How to be a Strong and Stable Trust in difficult financial times.

Do you feel up against it right now? Trying to keep your boat moving forward in water that swells and spits and threatens to topple you?

No amount of White Paper orotundity or even scheduled government support can take the stress and concern away as you cling to excellence in a raging sea with only one paddle.

Various pressures on school finances have built up to create the perfect storm and many schools and MATs find themselves at the centre of it, with energy costs rising, sometimes by 500%, inflation running way ahead of salary increases, and school budgets being thrown out as unachievable. It doesn’t feel good.

The best way to maximise revenue remains driving up admissions and, as it happens, here at Blue Apple Education that’s our speciality. All our services are ultimately about the goal of showing off what you offer in order to appeal to potential students, parents and staff. Add that to our desire to cheer you all up and you’ll guess we considered chocolates – but in the end, we settled on affordable packages of support.

Chocolates aside, you’ll be wanting some freebies, but keyrings and pencils won’t save you from sinking so we’re happy to offer our series of masterclasses at no cost.

We would also recommend you download our free guide to school branding. Despite the tempest that continues to rock the boat, it is important to avoid being caught in a spiral of despair, with the temptation to pull back. Now is the time to find a clear path to safety, to build strength and, as long as the metaphor will stretch that far, to find safe shores. Our Out of the Blue podcasts give plenty of ideas about how to market your school, find your unique selling points, or how to show off your brand.

Remember that parents and teachers and children are also likely to be feeling a little lost at sea – energy bills are increasing for everyone and many are facing an uncertain future; the school that offers a calming hand and a confident smile is the one that will be appealing – and this needs to be made clear outside the classrooms and offices of the school, using all the powers of promotions to show the world what you offer. And you could also try chocolates.