look at five outstanding examples of school websites in London that combine functionality, creativity, and a genuine sense of community.

Dair House School & Nursery

https://www.dairhouseschool.co.uk/

The Aldgate School

https://www.thealdgateschool.org/home

Mulgrave Primary School

London Fields Primary School’s website perfectly reflects the energy and community spirit of this Hackney school. It keeps parents connected through regularly updated news and events, making it easy to stay informed about what’s happening.

With everything in one place, the site acts as a central hub for school life.

https://www.mulgraveprimary.co.uk/

London Fields Primary School

https://www.londonfields.hackney.sch.uk/

Fryent Primary School

Fryent Primary School’s website strikes the perfect balance between traditional design and bright, welcoming visuals. As one of London’s larger primary schools, the site has been built with accessibility and ease of use in mind.

Its strong mobile presence ensures parents can quickly find key information, while intuitive quick links make it simple to access essentials like term dates, admissions, and curriculum details. The addition of safeguarding and Ofsted-focused links also makes the website highly functional for inspectors, allowing all key documents to be found in just one click.

https://www.fryent.brent.sch.uk/

London School Website Designs

Each of these London school websites we have highlighted show how thoughtful design and clear navigation can make a real difference.

From bold visuals to good user experiences, they not only inform but also reflect the personality and values of the schools themselves.

If you’re looking to improve your schools website or increase admissions, get in touch with us to discuss our school website design and marketing services.

Back in March 2025, Bridget Phillipson announced the introduction of ‘digital school profiles’. Something the government pledged would be a step towards making schools much more accountable for their actions. The aim of digital school profiles is to improve transparency in schools. Partly, to force schools to kick themselves up a notch in performance and, partly, to allow parents more information about what schools are available to their children and how those schools are performing.

Digital school profiles are nothing new, with Ofsted offering profiles online for schools, and various ‘ranking’ websites providing more information. However, the whole idea of the system devised by the government is to make the system much more centralised and, hopefully, better. Let’s see how it’ll work.

What are Digital School Profiles?

At the moment, it is not yet known what digital school profiles will entail. However, the basic proposal suggests that digital school profiles will aim to collate the information that, so far, has been spread across multiple resources. So, exam results, attendance, Ofsted reports, and any other important facts that a person would need to know about the school.

The idea is that parents won’t need to hop around multiple sites to find information about schools. They’ll find proper, up-to-date, information on a single website. The information should also be much clearer. This sort of accessibility will be fantastic as it will give parents useful information about how schools are performing.

Why is the Government Making the Change?

According to Bridget Phillipson, the purpose of digital school profiles is to offer a ‘significantly strengthened school accountability system’ coupled with raising ‘the bar on what we expect from schools’. Much of the idea of digital school profiles has been born from the amount of pressure the government has been facing to improve the state of schools in the country.

The government wants to make it easier to see which schools are performing well, and which ones leave a lot to be desired. By offering colour-coded judgements across multiple areas, schools (and parents) can easily see where a school is strong and where it is weak. This will, hopefully, signal a move away from single headline grades which can make determining where issues lie tough.

What This Means for Parents?

The main benefit for parents is that it becomes a whole lot easier to compare schools. Information will be much easier to read, and compare. This can be useful for parents who are fortunate enough to live in an area where their children can attend two different schools.

As we said, the data will also be clearer. There’ll be no bouncing between websites, trying to analyse the reams of information available to come up with a comparison. The comparison will be very easy to decipher.

It should also be much easier for parents to determine what the strengths and weaknesses of each school is. No need to read though loads of complicated Ofsted reports (although, they’ll still be available).

What This Means for Schools

Schools will have much better visibility of their performance data. This can be good or bad, depending on the school. Schools will just know information about how they are performing will be much, much easier to access.

Schools will have to work even harder to ensure that their websites are up to date and Ofsted-compliant. With the introduction of digital profiles, there is a much greater focus on ensuring that schools share the right information. All data on the school’s website needs to be clear and match any official profile.

How School Jotter Can Help

Here at School Jotter, we know just how much schools can have on their plate. While digital profiles are good news for education, it can be tough to stay compliant with the new rules. This is especially true in the early days. This is why School Jotter wants to help.

We can offer Ofsted-complaint website management, ensuring your school stays on top of ever-changing digital profile rules. We can ensure that all key performance information is displayed in parent-friendly formats. We can also ensure that parental engagement with your school’s website is far higher too.

