What can blockbuster movies, the All Blacks, BBC coverage of the Paris Olympics and cosmetic giant Lush teach us about belonging and connection in schools?
As the new academic year gets underway, we get a new chance to reset and re-calibrate the compelling narrative we want to tell to our communities. In doing that, some examples of what other industries do make excellent prompts for our own thinking. Here are four small and practical things to try.
Think about small data
Martin Lindstrom is a branding expert who works with some of the biggest companies across the globe. He says that we need to be aware of the small data that we leave behind in our environments. In other words, our walls can talk.
When your reception parents come on the first day to drop off their children, what do they see, who do they see, and what are the signs that they are welcome? Have you written to them to say how delighted you are to start this journey with their child and that you look forward to working together in this joint venture?
What’s on the TV screens in reception and does this reinforce the message you really want to give? On the sliding window of reception, is there a note stuck on the glass saying, “our staff will not tolerate abuse”. Of course you shouldn’t, but what is that small A4 poster telling parents really?
That’s small data. It may be exactly what you want to be communicating on the first day, but just check. These first impressions can’t be re-made.
Promote legacy
The All Blacks talked about leaving the shirt in a better place and being proud to wear it. Athletes, footballers and Olympians all wear uniforms with pride. They are symbolic as well as practical.
Have you told your new cohort the story of those who have worn the uniform before them? What did they go on to achieve? Who overcame challenges? Who broke glass ceilings? What do those who came before have to say and could you have alumni sharing their stories in a number of different ways?
If this cohort are the 120th cohort to come to your school, celebrate the heritage they are part of. If they are the first year group into a new build, or this is the first year of a new school name, making something of that makes them trailblazers.
Build a narrative that connects them to this place and this time to create a sense of collective identity with each other and with you.
Embrace symbolism
We are a community; we talk about that all the time, but what can we do symbolically to show that?
Can year 6 or year 11 write ‘welcome to our school’ postcards to reception or year 7, each pairing up with a younger student? Could years 7, 10 or 12 write a letter to themselves about what they want to have achieved at the end of their new school phase? Take the letters in, keep them sealed and use them in leavers’ assemblies.
When he led rugby teams, Stuart Lancaster asked players’ parents to write letters to their grown-up children to tell them how proud they were of them; then they read them.
Cosmetics brand Lush put pictures of their employees’ faces on the cosmetic tubs because they want to ‘make their mums proud’.
The BBC’s closing montage at the Paris Olympics poignantly showed Team GB’s parents holding picture frames of their Olympians as children.
To honour parents, some schools hand out a chocolate bar, a teabag and a seed in a little bag with a note to say: ‘we know this is a big moment for you too, so take a moment to have a cuppa. We are looking forward to seeing your child grow here’.
What can we do to encourage pride, belief and belonging that doesn’t cost a fortune but creates moments which build belief and connection?
Know your heroes
Best-selling author and brand expert, Donald Miller says every movie has a hero who wants something but encounters a problem before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a guide steps into their lives, gives them a plan, and calls them to action, leading them to eventual success.
Parents and young people come to us as heroes in their own stories. They want to know how we can help them succeed. Miller says people want to know: what do you offer? How will it make my life better? What do I need to do to engage in it?
We need to make the answer to these three questions clear at every opportunity. How will being in your school with your staff be great for these young people?
Belonging and connection are topical, and we all want more engagement, better attendance and more investment from our communities. There are as many ways to interpret these ideas are there are schools, so I hope they help many of you start September strong.
