Arch Stories #5

Sometimes in the world of reputation management, your greatest asset is a cool head. As the latest of my PR stories (from a few years back) shows….

Acorn Free School hit problems before it even opened. This new school in Lincoln, run by a charitable trust, had received Government funding to work with children who were struggling in mainstream classrooms and so at risk of exclusion.

A site was found to house the school, but when people living nearby found out, they were not happy. They were worried about the prospect of “problem children” being brought into their neighbourhood.

The situation quickly became so hostile that the school’s ability to operate at the start of the academic year was under threat. There were street protests, the school building was vandalised and the city’s MP sided with campaigners to express concerns.

Not surprisingly, the local media had picked up the story and the coverage was far from favourable.

The school turned to Arch Communications for help. Our first job was to really understand what Acorn Free School was all about, and how they planned to operate. Having established the facts, we quickly realised that the protesters’ concerns were unnecessary.

All of Acorn’s pupils were to be bussed in and kept on the school premises throughout the day. Their stay was also due to be temporary, with them returning to their original schools when ready. Acorn was actually going to provide a vital local service, in a field where the head teacher already had a strong track record.

The opposition was largely down to a lack of understanding. So we set out to help the school get its story across more effectively by:

• Producing a special leaflet which was delivered to homes in the area, directly responding to all the concerns raised by explaining how the school would work
• Re-writing the school’s website to embed the same messages
• Crafting responses to angry letters from local residents
• Arranging more balanced media coverage

So where did the need for a calm approach come in? Well, in times of crisis it can be hard to keep cool. The head teacher was taken aback by the hostility, which he took as a personal attack. He needed help to stay measured when responding to aggressive emails and challenging media questions. It was a question of getting the tone and language right.

And that’s what we did. We chose words carefully to take the heat out of the situation and provided coaching for media interviews. It was easier for us as ‘outsiders’ to ride the storm.

Happily, that storm soon subsided. Acorn Free School is now well established, rated good by Ofsted and doing great work. More importantly, it’s accepted in the local community. The school just needed a steady hand on the tiller to get through the choppy waters.

So who was that head teacher? A charismatic and highly experienced education leader called Jerry Tucker, who gave us these kind words about our support:

“We required rapid responses to a very challenging group of people who were generating negative publicity. The support from Arch Communications was invaluable. Within a week we had favourable press coverage, within three weeks even a positive TV interview.”

It all goes to show that sometimes emotion is the last thing you need. That's why independent expert help in a time of crisis can be a very valuable investment.