Campaigns to date
The TDA communications team works to generate positive media coverage about a career in teaching. We do this by demonstrating the many benefits of a career in the classroom, from the pay and progression opportunities to the sheer enjoyment of working with young people, which positions the profession as a contemporary and salient career choice.
We use a combination of news stories – often based on specially commissioned research – longer features in newspapers and magazines, case study placement and live events, all of which are carefully aimed at the TDA’s target audiences of students and career changers. The TDA communications team also works closely with the TDA’s other marketing agencies to help support and promote their activities. Examples of our work can be seen on the News Coverage section of this website.
Recent highlights have included:
Return to Teaching (April/May 08)
A recent campaign has focused on attracting former teachers back into the profession by surveying the attitudes of working mums to teaching in contrast with other professions. The survey resulted in coverage on key women’s consumer websites and articles in the business press.
Train to Teach events (February to March 08)
We worked to promote the series of free Train to Teach careers events held in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
In the run up to the events, we encouraged journalists to swap roles for a day with a teacher to gain an insight into ‘teaching today’. This resulted in a series of hour-long features on key regional radio stations.
To generate a buzz around each event, the Agency organised a series of live science experiments involving around 30 schools across the country, providing an opportunity for the media to film or photograph creative teaching in action. The stunts, and accompanying media push, resulted in national media coverage in the Daily Mirror, Independent, The Sun and Daily Express as well as over 23 TV and radio items and 35 regional press articles.
Launch of the new TDA advertising campaign (January 08)
The PR agency successfully repositioned attitudes to teaching by commissioning a survey interrogating the public’s attitudes towards the talents of teachers compared to other professions. The survey was profiled by BBC News 24, BBC Breakfast and also stimulated a debate on Radio Five Live. The actual teachers who appear in our TV advertising campaign were interviewed on a number of national and regional broadcast outlets.
PR and providers
As a provider, there will be many opportunities for you to work with local journalists, helping to raise the profile of teaching and encouraging suitable candidates to apply.
The TDA press office is always happy to offer help on using local information to promote teaching as a career, with national research that we commission often having regional breakdowns. If your press office is ever unsure of the TDA’s position on a current issue or would like to sound us out on responding to a query regarding teacher training, we are happy to give advice on handling and lines to take.
To find out more about how the press office can help you, please contact us on 020 7023 8080 or:
The team are:
Giles Field, Head of Media Relations, 020 7023 8083 giles.field@tda.gov.uk
Katie Robinson, Media Relations Manager (teacher recruitment), 020 7023 8020 katie.robinson@tda.gov.uk
Peter Eaton, Media Relations Officer, 020 7023 8080 peter.eaton@tda.gov.uk
We also need your help. We are regularly asked for case studies by the media and if you know of a good teacher who will represent the profession well please contact the media relations team.
Contacts
E john.Coventry@munroforster.com
T +44 (0) 20 7 815 3900