Our team can help keep the link between your school website and Department for Education profile seamless, ensuring that parents can quickly find all the information they need.

Digital School Profiles Explained

New digital school profiles benefit parents in allowing them to have far greater clarity about how schools are performing, ensuring fairer comparisons between schools. Schools will have all their data front and centre, giving them far greater accountability. Hopefully allowing them to show off their achievements, or drive themselves to improve.

Digital school profiles are new, and schools need to stay on top of things to ensure they stay compliant with new rules. This means having a quality website designed. Get your website Ofsted-ready with School Jotter, ensuring that you spend less time keeping your school’s website complaint, and more time focusing on improving education in your school.

AI is already in schools. It happened so fast. Just a couple of years after sophisticated AI models launched, they are now being used extensively in education. Both teachers and students are using AI. Governments are working hard to try and regulate the use of AI in classrooms and beyond. 

AI is huge and, to be honest, it is not going anywhere. It isn’t a bubble just waiting to pop. AI will be used extensively in classrooms from here on out.

The question is whether AI is helping or harming education. Well, it is both. Let’s explain.

The New Reality of AI in Education

As we said, AI is here to stay. It is the reality in education, for better or worse. It is being used in slightly different ways.

Teachers, for instance, are utilising AI for planning lessons, producing reports, and doing various admin tasks. The sort of things that AI should be used for i.e., reducing workload.

Pupils are using AI-powered apps to study, chatbots to find out answers to questions, etc.

Unfortunately, some students are using AI to produce work. Essentially, this saves them a lot of time, but the student learns nothing. This is something that teachers will need to adapt to going forward.

Governments around the world are also trying to rewrite laws to accommodate AI. In terms of education, there needs to be safeguards in place. This means students’ data is protected, and they won’t be exposed to the ‘bad side’ of AI.

Safeguarding Comes First

Since AI is going nowhere, schools need to embrace it. This means choosing the right AI options to use. For schools, safeguarding should be at the forefront of their mind when choosing AI tools. In fact, safeguarding is a priority for schools, AI or not.

Tools must meet safety and privacy baselines. This means students must have their data properly protected by the AI tool. The tool needs to be safe to use. Ideally, it would be designed with school usage in mind.

We know that there are a few major AI tools out there. Names you’ve probably heard of. However, don’t choose an AI tool based on the name alone. Inspectors don’t care about the name. They care about how the tool works based on safeguarding and safety outcomes.

The Three Pillars of Responsible AI in Schools

There are three rules we believe schools should stick to in order to get the most out of their AI usage.

Time

AI should be a tool to save a teacher’s time. If it is just increasing their workload, then AI tools are not useful for that particular job.

Schools should always be monitoring the efficiency of AI tools and usage. This will be the key KPI.

Safety

Student data should be safe. It should be protected. Tools should be transparent, and there should be accountability for the tool. Accountability comes from the tool creator in the first place, as well as schools that have a responsibility to protect their students.

Untested AI tools should not be used in classrooms. Untested AI tools may not protect student data, and some may feed up information that students shouldn’t be seeing.

Humans on the Hook

AI is a useful tool, but it should only be used as support. Even if teachers are using AI to make decisions, the teacher should always be responsible for the decision. AI should be a supporting tool, not the full decision maker. Remember, as sophisticated as AI tools are, they can’t replace human judgment.

AI Risks Schools Can’t Ignore

Of course, there are a few risks to using AI. Risks that can impact a school.

Deepfakes and Misinformation

AI can create fake images, videos, and text. This can mislead students and teachers. Misinformation is a big ‘no’ in the world of education. The problem is that as AI gets better, it becomes harder and harder to discern what is real and what is not.

Biased or Unreliable Outputs

AI systems often have in-built bias. This may be due to the way in which the AI was programmed or the training data that the model used. This can result in misleading and sometimes inaccurate, information.

Over-Reliance on Technology

When people, particularly students, overuse AI they may forget ‘core’ skills. For example, using AI to solve problems won’t allow children to develop their problem-solving or critical thinking skills. Using AI for research can reduce research skills.

Academic Integrity at Risk

Students can generate an entire essay in seconds with AI. This can mean students can deliver something passable without really understanding what they have produced. This results in schools having the challenge of trying to work with AI, while also ensuring that students are actually learning.

The Potential AI Benefits for Schools

AI can be incredibly beneficial to teachers, particularly on the time-saving front.

