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How families choose schools has changed
Across the UK, schools are facing unprecedented pressures: declining pupil numbers, teacher shortages and tighter budgets. Competition for families has never been more fierce.
After location, nothing influences a parent's choice of school more than reputation. That's the finding of the Parent Voice Project, the UK's largest ever poll of parents.Parents value a school's reputation almost twice as highly as its Ofsted rating, and well above its exam results or league table position.
Schools with great reputations get the daily experience right for the families they already serve, and make a strong impression on the families thinking of joining.
Beyond branding, reputation in action
A school’s reputation is about far more than logos or website colours. Reputation is built through how schools communicate with parents, pupils, staff, and the wider community.
Strong, consistent communication fosters trust, engagement, and loyalty. When schools achieve this, their reputation grows... supporting pupil admissions, staff recruitment, community partnerships, and attendance. When communication is unclear or inconsistent, trust weakens and reputation suffers.
The challenge for many schools is consistency. Do parents receive the same quality of message no matter who is sending it? Are communications targeted, relevant, and timely? Without the right tools and processes, messages can become fragmented, leading to frustration and disengagement.
Ofsted, academic performance and reputation
Reputation means different things depending on who you ask. School leaders and parents often view it through very different lenses.
School leaders often define reputation through measurable outcomes: Ofsted ratings, academic performance, staff quality, behaviour, and long-term sustainability. For leaders, reputation is a strategic asset influencing standing in the community, recruitment and credibility.
Parents, meanwhile, judge reputation through everyday experiences: communication, trust, wellbeing, inclusivity, and how approachable staff feel. Their view is shaped by how the school supports their family day to day.
Although leaders and parents look at reputation differently, their aims overlap: both want a thriving, trusted school.
Your reputation engine
Once your school or trust has begun growing its reputation, how do you know what's working? How can you measure parent satisfaction? For trusts, how can you see which schools are performing well... and which may need some support?
What if you could see reputation, parent engagement and intake opportunity all from one connected platform?
The UK's first Parent Relationship Management platform
ReachMoreParents connects every stage of the parent journey in one platform. From nurturing relationships with prospective families to building a strong day-to-day experience for current parents, ReachMoreParents helps schools and trusts create a strong reputation and protect future enrolment.