There is no field in business that has no competition, but there is always a stage to stand out where you can do things differently. The reason some businesses are not progressing today is because they have refused to try something new and out of the box. Innovation is the way forward for successful growth today.
The school is a good business, you have parents who have been taking notes of things you do both wrongly and rightly and may or may not give you feedback, and then you have me as a mouthpiece, oh sorry an observer from SchoolsCompass who is willing to share facts with you based on complaints from parent who changed their minds from allowing their kids attend your school.
After you read through these few tips listed below, thank me later but first start by making a change in your school, to avoid stories that touches by next term, which is around the corner, before you say Jack your pupils are back on the assembly for resumption, I bet you want to make them happy, comfortable, satisfied, be the school name on the lips of almost every parent, maintain good network relationship among their parents. Yes, you need to network with parents if you really want growth but let’s leave that for another day.
Ride with me on this amebo (secret/gist) journey as I put retardation and stagnancy to shame.
1. School Appearance
Many parents walk/drive pass your school on a regular basis and it will shock you that they haven’t noticed for once that a school exists there because there is nothing significant to show for it.
I would like that you check this list below to avoid you saying I wrote this out of sentiment:
Do you keep your school environment spotless?
Are your paintings and wall designs still intact?
Is your gate/wall design with the best colors that speaks “Notice Me” volume?
Talking about structures, are your structures firm or worn out?
How about the road to your school, is it in good shape?
I am sure you have been able to answer the above questions with clarity. Furthermore, parents are not only concerned about the outlook of your school and out of curiosity would want to do a survey in the school compound, they would definitely look out for classroom arrangement, practical rooms and laboratories, restrooms/toilets, playground, refectories, dormitories, and so on depending on interest, kindly ensure that these places are well kept in order, you do not need to look expensive before you gain attention, cleanliness and maintenance system make even a poor man look rich, think about it.
2. Customer Care Service
Calls are not just about “hello” neither are emails about “Dear Ma/Sir,”, there is more to it than meets the eye, the communication skill is a thing to consider, are they patient, respectful, eloquent and positive towards your school’s growth?
Many parents get turned off by rude statements and if nothing at all but impatience because the customer care personnel could not hold proper discussions.
Aside from emails and calls, offline services towards parents matter a lot, ensure there is a warm reception which may include when, where and how you welcome parents and attend to them.
- WHEN: Anytime is the time to welcome parents feedback and request because they need to be attended to, in most cases meetings should be brief and precise so that every other parent can be attended to, more so to save time.
- WHERE: Make a space in your school with the right ambience, pleasant to the eyes, most importantly kept neat.
- HOW: Welcome them with a smile, make them feel comfortable, ask them if they need anything or offer them a glass of water. Someone reading this right now may neglect this, I assured you a positive turn out. You may have the money but do not have the idea it takes while others are wishing they had but are putting in efforts to make a change, when things change now, the next thing is that you call them your rival when they were not supposed to be in the space with you.
3. Quality Of Teachers
Are your teachers really qualified to handle your students? Do they speak fluently? What is their educational background like? Do you take them on training? Hope they have knowledge of “Human Behaviour”?
Handling kids in school are for professionals, parents do their part at home and pay for their children to attend your school to acquire knowledge and skills knowing that they cannot do it all.
Well, ensure that your teachers are patient enough to teach, kids as we all know to learn in a different pace, also make sure that your teachers are not too strict, playful and can understand a child’s need. Once this is achieved, you can now send your students out to compete with other kids from other schools, this will enable you to know if your quality of education is up to standard, not just that, parents would reach out to you so their kids can attend your schools, good news fly fast but bad news fly faster.
You definitely don’t want parents to withdraw their kids from your school because you can’t keep up with it.
4. Extra-Curricular Activity
Theory can be so boring if not mixed with experiences. In today’s world, no one wants to live on imaginations but what they see as seeing is believing, show them the actual things and once in while deviating from the norm.
Excursion enhances active learning where students can easily relate, this boosts their grades. There are schools you can look out for on our website with amazing extra-curricular activity. Have you tried this method regularly? Do this in such a way that your students want to go back to school and can’t wait for the resumption date.
5. Security
Many parents, would not send their children to a school that has no security system, take note of this. As a school owner ensure that you have security guards, census method, Closed Circle Television (CCTV) and trackers that can identify students location at a particular time depending on what you can afford but know that parents need to be assured that their children are going to be safe.
6. Social Activities
Everything deserves a reward, parents send their children to you because they trust you to take good care of their kids. You can organize a meet and greet session for parents, cocktail parties, involve them in sports, something social to keep parents happy and stay put, you won’t regret doing this as it enhances bonding.
7. Online Presence/Social Validation
There is already a huge difference between ancient and modern, parents are looking out for schools that can close the gap, so it’s time for you to upgrade to your A’ game to avoid lagging behind, like using social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram to market your schools and showcasing your activities. More so like every other school in Nigeria, you can profile your school on SchoolsCompass to increase your online visibility.
The platform also serves as a third (3rd) party review for parents who are searching for schools and you don’t want to miss out.
Parents, kindly drop comments of challenges you may have faced so that Proprietors and Proprietresses can take note and make amends.