For example, AI can be used to reduce paperwork. It can also assist with feedback and marking of papers/tests. Although, we must stress that a teacher shouldn’t rely solely on AI. The teacher still takes full responsibility for any feedback.

Time saved means that there is more time left for teaching pupils. It means that students can receive a better education.

Striking the Right Balance

AI is a useful tool but despite what some people may tell you, AI is not perfect. It cannot do everything. It is useful for saving time and providing assistance in the classroom. However, you cannot believe the hype and believe that AI will do everything. Likewise, you also shouldn’t buy into the fear-mongering about AI. Yes. AI has issues. However, with the right know-how, many of these issues (e.g. misinformation) can be avoided.

As a school, if you’re looking to procure an AI system to use, don’t forget to ask the tough questions of the provider of the AI tool. Make sure that it offers good safeguarding. Make sure that it provides useful information, is easy to use, etc. A good AI provider will not be afraid to answer even the toughest questions.

Don’t just jump right into using an AI tool either. When a tool is selected, pilot it, track results, and evaluate how you have used it in the educational environment. Make sure that the tool works how you need it to work.

AI In Schools: Tool Or Trap?

AI is having an impact on education, but it shouldn’t completely transform education on its own. Some people are very fearful of how AI can be used in the classroom. It shouldn’t be used as a teaching tool, but it can be used to save a lot of time. Basically, it complements education, rather than replaces it.

Teachers can, and should, be supported by AI tools. However, the teacher should always be central to the process. This is because proper AI usage needs human oversight to ensure that it is being used properly, and that it is working effectively.

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about our school website design and school marketing services.

School Jotter has just released its latest frontend update for October 2025, bringing a number of exciting new features and improvements to the platform. Here are some of the highlights:

• Policy Alerts: Need to be reminded when your policy is up for renewal? Our New Policy Feature allows you to now set a date of when you need to be alerted to re-visit this policy. It also has the ability for you to select a policy and assign it to multiple schools within your Trust on the MAT Dashboard. This is a great tool to keep on to of your policies and to be reminded when they need updating in line with Ofsted Compliance. 

• Ofsted Detection: Within your Jotter 3 CMS System, you will now have the availability to turn on the new feature which can be found within the page information settings:
  
  
  
  • Within your page settings, click the three dots on the right side of the page.
  • You will then be able to turn on the Ofsted detection button for the relevant pages that you wish for this to be active on.
  • Click Save.
  • School Jotter will then email you when alerted of Ofsted activity

• Calendar Sync: If you are wanting to display all upcoming events on your calendar without having to manually add them on, you can now sync your website calendar with an external parent facing calendar to avoid duplicating your workload. 

• Ai Content Writer: Our easy-to-use School Website CMS now features AI. Create AI driven content within your website editor page to ensure your website is always kept up to date! School Jotter 3 keeps it fresh and compliant—automatically.
  
   

• Accessibility: You may have already seen a new dark blue icon inthe bottom right hand of your live website. This icon is our new accessibility feature! These enhancements allow people with visual impairments, motor impairments, or those who prefer keyboard access to:
  
  
  • Increase or decrease the size of text
  • Adjust line spacing / text spacing
  • Switch to a high contrast mode (for better readability)
  • Use keyboard (Tab, Arrow keys, Enter, etc.) to navigate menus, links, forms, instead of relying on a mouse
  • Access image descriptions via alt text with screen readers

Classrooms are now more diverse than ever. Despite this, many schools are not doing anywhere near enough to promote diversity and equality in the classroom. This is leading to increased bullying, and children being ill-equipped once they leave for the workplace. We want to change that.

We won’t be able to change everything about how diversity and equality are taught in the classroom. However, we can provide advice on how things can be made a little easier.

Why Promoting Diversity Matters in Education

Promoting diversity in schools leads every student to feel like they are valued and respected. They feel less like they are ‘different’, and just part of the group. Obviously, they know they may be different in terms of ethnicity, skin colour, gender, etc. but they won’t feel as if they are being excluded because of who they are as a person.

Promoting diversity will also increase empathy among students. Certain studies have shown that people’s issues with diversity often occurs much later in life, and by fostering an understanding of diversity early on, people are much more likely to continue in the correct way of thinking later on.

Teachers have often found that promoting diversity also helps to lower bullying, and even prepare people for the workplace where they will be working in diverse teams.

Encouraging Equality and Diversity in the Classrooms

While they are often intertwined, equality and diversity are different concepts.

