Blogging isn’t just for businesses, it’s for schools as well. When head teachers look at their online presence, they often pay attention to their website and social media, but less to producing a regular blog. There are a number of benefits that this can bring, both for the school itself and for the parents and pupils.

Bring Your School to Life

A blog is not just about news events such as the upcoming sports day or a trip out for the pupils. It’s a journal of your school and can be as varied and engaging as you want it to be. Regular blog posts can help boost your visibility online, setting you apart from other schools in the area and it can also be a great means of getting people involved. Here are just a few ideas on what to post:

• Of course, news and events can be included such as when term times are, stories about pupil successes and upcoming Ofsted visits.
• What about getting the pupils involved? Allowing them to guest blog on a variety of issues can create debate and interest for children, staff and parents.
• How about getting parents to blog about their careers? A parent blog can show how people decide to go into one thing or another and what qualifications they need, as well as why they enjoy their particular career.
• If the pupils are going off on a trip or overseas you can run a live blog detailing what they’ve been getting up to.
• Blogs don’t have to be about writing either. You can include images of sports days and other events, video blogs, or vlogs, of lessons or trips to museums.
• You can also include hints and tips for the pupils, perhaps extra information and resources for important lessons or advice at exam time.
• A blog is also a great way to communicate with other schools not only here in the UK but overseas as well. How about having an online exchange with pupils in another country and swapping content and experiences?

The good news is that we have all the technology we need nowadays to run a really interesting school blog. Posts can easily be uploaded, pictures and video taken on smart phones and there are literally millions of resources that you can link to. Having a regular blog also increases your visibility online so if you want to be a school that prides itself on excellence, people will be able to find you and see what you are up to.

Linking up with social media such as Facebook and Twitter by installing a simple widget on your site can mean everyone is able to share your posts. If you have a school app that sends notifications to staff, parents and pupils on their smart devices, you can also send a link when any new post goes up.

The Key to a Successful School Blog

You need to have a plan in place for your blog and decide what sort of information you have there and who you want to get involved. It helps to have a central editing team who can maintain standards and perhaps produce something like a posting calendar for important times in the year. Get it right and your blog can engage everyone involved with your school and boost your reputation in the local community.