Marketing and communications audit for schools & multi-academy trusts
A full marketing and communications audit for schools and multi-academy trusts to prepare for falling rolls, new Ofsted report cards, the SEND reform and stretched budgets.
As a team of experienced education and public sector consultants, we carry out a full audit of how your school or trust, communicates and protects its reputation.
You get a clear, costed implementation plan your own team can run, not a report that sits on a shelf.
Most school and trusts marketing was built for a growing market and a one-word Ofsted grade. Both have gone. Funding follows the pupil, so every family you lose to a neighbouring school costs you money for years.
Has your marketing and communications evolved with the times?
Falling rolls. The government expects around 400,000 fewer pupils in English state schools by 2030. Primary numbers are falling fastest, and secondary numbers peak this year.
Ofsted report cards. No more single headline grade. Parents now read a profile across several areas, including inclusion. Can you explain yours with confidence?
SEND reform. New individual support plans are on the way, with full implementation planned from 2028/29. SEND families need clear, honest communication long before then.
Tighter budgets. Real per-pupil funding is growing by around 1% a year, against rising staff costs. Every hour your spend on marketing comms has to count.
What we look at
Marketing and communications - A review of your marketing, communications and PR strategies and operations.
Strategy and governance - How comms supports your strategy, how your board oversees reputation, and how ready you are for a crisis.
People and capability - Who does what, how much time they spend on tasks, and the skills/systems they need.
Processes and workflow - Planning, approvals, enquiry handling, complaints and issues response.
Systems and data - Your website, email and social media, learner management systems, media coverage, analytics, admissions data and use of AI.
Voice and reputation - Your brand and messages, and how families, employees, pupils and partners see you.
We audit people, processes and systems
Our work isn’t to scrutinise your marketing and communications team but to take an organisational approach on how effective and efficient your marketing and communications functions are having on the objectives you are trying to achieve. We keep things practical, realistic and aligned to your objectives.
How we work
Three months from first conversation to a plan you own
Your team is involved from week one, so by the time we hand over, the plan is already theirs.
Month 1: discover. We meet your leaders, map your stakeholders and scan the local picture, from birth rates to place planning. We review your strategy, policies, reporting, digital footprint, crisis plans, risk management and set a baseline from your data.
Month 2: audit. We test every channel and walk your family and stakeholder journeys, from first search to first day. We hear from parents, pupils, employees and stakeholders. We check your website, digital channels, compliance, systems and how your school/trust shows up in the media, along with Google and AI search for the terms you want and need to appear in.
Month 3: design and embed. We share the findings in a workshop with your leaders and staff, then build the plan together. We present to your executive team, hand over the tools and check in 30 days later to see how it is landing.
What you receive
Practical outputs your team can act on from day one
Audit report. Clear findings across all 5 lenses, rated red, amber or green, with the evidence behind each.
Implementation plan. A 90-day action plan and a 12-month roadmap. Every action has an owner, a time cost and a measure of success.
Governance pack. A board summary, suggested risk register entries and a termly reporting template for governors or trustees.
Toolkit refresh. Updated priority policies and templates.
“Plans fail when they assume capacity that does not exist. Ours are built around the time, systems and people you actually have.”
Who it’s for?
Built for education leaders who want clarity, not another report.
This audit is for you if:
Applications or first-choice preferences are falling, and you are not sure why.
You need to enhance your reputation, but don’t know where to start.
You have a new Ofsted report card to explain, or one on the horizon.
You want to get ahead of SEND reform with families, not react to it.
Your trust has grown, and its comms grew by accident rather than design.
Your team is stretched, and you need to know where their time makes the biggest difference.
Your board wants a clearer view of reputational risk.
It works for primary and secondary schools, multi-academy trusts, special schools, colleges and independent schools.
Why ZGMC?
Chartered expertise. Led by Zack Grimes, a Chartered Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, along with a team of highly-experienced education, public sector and local authority marketing and communication consultants.
We sit on your side of the table. We all have in-house MAT experience and serving school trustees and governors. We know what governors and trustees need to see.
We know education. We work with multi-academy trusts, specialist schools and education providers on admissions, communications and PR everyday.
We think beyond marketing. We bring communications, PR, change management and organisational development experience, so your plan fits your people, processes and systems.
Plain speaking. Honest findings, clear priorities and no jargon.
Book a free, no-obligation 30-minute call. We will talk through your challenges, agree whether an audit is right for you and outline what it would cover. If it is not the right fit, we will tell you.