Equality means offering fair treatment and opportunities for people. Access to the same resources and support. Basically, no child is left behind. Although, there is also the understanding some people may need a little extra help to get access to those opportunities.

Diversity looks at the differences between people, whether it is cultural, religious, skin colour, disabilities, etc. and celebrates them. Equality is about accepting differences between others, and being able to see things from the perspective of those who are different.

When diversity and equality are promoted in the classroom, the learning environment is better. People get access to the opportunities they need to thrive, while also knowing they won’t be held back by who they are as people. As we said, it will also encourage better communication and, hopefully, less bullying between class members.

Practical Ways to Promote Equality and Diversity

As we said, we can’t solve all diversity and equality issues in classrooms right here. However, we can give some key advice to teachers that can smooth the process out a little bit. Of course, you also need to be willing to promote the right environment in your classroom.

Create Inclusive Lesson Plans

Lesson plans should be much more inclusive. Look for teaching materials that represent multiple cultures, genders, and perspectives. Try to ensure everybody feels represented in that material. Modern teaching materials will be much easier to use here, with older materials very much a product of their time.

We are sure you’ll have no issues finding books that promote diversity, both in terms of stories and case studies.

Any content with stereotypes should be out. Older teaching materials are rife with it. Not harsh stereotypes, i.e. full-blown racist ones. Just ‘caricatures’ that make people feel excluded.

Encourage Open Discussions

We’ll be honest with you and say that children don’t always say the most ‘politically correct’ things. It happens, sadly. Mostly, it is because children lack a filter, and a real understanding of what they said is wrong. Some of the time, the comments are a product of the environment they grew up in. As a teacher, it is important that you facilitate open discussions about why what a child might have said was wrong.

Encourage discussions about differences between people. Answer questions people have, and try to quash some of the stereotypes that do arise.

During discussions, it is important that you teach children to value different opinions, no matter how opposed they are to them. Try to encourage people to see things from the perspective of another. We don’t all grow up in the same cultures, after all. Our beliefs are shaped by a lot of things.

Celebrate Cultural Awareness

Cultural awareness should be at the centrepiece of your teaching. For example, celebrate and discuss key cultural events throughout the year with children. This includes things like Diwali, Eid, Black History Month, and Ramadan. Base lessons around this and don’t be afraid to answer questions.

You likely have students from diverse backgrounds in your classroom, so encourage them to share any traditions or experiences, without judgement.

You may even want to develop displays in the classroom to celebrate the diversity of your class.

Challenge Bias and Stereotypes

You might not want to admit it, but we all carry unconscious bias. It is up to you to identify and correct those bias. We highly recommend that you regularly analyse the teaching materials and style you are using. You also might want to consider who you interact with most in the classroom, who is receiving the most praise, etc. It might be quite eye-opening e.g. you may be spending more time with the students who need less help to get them to the ‘next’ level. Many teachers do this. Some teachers keeps logs and journals to try to identify their biases over time.

It might also be worth talking with other teaching staff to discuss how they handle equality and diversity in their classrooms. Pooling resources works. Nobody can do everything alone.

Adapt Teaching for All Needs

As we said, equality is not about giving students equal access to the exact same resources. It is about ensuring that students get the help they need to be on a much more level playing field.

This will especially apparent in Special Educational Needs (SEN) where teaching styles may need to be adapted to a slower pace. There may also be a lot more encouragement on the strengths of the student rather than the weaknesses. There may also need to be far more personalised support.

English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners may also need teaching in different ways. For example, simpler language structures, more imagery that students can learn from. Encouraging group activities also works very well.

Basically, every child in that classroom needs to feel like they are valued and that you support their needs. Some people may need more help than others, but you never leave somebody by the wayside. You need to adapt your teaching methods.

Role of Teachers and Schools in Promoting Diversity

Children are often spending 8 hours per day at school, so it is a major part of their lives. This means teachers will play a key role in shaping a child’s views on diversity. Teachers need to be regularly trained to ensure they have the skills required.

Leadership will need to develop policies and commitments that teachers can follow, and parents/students can understand. These policies need to be adaptable as the needs of the school change, or as more learning about how best to offer equality happens.

We highly recommend schools regularly partner with local communities and schools to ensure they are offer proper diversity.

Measuring the Impact of Equality and Diversity in Schools

This will be an on-going process. It is essential to keep tabs on student engagement on wellbeing, especially those in marginalised groups. Although, of course, you don’t want the non-marginalised to fall through the cracks either. Everybody needs to feel respected.

