Engaging new school governors and trustees – case study

“Working with Anna and Pedroza Comms has been an absolutely fantastic experience, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”

The National Governance Association is the membership organisation for governors, trustees and governance professionals in state schools in England. The charity aims to improve educational standards and wellbeing of young people by increasing the effectiveness of governing boards and promoting high standards.

The NGA asked Pedroza Comms to help them reactivate their Visible Governance campaign which had been impacted by the pandemic. They wanted help to produce and launch a new film and to increase the profile of governance with employers.

A new film introducing governance

Working with the NGA, and an animation company, we scripted and produced a 2 minute film explaining the role of governance volunteers. Designed to be accessible to everyone, the film created an engaging story about governance and encouraged viewers to find out more.

To launch the film we recruited existing school governors and trustees to talk about their role. We also used new research from the NGA’s survey of their members to PR a news story about the fact that governance vacancies were at their highest since 2016. We targeted the sectors that our case studies were employed in, as well the education sector media.

We also produced a comms toolkit for the NGA to share with their key stakeholders. This included graphics, the video and suggested copy for social media posts and news items.

Results

We secured a reach of 1.9m with more than 10 pieces of coverage and the story featured in the Tes, Schools Week, Education Executive, the Chartered Institute of Public Relation’s Influence Magazine, Construction Management and a host of education podcasts including the popular Education on Fire.

We also helped build a stronger link between the NGA and employer organisation the British Educational Suppliers Association, which resulted in the NGA being invited to host a webinar about the benefits of governance to their members.

Feedback from the NGA

“Working with Anna and Pedroza Comms has been an absolutely fantastic experience, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Anna came in at a crucial time for us as we wanted to enhance a campaign dented by the pandemic.

We needed inspiration and direction and this is exactly what we got. Anna brought a wealth of experience and fresh ideas that reinvigorated the campaign, extending its reach and impact. We have learnt a huge amount in our time working with Pedroza Comms, the NGA team really enjoyed the experience and we have all come away feeling better equipped for future projects.

Sam Henson, Director of Policy and Information, National Governance Association

Read the press release here.