Why the Summer Term Is Your Biggest Opportunity (If You Understand What Schools Need Right Now)

If you're an established children's activity or wellbeing provider and you're tired of:

• Sending emails schools and nurseries ignore
• Piecing together bookings term by term
• Relying only on public classes for income

Then come and work with me and my team in the Approaching Schools Academy, where we will show you a better way.

Inside this programme, you will learn a step-by-step strategy so you can implement my Position → Approach → Secure methods used by hundreds of providers in her programmes to build consistent school partnerships and long-term contracts.

👉 Find out more about our final enrolment of the academic year here.

With thanks to our sponsors at LoveAdmin

If you run a children’s activity business, you’ll know this already.  The hard part isn’t the sessions.

It’s everything that sits around them.  The bookings, the payments, the messages, the registers, the forms… all the moving parts that come with trying to run something properly.  That’s where our partner LoveAdmin comes in.  It’s not about being the simplest system on the market.

It’s about having the right things in place.  The kind of functionality that actually reflects how children’s activity businesses are run, and gives you the visibility and control you need as you grow.

So instead of patching things together or outgrowing your setup every year, you’ve got one system that supports you to run more efficiently and build something sustainable.  If admin is starting to feel like a blocker rather than a support, it’s worth a look…

Go to LoveAdmin.com today to get started!

Access your free ThriveHub course, exclusive to Approaching Schools Podcast listeners at https://loveadmin.com/cerys-thrivehub/

