Here at TrilbyTV we work with over 45 of the UKās MATs including the likes of Ark Schools, Harris Federation, Oasis Community Learning, Star Academies, TKAT and United Learning. Those 6 MATās alone have 326 schools so you can imagine they face a number of communication challenges across multiple stakeholders.
What are Multi Academy Trusts?
In definition, MATs or Multi Academy Trusts are groups of schools who come together to share administrative and financial responsibility to bring costs down and to enhance educational delivery. There are currently approximately 1500 MATs with more than 2 schools in the UK. 29 MATs have 26 schools or more, 85 have 12-25 schools, and 259 have 6-11 schools.
How do you maintain and promote your Trust brand across all your schools?
Traditional methods of communication in schools can be time consuming and costly. The printing out of newsletters and posters are not eco friendly and how do you even know your audience is watching? Mechanisms such as email and workspace chat (Microsoft Teams) are commonly used, but these can add to an already over communicated working day. So what about digital signage for a school’s communication? Digital Signage is a centrally controlled information system allowing for the sharing of rich engaging digital content to one or many TV screens.
Content types can include text, image, video, social media feeds and embedded content from popular applications such as Google Slides and Canva. Screen locations can be heat mapped to busy spaces including receptions, staff rooms, canteens and corridors. It’s a constant drip of communication delivered in a rich and engaging way and with the TrilbyTV platform, content can be shared to one, many or all schools within a MAT.
Book a TrilbyTV Demo
Book free DemoHow āvisibleā is your trust communication?
It’s really interesting to see how our MAT customers are starting to use our platform for their communication. United Learning is one of the UKās largest groups of schools with over a 100 locations. They have recently been running a pilot, sharing content centrally into a number of their Manchester and Salford cluster schools. The content has been targeted at school reception areas to help create a strong first impression for visitors as well as promoting the trust brand and values.
After surveying staff, Transform Trust realised the mechanisms of Microsoft Teams, newsletters and email were not working well for internal staff communications. So they have been running a digital signage pilot in 5 of their 26 primary schools. They have installed a TV screen into school staff rooms and are sharing content from a trust level. This content focuses on the 5 key themes of āHR, Safeguarding, Chief Exec, Finance and School Improvementā. Content is discussed and approved weekly, created by the CEOās PA, using Canva before being shared into school staff rooms. Feedback from staff is being gained using a Google Form which is accessed via a QR code advertised on the TV screens. The pilot has been such a success the trust is moving ahead with all 26 schools.
But of course it’s not as simple as bolting TV screens on walls and hoping audience appropriate content will just magically appear. There has to be a clear plan and strategy, along with guidance for schools and their staff when it comes to creating content and maintaining quality. Adding old powerpoint slides with low quality images and logos just wonāt do, so again there needs to be guidance and resources. Creating a central bank of assets is a great idea, with a shared folder containing MAT branded templates and high quality logos to help create consistency across all schools.
Staff managing the digital signage need clear ideas for content in areas where TV screens will be most commonly used. Reception area screens will require content including āSchool Welcomeā, āTrust Behaviours and Valuesā, āSchool Instagram Feedā and āVisitor Guidance Notificationsā. Staff rooms will be different focusing on āNoticesā, āAdverts for Staff Eventsā and āBest Practice, Help and Adviceā. Schools should have freedom to add further content to inspire their audiences including the most important stakeholders, the students!
Five considerations for digital signage
Download free PDFOur MAT customers are definitely starting to think of and look at digital signage as a serious communication tool across their schools. For us here at TrilbyTV, communication is not just a ānice to haveā scenario, it’s absolutely vital. Just because it’s not mandated by government policy doesnāt mean it should be any further down the IT importance list. We work hard with our MAT customers, allowing them to see the opportunity it brings as a communication tool. We also work extremely hard with individual schools from a MAT so they understand what needs to be in place to create a successful digital signage installation. Iāll let my colleague and Customer Success Manager, Tom Pickrell, explain the work and support that goes into supporting every MAT school onboarding with TrilbyTVā¦
Being on brand with your Trust
Being in a MAT means being a piece in a bigger puzzle and, as with every puzzle, each part contains a distinctive segment of the whole illustration. Digital signage with TrilbyTV allows schools to easily showcase their individuality and vision alongside the whole picture of the Trust.
A MAT will likely have specialists performing roles not found in every school, such as people to specifically manage communication and marketing. Those personnel may already have experience with using software for design like Adobe and Canva, and have time dedicated to create new content for every school to utilise.
The messaging from the Trust can be quite broad with set expectations for their various school communities. From values to curriculums, standardisation makes it easier to provide a seamless approach between sites. This rings especially true for digital signage.
One of my favourite stories detailing the change to communication is from Scott Jewell at Perth Grammar School. During our recent webinar on Developing Effective Digital Communications. Scott explained that, prior to TrilbyTV, a staff member would have to print out new content, go to a notice board and spend time physically securing the printout to the wall behind a perspex screen. Think how much time, money and resources must have been lost around a single site, let alone multiplying this across every noticeboard of the Trust.
What makes your school unique?
In school, management looks different to that at a Trust level and not every site has a marketing person or department. One of the strengths of TrilbyTV is to easily delegate the uploading, approval and scheduling of content. At the ground level this could be someone in the Senior Leadership Team, an office admin, a teacher, a Teaching Assistant or a small team. As well as the ethos and value for the Trust, each site will want to stand out with their own mission statement and values. There is no shame in wanting your workplace to be the best it can be and be proud of the impact you have.
A headteacher may not have the time to meet and greet everyone that walks through the reception door, yet they know a more personalised welcome will resonate with their community. What better way to broadcast and update these messages often than through digital signage. With TrilbyTV, people and departments can deliver a more personalised greeting depending on the time of day and location of the screen.
Sharing our expertise
Whether youāre a Marketing & Communications Director, or an Office Administrator for a small primary school, the concept of digital signage in practice may be entirely new. Those in the TrilbyTV team have decades worth of experience with technology and creativity in education, which we gladly share. Alongside how the platform works we will offer ideas about the various tools and resources available. Our Smart Content provides easy to use templates, like Inspirational Quotes, that could be used to showcase staff, student and parent quotes instead.
When we deliver staff training we do our homework and make sure the content offers a resemblance to what could be. School websites are packed with a lot of information that can be easily transferred into digital communication with good practice, such as keeping text to a minimum with engaging graphics. When schools are part of a MAT thereās generally a link to the Trustsā website too, with even more text and information.
For example, at Salford City Academy and the North West cluster of United Learning schools, signage is being used to drive more students to take on extra curricular activities.
To us, the most important thing is that digital signage achieves the goals you expect at every level of your organisation. By using digital signage, Trusts can get key information out to all schools so that everyone is on brand.
To find out more about our digital signage platform made for education, book a free demo session with us. You can even try out TrilbyTV by signing up for a 30-day free trial complete with support and enough time to see how it works for yourself.