Ian Richardson
Built hundreds of website and helped countless schools realise their potential online. Ian should be called upon for straight-talking advice and to make a difference to the way you present your school through every outlet.
HomeSchool Website BlogSchool Website RequirementsHow to get Contact Details on your School Website right
When it comes to creating a school website that meets Ofsted and DFE guidelines, one of the most overlooked yet crucial elements is the contact details section. In this blog post, we'll delve into the specifics of what you need to include in your school website contact details to ensure compliance and user-friendliness. The first section of the school website requirements guide is your school contact details. However, it is a section that is often incomplete when auditing website content. we recently surveyed a handful of school websites and 75% of them were not compliant with this requirement. So what is important when it comes to your school website contact details?
Contact details are often the first thing people look for when they visit a school's website. They're also the first thing you'll see when you check the DFE website or our free School Website Requirements Guide available at Scudio.com. Ensuring that your contact details are accurate and comprehensive is not just a compliance issue; it's also about making a good first impression.
Many schools miss out on including some essential elements in their contact details section. These include:
It is vital to include this information on your school website. Otherwise, your site will not be compliant. The details of all school website requirements can be found in our guide.
Now would be a great time to bring up your school website and check the contact details. Have you included and answer to every requirement listed? If not then take some time to update your contact page. The information requested for this section is really straightforward. Some common errors with school website contact details that I would love to highlight:
This school does an excellent job in listing out the senior leadership team, local governance, and key contacts like the SENCO, safeguarding officer, and education welfare officer. They even specify who to contact for general inquiries.
Another excellent example, St. Martin's School, includes all necessary contact details, including the head teacher, SENCO, and Academy Council Chair. They also offer paper copies of essential documents and provide information on how to get in touch with their trust.
Try and take a look at your school website contact details as someone who has never made contact with your school before. Why not get a friend to look at your contact page and see if they would find it easy to make contact with school using what is currently on your site. Is there any helpful information that you can give your users? We always suggest embedding a map on your contact page so people can see where the school is. But what about parking facilities? Should visitors report to reception? How long can people expect to wait for a reply to their email? Answer the question before it is asked and save your administration team and your website visitors a lot of time.
With the growing trend of educational trusts, standardizing the process and approach for school website contact details is becoming increasingly important. Whether you manage five schools or 50, having a standard operating procedure can help maintain consistency and quality across all websites.
Perfecting your school website contact details is not just about compliance; it's about providing a user-friendly experience for parents, students, and staff. If you haven't already, make sure to download our comprehensive School Website Requirements Guide for more insights.
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out to us at Scudio.com.
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Built hundreds of website and helped countless schools realise their potential online. Ian should be called upon for straight-talking advice and to make a difference to the way you present your school through every outlet.