School Wrap-Up: The Importance of Looking Back and Celebrating Your Achievements

The end of the school year is here, and it’s almost time for you to take a well deserved break. Before you do, though, it’s a good idea to take a look back at the year and make so time for celebrating school achievements – the amazing things you, your staff and your students have achieved.

From exciting school trips and guest stars in assemblies, to staff and student achievements, there’s a wealth of fantastic, feel-good stories to reminisce about, and it’s a great way to end your year on a high note.

In our latest article, we look at the importance of taking the time to reflect on the highs of the past year. We discuss the kind of things you may want to shout about, and share some tips and tricks on how to make a splash. Read on to find out more!

Why Should You Reflect on the Year?

It may seem like an indulgent activity while there are so many other things happening to end the school year, but taking the time to reflect on the positive activities and achievements can have a huge impact – not only for your students and parents now, but also on those who will be joining the community in the new academic year.

By celebrating school acheivements, you’re letting the world know about the incredible things your school communities have achieved under your guidance – all while showing just how much your students’ wellbeing, achievements and happiness means to you.

Essentially, when it comes down to it, this is your chance to showcase what a wonderful and nurturing environment your school creates, and this can only help elevate your reputation ahead of that all-important admissions window later in the year.

What Should You Talk About in Your Wrap-Up?

A year is a long time in education! Your school will have undoubtedly done plenty of fascinating things throughout the year, in each and every year group at your school.

Now, it would be impossible to cover all of them without writing war and peace, so think about picking out your top highlights and aim for a good spread of activities across year groups. This could include:

• Big events, such as Christmas plays, Sports Days, or charity fundraising events.
• Special achievements, from either your staff members or your students. These don’t necessarily have to be academic – for instance, a staff member could have done a marathon for charity, or a student could have had a piece of creative writing published in a competition.
• Guest assemblies are another fantastic thing to talk about! Perhaps you’ve had a visit from an important member of the local community, such as the police or local sports club?
• School improvements or changes can be an easy one to forget, but it’s important all the same. You could have received funding for a new playground, or new science equipment, or maybe you even welcomed a new member of staff.

There’s plenty to write about and, chances are, you’ll struggle more with picking out the most important things to include!

Another point to consider is making sure to appeal to your whole school community. For example, if your school also has a sixth form, those students are likely to have had different experiences compared to their younger counterparts.

Consider doing a ‘focus’ section on sixth form, or even a separate wrap up altogether – make sure you recognise their experiences too, and how important this is for your students to prepare for university or life outside of education.

Don’t Forget to Make the Most of Your Digital Channels

So you’ve got your written school wrap-up. You’ve picked out your stories, you’re celebrating school achievements, and now you want to promote this out to the world. How should you do it?

Firstly, make sure your content is engaging – the best way to achieve this is to add to your content using relevant and interesting images. Or, if you have the time, you can make even more of this by creating slideshows or a short video overview.

Secondly, don’t forget that different audiences use different platforms. Think about how to personalise your message across your channels. For instance, Facebook is a prime place to communicate with your parent communities, while your LinkedIn content is most likely to be seen by your staff members, or prospective recruitment candidates.

It’s Time to Look Ahead

Recognising the past year is a fantastic way to end your school year – but no good reflection would be complete without thinking about what this means for the year ahead!

As much as everyone enjoys reminiscing, your students and parents will equally want to know what to look forward to next year (and for those prospective students and parents, it’s a good idea to make sure they know you’re planning to make future years just as wonderful!)

This doesn’t need to be a long section of content. It could be a single paragraph or a few, the key aim is to highlight some things you’ve got planned and let people know to watch out for more information in the new academic year.

And don’t forget to remind everyone of exam results days over summer! Take the time to recognise and congratulate the hard work of your students, and wish them a well deserved break for the summer.

Need a Hand in Celebrating School Achievements?

While the end of the year provides a fantastic opportunity to promote the wonderful work your school has been doing, we understand that time constraints can make it difficult to do.

By working with an external agency such as Eduprise, you have access to a communications and marketing team, with years of expertise and a variety of skill sets that provide all you could ever need for a successful communications strategy – meaning you’ll never miss an opportunity to promote your school again.

If you’re wondering how you’re going to keep in touch with your parent communities while taking the time off you need this summer, find out more about how Eduprise can help.

Visit our services page to find out more now.