QuickStart Computing is a comprehensive, national programme to help primary and secondary teachers to plan, teach and assess the new computing curriculum. It was developed by Computing At School and funded by Microsoft and the Department for Education.

Computing At School, part of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, approached Pedroza Communications to help launch QuickStart Computing and ensure as many teachers as possible knew about this valuable support. Working closely with Computing At School and Microsoft, we created a campaign to:

• Stimulate debate and discussion around computing
• Launch QuickStart Computing to the media in January 2015
• Engage stakeholders and teachers at the education technology show BETT

Results

The campaign secured over 200 pieces of media in broadcast, national and regional print, sector media, and online video and blogs. Overall this secured a total potential reach of 68.3m media opportunities.

• Coverage included national the ITV network, BBC radio stations, The Independent, The Sunday Times, Yorkshire Post and other regional media. The story was covered by Times Education Supplement and the wider education sector press.
• Twitter provided valuable support with tweets reaching more than a million followers and including trusted channels such as the Department for Education, ASCL and NAHT.
• All copies of QuickStart Computing were distributed during BETT and Education Minister Nicky Morgan also visited the stand to speak to teachers and students about QuickStart.
• The launch led to the highest number of visits to the Computing At School website for the academic year.

Pedroza Communications brings momentum to any project. Working with them to support the launch of “Quickstart Computing”, a CPD course for teachers, was a delight because they brought so many thoughtful ideas to the table. The research they commissioned was key to the sell-in and an astonishing reach of 68 million, including national press and the BETT lead feature in TES. A CPD toolkit for teachers isn’t really big news outside the sector press so I was very pleased with the results and am planning to work with Pedroza communications again this year. Clare Riley, Group Manager, Education Relations UK, Microsoft<

Pedroza Communications created a great news story that attracted widespread coverage in the national, local and education sector media. I was impressed with their skill in working with teachers and education stakeholders and how they developed a campaign that meant QuickStart Computing was really well publicised. I’d personally recommend them to anyone who’s looking for a small talented agency that understands education. Bill Mitchell, Director of Education, BCS, The Chartered Institute of IT