Staff Boards So somewhere in your school – probably in more than one place, you should have a staff board that tells parents, visitors and students, who all of the staff are in the school, and what their role is. But this doesn’t have to just be a boring list of names. Next time you have your school photographer in, make sure you schedule some time for all of the staff to have a photo taken too. These can be simple and professional, or you can ask them to bring along a prop that represents their role. Think art teachers with paint pallets and dinner ladies with rolling pins. Make it a fun experience for the staff, and you’ll get some amazing pictures out of it. Combine the portraits with a few words about each staff member for an even more personal feel. This is also a good chance for group shots, so you can get pictures of the various departments and teams together for your staff board too. It gives parents and visitors more of an insight into how your school runs, and it shows a more unified approach to education that’s built on teamwork. Can’t get together in one place? We can do it virtually too!
Values Boards Values boards are a great way to display and showcase your school’s values and purpose. We’ve seen these used in all sorts of ways – from showing off a preschool’s dedication to nature and child-led learning to faith schools promoting the religious ethos that forms part of their school’s values. So why not create a values board for your school, and use it to display what is important to you and what values you try to instil in the children you teach? By displaying your school values openly not only do the students get to learn what they actually are, it teaches them what values they need in order to succeed in the world as an adult. Displays are a really useful tool to expand subject knowledge and skills, and the wall space in your school isn’t exactly doing anything else! Why not use it to raise aspirations, and encourage enthusiasm and creativity? They’re a great way to create a sense of community among the school, and showcase how important it is that everyone is included.
Your ‘School In Action’ If there’s one thing we can say for schools, it’s that they’re never boring. There’s always something going on, from competitions to group projects, plays and shows, sports events and a whole load of other activities. These are all amazing things to do, and no doubt they are one of the things that makes your school unique. So why wouldn’t you share them? ‘School in Action’ boards are a great way to capture the real spirit of the school by showcasing all of the amazing events and activities you do throughout the year. They highlight all of your achievements to anyone who passes by (including parents on those all-important school tours), and are an easy way to show what differentiates you from other schools in the area. Think of these as your space to show off your students and attract new prospective students and parents.
Student Information Posters Of course, your display boards aren’t just there for visitors to admire. They’re also there to be a useful resource to your students. Used as bulletin boards more than official displays, why not dedicate some of the boards in your school to informational posters? Anti-bullying, resources for if students are struggling, information on extra-curricular activities, photos of the latest school events and general updates all need to be shared somehow, and a brightly coloured, branded display board is a great way to do this. On the anti-bullying note, when we work with schools we’ve seen a pretty neat trend emerging. The schools that use their more *ahem* troublesome students as the face of their anti-bullying campaigns are seeing much better results from them. By using these students as positive role models, they’ve seen a marked change in behaviour – so if your school has a bullying problem, this might be something to consider. They’re also a great way to create a sense of community among the school, as it creates a single focal point for everyone to gather around. Kind of like the water cooler in an office. So don’t underestimate how much of an impact they can have.
Talking Promotions Yes, you read that right! This is a really neat service we’ve started offering at Smiles at School, and at the moment you’ll find no other photographer offering it. The idea is simple – put together a promotional banner, poster or even a full display board, with a few photographs of students, either on their own or in groups. And by each image, write ‘SCAN ME’. With a quick scan the image jumps to life! On their phones they can now see a promotional video featuring the student/s from the photo, talking about the school or showing off their skills. It’s the height of ‘interactive marketing’ and sure to be a big talking point. Try it for posters outside the school grounds for event promotion and even open days! Let’s be honest – there are loads more you can do to jazz up your display boards, but you’d be here for hours if we listed them all! Instead, if you want some more ideas, or want to chat about something you’d read today, why not get in touch with the Smiles at School team? Our photographers aren’t just good at taking pictures – we can see your school from an external perspective and give you new ideas to show off its strengths at every opportunity. Go on, give us a call today.
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