BSA/ISBA – Boarding Schools – Marketing strategies for success

• Date: November 22, 2024
• Time: 10:00 – 12:00
• Cost: BSA/ISBA Full Member Rate: £80, Non-Member Rate: £160
• Audience: Boarding school bursars, heads of boarding, boarding deputy heads, pastoral heads, senior houseparents, marketing and admissions leads
• Platform: Zoom (online) – Half-day Seminar

Course outline:

Against the backdrop of a changing political and legislative landscape and increasing financial pressures, effective communications and marketing strategies are ever more important for schools to engage stakeholders and set themselves apart from the competition. ISBA and BSA are pleased to offer boarding school bursars, heads and deputy heads of boarding, pastoral heads, senior houseparents and marketing leads the opportunity to hear from sector experts about the changes afoot for independent education and consider practical strategies for remaining attractive, responsive, and resilient.

Programme:

10.00 – 10.25

Introduction and overview of current and predicted financial and political changes impacting school strategies and operational plans – David Woodgate, ISBA CEO and David Walker, BSA Director

10.25 – 10.55

Practical steps for a successful marketing strategy for boarding schools – Aileen Kane, BSA COO

10.55 – 11.00

Break

11.00 – 11.30

Effective strategies for internal and external communications – Carolyn Reed and Katie Cardona, Reed Brand Communication

11.30 – 12.00

Open panel session

• Aileen Kane, Deputy CEO & COO, BSA
• Carolyn Reed, Reed Brand Communication
• David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding and Director BSA/TIOB
• David Woodgate, CEO, ISBA
  

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Speakers:

David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding and Director BSA/TIOB

David is the BSA Director and joined the BSA group in August 2023. He has over 20 years’ experience in boarding schools and has worked in a range of schools in the UK and Africa, alongside being a prep school governor and a trustee of a MAT. Before taking up his post at the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-ed independent school in the South-East.

David Woodgate, CEO, ISBA

David Woodgate was appointed Chief Executive of the Independent Schools Bursars’ Association in May 2016.  Prior to this he was Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Accountants from 2007 to 2015 after which he spent a year as the Strategy Consultant to the Institute of Public Accountants in Australia.

David qualified as a Barrister in 1982 following a first degree in Languages (French and Russian), Law and Linguistics.  He moved from the law into the City, holding several senior management and executive positions in the National Westminster Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland – in Strategic Planning, Corporate Finance and latterly as Director of e-Commerce for the corporate bank. He ran an outsourcing business and a specialist internal consultancy providing market intelligence and competitor analysis.

He completed an MBA at Warwick University Business School in 1992 with distinction.  A former Chief Executive of the Institute of Administrative Management, he also holds a postgraduate diploma in Charity Management from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and South Bank University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Chartered Banker, a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights. David is also a former Chairman of Governors of an HMC Independent school and is currently a Governor of the City of London School.

Aileen Kane, Deputy CEO & COO, BSA

Aileen is Deputy CEO & COO of BSA Group. She leads operations at BSA Group and works closely with members to provide guidance and training. Aileen also works with government departments, local authorities and other agencies to support members and heads up the group’s work to find places for refugee children escaping from conflict countries.

Carolyn Reed, Reed Brand Communication

Carolyn has a design and marketing background in FMCG and retail/service brands. She has been advising schools and colleges on their marketing strategy and brand communications for over 15 years and is passionate about using insight to inform strategic decision making and communications. Carolyn is a member of the Market Research Society, AMCIS and an awarded member of D&AD (Design and Art Direction).

Katie Cardona

Katie is a researcher and strategy consultant with a proven track record of helping independent schools secure and stabilise their position in the marketplace via bespoke marketing solutions and communications.

Until June 2024 she was Chair of Governors at Rydes Hill Preparatory School and Nursery in Guildford, Surrey. Katie is a member of the Market Research Society.