Each year curriculums should be regularly reviewed for inclusivity. Any appropriate changes should be made.

Of course, you should also encourage student feedback. This way, you know exactly where changes need to be made.

Promoting Diversity in Education 101

Inclusivity in education is important, because it ensures everybody has the tools they need to thrive. It also ensures the classroom environment is fairer for everybody.

Promoting diversity leads to better education, less bullying and, later on, a smoother transition into the workplace.

Teachers can start promoting equality and diversity in the classroom today by fostering more open discussions, allowing those of different backgrounds to share who they are and, of course, a review of the curriculum to ensure it is more diverse.

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about our school website design and school marketing services.

1. Use a Pop-Up on Your Website (For Free)

2. Add a Parent Enquiry Form and Clear Call-to-Action

3. Offer a Digital and Printed Prospectus

4. Showcase What Makes Your School Special

5. Improve Your Google Presence

6. Give Out Party Bags on Open Days

7. Promote Afterschool Clubs and Enrichment

8. Celebrate Good SATs Results Early

9. Use Facebook Effectively

10. Speak to Your Website Provider About a Full Redesign

How to Increase Pupil Numbers in Primary Schools

St George’s Preparatory School

https://www.saintgeorgesprep.co.uk/

The Kings School

https://www.tkswitney.org.uk/

Dair House Private school

Dair House Private School asked us to refresh their website with the goal of attracting more prospective parents to visit the school. Through our discussions, we identified the key messages and features that needed to come across online.

The result is a modern design with a clear, user-friendly layout, enriched with engaging content such as key diary dates, newsletters, and a promotional video that brings school life to the forefront.

https://www.dairhouseschool.co.uk/

Bridge House School

https://www.bridgehouseschool.co.uk/

Build Your Schools Perfect Website

Having a strong Multi Academy Trust website is more important than ever. It should clearly reflect your MATs values, be simple to navigate, and make it easy for parents, staff, and prospective schools to find the information they need.

In this article, we’ve picked six of the best MAT websites of 2025. We’ll explore what makes each one effective and share ideas you can use to improve your own Trust’s online presence.

Areté Learning Trust

Areté Learning Trust is a growing MAT in North Yorkshire with a clear focus on excellence, inclusion, and wellbeing. Their old site didn’t reflect the Trust’s ambition. It was hard to navigate on mobile, and key information like policies and vacancies were buried deep within the website.

The new website is clean, modern, and easy to use. A bold homepage showcases the Trust’s vision and values, while dedicated school pages give each academy space to shine. The layout is simple and mobile-friendly, with clear menus and quick access to important content. Staff can easily update the site through a flexible CMS, saving time and keeping everything current.

Overall, the design captures what Areté stands for – professional, welcoming, and forward-thinking – helping the Trust stand out to parents, partners, and future schools.

https://www.aretelearningtrust.org/

The Learning and Achieving Federation

The Learning and Achieving Federation brings together two schools with a shared focus on high standards, inclusion, and community. Their website now reflects that vision clearly.

The updated design is clean, bright, and easy to navigate. A simple menu structure makes it quick to find key info like policies and governance. Each school has its own section, but the branding ties everything together nicely.

It’s also mobile-friendly, with clear buttons and well-organised pages that load quickly on any device. Staff can easily keep content up to date, making it a useful hub for parents and carers. Overall, the site feels welcoming, professional, and aligned with the Federation’s values.

https://www.learningandachievingfederation.co.uk/

Brontë Academy Trust

Brontë Academy Trust brings together four village primary schools with a clear mission: Achieving Together for Every Child. Their website captures this perfectly with a warm, welcoming design that’s easy to navigate.

Their new website brings this message to life with a bright, clean design and intuitive structure. The homepage introduces the Trust’s story and schools in a welcoming, visually engaging way.

Each school’s section is linked to, maintaining individuality while reinforcing the Trust’s strong brand. Navigation is simple and clear: parents and staff can easily access key areas like statutory information, governance, policies, and curriculum details without clicking through excessive menus.

It’s a great example of how a MAT website can be both community-focused and efficient. This makes it easy for parents, staff, and visitors to stay informed and connected.

https://www.bronteacademytrust.org.uk/

Enhance MAT

Enhance Academy Trust oversees a family of Church of England primary schools and a post-16 performing arts college, united by the values of Encourage, Help, Achieve, and Nurture. Their website reflects this vision with a clear, professional design that’s easy to explore.

