🏫 The 3 Simple Steps That Helped This School Beat Falling Admissions in Just 90 Days

Like many primary schools, St Augustine’s was facing a quiet but urgent problem: pupil numbers were slipping, and funding gaps were starting to hurt.

The headteacher knew something had to change, but like most school leaders, she was already stretched. “I was thinking more workload for me, yeah? But I’ve got to do this… someone’s got to do this.”

In fact, this is a common feeling among school staff. In a recent roundtable, one leader put it plainly:

“There are 24 other schools in the area. It’s so competitive… You feel like you’re invisible unless people know someone who already goes there.”

The team at St Augustine’s had been trying. They’d taken goody bags to nurseries, posted on Facebook, and hoped word-of-mouth would carry the rest.

But — and this is the reality for so many schools — it wasn’t enough.

The truth is, parents often decide against a school before they’ve ever stepped inside.

They make assumptions — “It’s too far,” “We probably won’t get in,” “It’s a church school” — and move on.

And that means great schools get overlooked.

That’s when I stepped in to help.

I introduced a simple 3-step approach to get the school seen by more local families, fill their open days, and ultimately increase applications.

We didn’t create a new website. We didn’t hire a videographer. We didn’t run a big ad campaign.

What we did was simple — and powerful.

🌟 The Impact

Within a couple of weeks, the difference was clear.

We needed to add an extra open day to meet demand.

By April, the school had:

• Gone from 8 to 36 in-year transfers

• Increased Reception intake from 16 to 26

• Attracted thousands of local parents through just one simple Facebook ad

It was the strongest enrolment they’d had in years — and it gave the school financial breathing room, staffing security, and a real sense of momentum.