Transcript

hello and welcome to the approaching schools Podcast. I'm Charis Keneally, and I help children's activity providers to build key business relationships with schools and nurseries without having to use cold calling or stalking. I want to help you earn a more reliable and consistent income while building your social impact and enriching children's lives with ease. So join me as I take you on a journey, and let's make a positive difference together. If you run a children's activity business, you'll know this already. The hard part isn't the sessions, it's everything that sits around them,
the bookings, the payments,
the messages, the registers, the
forms, all the moving parts
that come with trying to run something properly. That's where our partner love admin comes in. It's not about being the simplest system on the market. It's about having the right things in place, the kind of functionality that actually reflects how children's activity businesses are run and gives you the visibility and control you need as you grow. So instead of patching things together or outgrowing your setup every year, you've got one system that supports you to run more efficiently
and build something sustainable.
If admin is starting to feel like a blocker rather than a support, it's worth a look. Hello everyone, and welcome back to the approaching schools podcast. It's Keris here, and I want to talk to you today about the summer term, and more specifically, why the summer term is actually your biggest opportunity if you understand what schools really need right now, because this is one of the most misunderstood opportunities when it comes to working in schools and nurseries, a lot of providers assume that schools are winding down. Everything's already booked in, and they think they'll just wait until September, but actually
the summer term is one of
the most strategic times you can be getting into schools if you understand what they're really focusing on right now. So in this
episode, I'm going to break down for you
what's actually happening in schools this term, what they need support with, because this is the key bit,
and how you can position what you
do so it actually lands. So what does the summer term really look like in schools? Then let's start with the reality, because it's not a quiet term. It's a different kind of busy. You've got SATs for year six, assessments across the school, sports, day
planning, transition work, especially in
reception in year six, end of year, performances and events, trips, theme, days, enrichment, weeks. And alongside all of that, teachers are tired, aren't they? Senior leaders are reviewing budgets, and schools are starting to think about what worked this year, what didn't, and what needs to change in September. So yes, things are feeling a little bit full, but they're also open in a very specific way, because schools are actually actively looking for things that support them through to the end of the term, and ideas they can carry into the next year as well. So what do schools need help with right now? Because this is where most providers miss this opportunity. They approach the summer term like any other term. But the thing is, in schools, the needs shift, because right now, schools are thinking about things like engagement. So the children are tired, the staff are tired, so anything that really lifts energy, gets the children moving, creates a positive atmosphere helps them focus and concentrate is incredibly valuable, and transition support is a big one, because you've got nursery going into reception, you've got year six going into secondary school, you've got new classes forming. The schools want children to feel really confident. They want them to feel settled. They want them to be positive about managing this change. So if your sessions support confidence, social skills, well being or provide kind of structured learning activities that is highly relevant right now, and there's all those lovely end of Year Experiences in schools as well. Aren't there because this term is full of performances, celebrations, showcases, memory making moments, and that's why things like dance choreography, drama productions, themed workshops, cheerleading and sports events work
so well in this term,
because they fit what the schools are
already doing. And then there's staff well being, because this is often overlooked, but this is the term where burnout is high and schools are more open than you might think to things like staff sessions, wellbeing activities and things that are going to boost morale. You've also got to think about this planning for September, because that's a big strategic one. Senior leaders are already thinking, what do we want more of next year? Year. So when you show up now, you're not just selling something for June or July. You're positioning yourself for September starts for 12 month academic year
contracts and for multi
term provision. And there's
a reason why most providers tend
to miss this window.
What tends to happen is this,
providers either don't reach out at all just thinking schools and nurseries are too busy or they send the same generic emails that they've already sent.
And neither works,
because right now, schools are not
looking for someone that is offering for them to book more sessions. They're looking for something that's really going to help them right now, something that fits what they're already doing, and something that can probably make the staff's lives a little bit easier this term as well. So your message really needs to reflect that, because you need to think about how it answers those questions, because if not, it's going to get pushed aside when they are super busy, but the summer term is a great opportunity for relationship building, because here's the reframe I want you to take away, the summer term is not just about getting booked immediately, it's about getting embedded. So this is where, if you run a workshop or deliver a short program or support an event, or come in for a focus piece of work and then use it to build trust,
to build relationships.
These are the things where a school gets to experience you, and then it becomes much easier to move you into regular sessions, ongoing provision and long term agreements. So this is how you're going to stop starting from scratch every term, so that you're not waiting for September, but you're actually using this time really strategically to kind of get ahead. Okay, so you're really thinking about how this is going to support a more long term strategy within that school or that nursery. So here's some examples of what works well in the summer term. Just to make this really concrete, I want to show you examples of things that are going to land well right now. So maybe a four to week trans, a four to six week transition program focused on confidence and well being. Now let's take a quick break, because this is something I hear a lot from children's activity providers. How do you actually create content that connects with families? Because you might already be posting trying to stay consistent and still feeling like it's not really landing, like you're putting content out there, but not getting much engagement back inside. Love.
Admins, thrive hub, there's a course called
Creating Content families connect with turning moments into meaningful stories. It's all about helping you turn those everyday moments into simple engaging content, from understanding what parents actually respond to, to shaping your posts so they feel clear, relevant and worth engaging with. If you'd like a few ideas to help you create content that builds more trust and connection, you can follow the link in the show notes to access the course that love admin are offering as a freebie for my listeners this month, perhaps supporting year six leavers with a performance or a project, maybe dance or drama workshops leading into an end of year show Sports Day, support or themed Physical activity sessions for school sports week, a wellbeing week or enrichment day, contributions and short term programs that can actually also roll into September. So notice how all of these fit into what schools are already doing. They reduce pressure on staff, and they create noticeable outcomes that is really key at this time of year, and here's why this moment matters, because if you wait until September to try and get into schools, you've already missed a huge opportunity, because the providers who were already in schools by then, they're the ones who showed up now, even if it started really small, even if it was just one Workshop, they're the ones that are already known, already trusted and already being considered for the following academic year. So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, I can see this opportunity, but I'm not fully sure how to position this or approach schools properly, that's exactly what we work on inside the approaching schools Academy, and this program is all about understanding how to align what you offer with what schools and nurseries actually need, how to communicate that clearly, and how to turn moments like this term into something more consistent. And this is the last enrolment now of the academic year. Year. So if you want to use this term to not just pick up a few bookings, but actually set yourself up for a much, much stronger September. This is your window, and you can find all the details about working with me and my team this year in the show notes. So just remember, the summer term isn't the end of
the year, it's the setup
for the next one. And the providers who really treat it that way are the ones who build something so much more stable over time. I'll see you in the next episode. Thank you for listening to the approaching schools podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, do come and let me know in my free group for children's activity providers approaching schools, so that I can make more content like this that you'll love. You can find me on my socials at carers kenealy, and my inbox is always open. I would love for you to leave a review on iTunes and hit subscribe on your favorite platform so you can be the first to know when a new episode is ready. Until then, chat soon you.