The homepage introduces the Trust’s ethos and schools in a clean, well-structured layout. Navigation is simple, with quick access to key areas like policies, governance, vacancies, and school pages.

Each academy is featured with consistent formatting, making it easy for parents and staff to find information while keeping a strong, unified brand. It’s a great example of a site that’s both purposeful and user-friendly. This helps support clear communication across the Trust community.

https://www.enhanceacad.org.uk/

The Federation of Riders Infant and Junior Schools

The Riders Federation brings together Riders Infant and Junior Schools with a shared commitment to opportunity, inclusion, and achievement. Their website reflects this with a clean, practical design that’s easy to use.

The homepage offers a warm welcome and clear links to both schools, while the layout keeps everything simple and accessible. Navigation is intuitive, helping parents quickly find information like policies, curriculum, admissions, and key updates.

Each school maintains its own space within a unified structure, reinforcing the Federation’s identity. It’s a strong example of how a federation site can be both family-friendly and functional.

https://www.ridersschools.co.uk/

The Westbrook Trust

The Westbrook Trust brings together four primary schools in Medway with a focus on collaboration, inclusion, and high standards. Their website reflects this perfectly with a clear, welcoming design that’s easy to navigate.

The homepage introduces the Trust’s vision and links to each school, while a simple menu helps users quickly find key information like policies, governance, and admissions. Each school is given space to showcase its strengths, while staying visually consistent with the Trust’s overall branding.

It’s a well-structured, mobile-friendly site that makes it easy for parents, staff, and the wider community to stay connected and informed.

https://www.thewestbrooktrust.org.uk/

Ready To Build The Perfect MAT Website

A great Multi Academy Trust website should do more than just share information. It should bring your schools together under one clear, professional identity. The best MAT websites in 2025 are easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and help parents, staff, and prospective partners stay connected.

Want to improve your Trust’s online presence? Get in touch with our team to learn more about our school website design services.

Pay-Per-Click advertising, or PPC for short, is paid advertising. However, unlike more traditional forms of advertising you’ll only pay when somebody clicks the actual advert. If you’ve ever been on search engines like Google, almost every single one of the ads you see displayed will be PPC advertising.

PPC advertising works incredibly well because, in theory, the only people clicking your adverts will be those interested in products. You’ll only be paying for ‘hot’ leads. While businesses tend to be the ones that benefit the most from PPC, schools can benefit too. For example, a well-produced PPC strategy can boost potential applicants for the school and even boost the reputation of an educational establishment.

Nowadays, more and more schools are engaging in PPC advertising, particularly fee-paying ones. On this page, we want to share a few tips that can help to maximise your school’s PPC campaign.

1. Define Your Campaign Goals First 

A PPC campaign can only be successful if you know two things:

• What the aim of the campaign is.
• Who you are targeting.

For example, if you’re promoting an open day, you’ll want to attract prospective parents to your school’s website.

Understanding what your campaign will guide how your campaign will play out, where you should run your campaign, your budget, and, most importantly, how you determine whether your campaign was a success.

2. Target the Right Location and Demographics

When you run a PPC campaign for a school, chances are you want to keep the campaign to a very specific area. For example, within your local town/city or, at a push, inside the local county. The only time you’ll really need to shake things up is if you’re an incredibly reputable private school that wants to grab people from further afield. One of the great things about PPC advertising is that you have a lot of control over who can see your ads. You can target to within a certain radius of your school, or even per postcode. This means that the only people who see your adverts are the ones who it is most relevant to.

You can even narrow based on demographics. For example, some platforms offering PPC adverts will allow you to narrow down by parental status or age range, ensuring only those with kids who are broadly within the age range you’re targeting will likely see your adverts.

3. Use Keywords Parents Actually Search

Your PPC campaign should be built around keywords parents are searching for. For example:

• Best schools in (location)
• Independent schools near me
• Book school open day

This is why it is so important that you understand who your campaign is meant to target. You can then get into the minds of the potential searcher and know what they are most likely to be searching for.

For example, you wouldn’t want to choose a generic keyword like ‘school’, because there’s no guarantee the person searching for that keyword is interested in you. But, if they typed in ‘good primary school in (location)’, then you know the parent is potentially interested in getting their child signed up to the school.

4. Write Compelling Ad Copy That Sells Your Strengths

Think about what you think a parent would like to know about your school. This will encourage them to click on your advert. For example, you can highlight the following in the ads:

• Ofsted ratings
• Exam results
• Unique facilities at the school
• School values

Make sure that you highlight the benefits of your school. Make the parents believe that they need to learn more about you.

