The Challenge

St Cedd's School wanted to establish a professional social media presence that reflected its warm, family-centred ethos whilst supporting pupil recruitment and raising the profile of the School within a competitive independent schools market.

At the start of the project, the School had virtually no active social media presence. There was no consistent content strategy, no paid advertising activity and limited visibility amongst prospective families online.

The Brief

I was appointed to:

• Launch and manage the School's Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn channels.
• Develop a consistent content strategy aligned to the School's values.
• Increase awareness of school life, pupil achievements and community events.
• Support Open Morning recruitment through targeted Meta advertising.
• Build strong foundations for future marketing and admissions activity.

My Approach

I worked closely with the Head and School team to:

• Establish Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn channels from scratch.
• Create a regular programme of engaging news and promotional content.
• Introduce a clear content framework built around the School's key messages: Big Ambitions, Bold Adventures and Brilliant Achievements.
• Plan, write and schedule content across all three platforms.
• Set up Meta Business Manager and deliver the School's first targeted Meta advertising campaigns.
• Produced strategic recommendations to support future recruitment marketing, search visibility and reputation building.

The Impact

During the first six months:

• More than 74,000 content views generated.
• 287 new followers across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
• 144 posts published.
• The School's first successful Meta advertising campaigns were delivered to promote Open Mornings, which led to a significant increase in attendance at their Open Mornings (20%).
• A consistent and professional social media presence established across all three platforms.
• Greater visibility of the School's achievements, community life and values amongst current and prospective families.

Importantly, the project moved beyond simply creating social media posts. It established a long-term recruitment marketing platform that will continue to support admissions, strengthen the School's reputation and increase engagement with prospective families.

Client Feedback

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Sophy over the past six months. As an Old St Ceddian, she understands the fabric of our School in a way that is difficult to replicate, and that insight shines through in everything she does.

Sophy has helped us move from having virtually no social media presence to building an engaged and growing audience across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In that short period, our content has generated more than 74,000 views, attracted almost 300 new followers and enabled us to share the many successes of our pupils, staff and wider community with a far broader audience than ever before.

Whilst the statistics are impressive, what matters most is that Sophy has helped us communicate the essence of St Cedd's School to a 21st century audience whilst remaining completely true to the values and ethos that make the School special. She is professional, responsive, thoughtful and a genuine pleasure to work with. I look forward to continuing our partnership and would wholeheartedly recommend her services to other schools."

Matthew Clarke
Head, St Cedd's School

Flexible senior expertise, when schools need it

This half-day per week project demonstrates what focused additional senior marketing capacity can achieve.

By combining marketing expertise and experience with hands-on delivery, I was able to quickly improve the school's digital presence and translate their brand values and wonderful school stories into tangible marketing, recruitment and reputation-building activity.

For schools, this type of support can provide an alternative to increasing permanent headcount: experienced senior expertise for a defined period, bringing additional capacity, fresh thinking and the ability to get projects moving quickly.

If your school needs experienced additional capacity to turn marketing strategy into action, please get in touch.