MarCommEd x Canva Winter Event shines spotlight on education recruitment and retention
The MarCommEd x Canva Winter Event gathered education marketing and communications professionals from across the UK for a day of innovation, collaboration, and solution-building. Hosted by Canva at their London headquarters on Thursday 5th December, the event focused on addressing one of the most pressing issues in education: teacher recruitment and retention.
Themed around the urgent need to attract and retain teachers in education, the event provided a platform for insights, networking, and actionable strategies. The event was attended by the education marketing and communications community from all over the UK, bringing like-minded individuals together to address the recruitment and retention challenges facing the education sector and aimed to showcase the value of creativity and communications.
Community members at the MarCommEd x Canva Winter Event
Canva unveiled Droptober features
The day opened with an update from Jade Parkinson-Hill at Canva, spotlighting the latest features designed to empower education marketers and their school. Jade showcased the latest tools which were released during the ‘Droptober’ campaign, aimed at streamlining content creation, emphasising how these features could support schools and MATs in amplifying their recruitment efforts.
Additionally, the event featured an overview of Affinity, the latest acquisition by Canva. Affinity, a tool focused on enhancing collaborative design and productivity, promises to be a game-changer for teams working on education marketing projects. The integration of Affinity into Canva’s ecosystem aims to provide users with even greater flexibility and precision in their creative endeavors and will be completely free for any organisation eligible for Canva for Education!
Insights from industry leaders
A dynamic panel discussion brought together experts from the community. Hosted by West Midlands Chair, Mark Smith (The Mercian Trust), he was joined by Jade Parkinson-Hill (Canva), Richard Tilley (Comms for Schools), Kevin Cooper (Cranmer Education Trust) and Kim Stuart-Jones (St Thomas Aquinas CMAT) for a thought-provoking discussion, on the true value of creative and communications - addressing the importance of it in education recruitment. Panelists shared personal experiences and strategies that had proven successful within their multi-academy trust and schools, sparking an engaging dialogue and giving everyone in the room some meaningful tips to take back to their organisation and implement.
One of the highlights of the event was a compelling presentation by MyNewTerm, an innovative platform revolutionising how education roles are advertised and filled. Wayne Cartmel, Founder of MyNewTerm delivered an eye-opening presentation, providing attendees with evidence-informed insights and a picture on the current state of recruitment and retention, which gave the room some food-for-thought when planning their next recruitment campaign!
Wayne Cartmel, Founder of MyNewTerm delivered an insightful overview on the current trends in teacher recruitment.
Collaboration to address the crisis
The afternoon was dedicated to collaborative planning, with attendees breaking into groups to brainstorm and share strategies. The sessions highlighted the power of collective effort, as participants tackled topics such as building appealing employer brands for schools, addressing work-life balance concerns, and creating inclusive environments whereby internal communication is thorough within every organisation.
The event underscored the vital role of education marketing and communications in not only attracting new talent to teaching but also ensuring that existing educators feel valued and supported. Discussions revealed a shared commitment to driving meaningful change and making the teaching profession sustainable for future generations.
A community inspired to take action
The MarCommEd x Canva Winter Event concluded with a renewed sense of purpose. Attendees left inspired, equipped with new tools, and ready to implement actionable strategies within their organisations. The collaborative spirit of the day set the tone for continued efforts to tackle the recruitment and retention crisis, highlighting how valuable creativity and communication is to recruitment and retention.
MarCommEd members collaborating and discussing ways to overcome challenges related to the education recruitment and retention.
Zack Grimes, Cofounder of MarCommEd and Communications and Development Director at the Laurus Trust said:
“This event has been an incredible opportunity to bring together passionate professionals who are dedicated to improving education. We are incredibly grateful to Canva for allowing us to use their fantastic venue once again and to all of our guest speakers for delivering such a meaningful agenda. Their insights have inspired our community members and given us all ideas and an action plan to take back to our schools and multi-academy trusts. We are excited to see more events like this take off over the next year!”
As the education community continues to face significant challenges, events like the MarCommEd x Canva Winter Event serve as a beacon of hope and innovation, proving that collaboration is key to overcoming even the most complex issues.