Don’t forget to have a clear call to action too. Again, this will be tied to the type of campaign you’re running. For example, if you are creating a campaign that is aimed at getting more sign-ups then go for ‘Apply Now’, or something similar.

You should run multiple ads (read more about split-testing), so you know what works and what doesn’t. Ditch the non-converting ads.

5. Optimise Your Landing Pages for Conversions  

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when running an ad campaign (and this goes for any digital ad campaign) is to have your advert link directly to the home page. It makes no sense. You’re sending people to your website for a reason, and you don’t really want them to hunt around to work out what they need to do. Make things easy for them, and you’ll have much higher conversions.

Create unique pages for your ad campaigns. For example, if you’re creating a campaign to encourage more sign-ups or open-day registrations, send people directly to the right form.

You might also want to include a bit of relevant information on there e.g. key information, testimonials, etc. Don’t overload people, though. Only share what they need to know. You never want the site visitor confused about what the next step is.

6. Use Ad Extensions to Expand Your Message 

Some PPC platforms allow you to use ‘ad extensions’ which allow you to add more to your ad than a single link and a piece of text. Use them. You can use ad extensions to:

• Add links to specific parts of your website.
• Add contact details for your school

Some other PPC platforms may allow you to do more than this. While, sometimes, it costs a little bit more to have ad extensions, we find it is worth it. They help to improve the visibility of your ad, and the click-through rate. This means more potential leads.

7. Set a Smart Budget and Use Automated Bidding

One of the great things about PPC is that you have full control over how much you spend. You can set daily limits, meaning that you’ll never outspend your budget.

While some people will set the individual budget for each of their ads, we highly suggest that you use bidding strategies such as Target CPA (offered by most PPC platforms) that will automatically ‘bid’ per click for you. This means the PPC platform will always try to come up with a cost-per-click that is in line with your budget, while also maximising conversions.

You should always keep an eye on your PPC campaign. If ads aren’t performing as well as you hope, drop them. Focus on highly converting ads.

8. Retarget Visitors Who Didn’t Enquire 

Ever visit a website, not buy anything, and have the ads follow you around for a while? This is known as ad retargeting, and the advertiser hopes that if you’ve shown interest in their site once, it means you’ll probably show interest again. After all, if you were interested in buying a product, you might still be interested. You just clicked away as you’re not in the mood to buy there and then.

So, use site retargeting. This keeps reinforcing your message and, over time, will boost conversions.

9. Schedule Ads around Key Events and Times 

You probably shouldn’t run ads 24/7. Instead, run campaigns around key events and times. For example, if you’re about to run an open day, or open up enrolment, run ads. Don’t run a campaign if you’re not looking for new applicants. It is wasted money.

You might also want to think about the times your ads are running. For example, you’re more likely to have success with your ads if you display them of an evening or at the weekend. This is because parents are much more likely to be online then.

10. Review Your Campaigns Regularly

Don’t leave your campaigns to run and run, check them regularly. See how your ads are performing. Crank up the ads that seem to be doing well and turn off the ads that are costing you money.

Using a combination of Google Ads and Google Analytics, you should be checking your CTR, conversions and, ultimately, your cost-per-lead. You want every ad to make you money.

We highly recommend split-testing ads and dropping ones that don’t perform well.

Ready to Launch Your School’s PPC Campaign? 

A PPC campaign is a powerful tool for driving new students to your school. In the right hands, a proper PPC campaign will generate more than its value, often many times over. Run your PPC campaign alongside your SEO, and you’ll be dominating the search engine results. However, we cannot stress enough how easy it is to get a PPC campaign wrong. That’s why you should work with the professionals.

Need help with marketing or website design for your school? Get in touch with our expert team today.

For many schools, search engine optimisation is often the last thing on the minds of their marketing department. However, it shouldn’t be. Visibility in search engines is more important than ever. SEO ensures that a school can attract prospective parents, students, and staff.

Schools that invest heavily in SEO often find that their enrolments go up, and they have an easier time finding staff. It also helps that SEO is one of the most effective forms of marketing that you do from a financial perspective.

Since we know many schools may be unfamiliar with SEO, we want to provide a few tips that can help them see a boost to their incoming site traffic. SEO is not a quick process, but when it gets rolling, there’s nothing better.

1. Optimise Your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

You’ve carried out a Google search before, right? Chances are that when you do, you’ll click the search result that not only looks the most relevant to your search but says something catchy to pull you in too.

Your page title should always have keywords in it (the words you want people to tap into a search engine to find you). For example, if you’re a primary school in Southport, then ‘Southport Primary School’ or something should be there.

You will also want a brief description of whatever the page has. For example, a page for your Ofsted reports might say “Southport Primary School Ofsted Reports’, or words to that effect. Basically, help people to find relevant pages on your site by ample use of keywords. Think about what people would type into the search engines to find pages on your site.

The meta description (the piece of text that appears under the link in the search results) should also be highly descriptive, but short. There should be a call to action (CTA) that encourages people to click e.g. ‘find out more’ or ‘read our results’.

Always try to optimise your keywords. If something isn’t working, switch it up.

2. Continually Monitor Your Technical SEO Health

You should be registered on at least one SEO technical analysis platform. Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Screaming Frog are the most popular.

These tools will tell you if there are any issues with your SEO. If there are, fix the issues. These tools are all about getting you ranked higher in the searches.

Once your technical issues are fixed, set a reminder to check your SEO health at least once per term. This way you can fix errors as they appear.

3. Improve Mobile Responsiveness and Site Speed

For starters, you need to have a responsive mobile version of your website.

When search engines rank websites, they not only rank for relevancy but also rank based on-site experience. If a website doesn’t perform well (poor loading speeds, etc.) then it’ll rank lower than a less-relevant website. So, if your site performance isn’t up to scratch it doesn’t matter about the quality of your content.

Focus on:

• Using reliable web hosting. If you’re in the UK, use a UK-based web host.
• Compress images on your website. They’ll load faster.
• Responsive content management system (CMS) e.g. School Jotter.

4. Focus on Local SEO

Chances are you’re not targeting the entire country with your website. Instead, you’re aiming for the local area. So, you only need to focus on local search engine optimisation. Do the following:

• Claim your Google business profile. This will often place you at the top of the search results in the ‘local businesses’ section. Your school may appear there even if you don’t have the claimed profile, but when you claim your Google business profile, you’ll have a bit more control over it.
• Aim for using local keywords on your website. For example, “Primary School in Leeds”. Bring up where you are based often, so search engines can properly categorise you.

5. Structure Your Content with Header Tags

You’ll notice that every single one of the tips on this page is under its own header. This serves multiple purposes:

• It makes it easier to scan the content.
• It makes content easier to read. No blocky paragraphs, which can be distracting.
• It allows the search engines to properly scan the content.

When you’re building up any page on your website, use headers. Each new section should have a header above it (when the topic changes).

We’ll get a bit technical here. The main title for each page should always be Header 1 (H1). Each major section beneath that should be a H2 (the titles for each section on this page are H2). If you have a sub-section under your H2, it should be a H3. Basically, organise your content properly. Make it easy to navigate.

When you make blog posts on your site (which you should do, as you’ll see soon), you should always use headers. When you post curriculums on your website, use headers so people can easily navigate the curriculum properly.

If you aren’t quite sure how to structure your content, look at other websites. Decent websites. They’ll show you exactly how to use headers to your advantage.

6. Regularly Update Your Content

Static websites rarely rank that well. This is because the search engines believe that the longer a website goes without fresh content, the less relevant it becomes. So, regularly update your website. Include:

• News posts
• Updated calendar, including term dates.
• Updated curriculum
• Blog posts

Come up with a regular content posting schedule, and you’ll be swimming in traffic.

7. Use Internal Linking to Guide Users and Search Engines

Search engines should be able to find all content on your site. If they can’t access certain content, then that page won’t be listed. This will cause a hit to your search engine rankings. Of course, it will also be ideal for your site users to access all the content too. This means that it should be easy for anybody, search engine or reader, to access content. This means using internal linking.

You should always link related pages. For example, this blog post on SEO tips, links to our SEO for schools service.

There’s no limit to the number of links you can include on a page. If something seems relevant, link it. For example, if you wrote a news piece on the success of a history trip, link to the history curriculum, or history staff page, etc.

Make SEO Part of Your School’s Website Strategy

SEO should play a key role in your school’s marketing strategy. More people than ever before are now looking for potential schools through the search engines, and you need to make sure they’re found. The tips on this page will help. Proper keyword usage, site structure, useability, and regular content will go a long way toward boosting your position in the search engines. However, it can’t do everything. Working with a professional may be the best choice when you’re starting from scratch.

Need help building your schools website or optimising for SEO? Get in touch today.