Like wisps of breath in the frosty air, the promise of a new year appears tangible but temporary. In January, teachers and students return to school still glowing from the winter break, feeling inspired, ready to learn, and eager to seize the possibilities that a fresh term brings.

Between the post-holiday return and the mid-February break, schools are abuzz with activity. Older students are engaged in exam preparations, teachers are planning captivating lessons, and classrooms are alive with the energy of a renewed focus.

Regardless of your speciality within the education industry, you’ll find plenty of events to inspire your next marketing campaign with our 18 Education Marketing Hotspots for January and February.

Read to the end to discover how you can gain access to our live Education Calendars (and so much more) via our industry-leading education marketing platform - Campus.

School holidays

The start of the year is not as packed with festive events as the end of the year, but it’s still important to know the essentials, such as when schools are closed. A key pillar of email communication is timing your campaigns when your target audience will be in ‘work mode’ and receptive to your message. For most educators, teaching days are the best to target, so let’s begin with when the holidays are.

England
Spring Term Day One - 8th January.
Spring Half Term - 12th to 16th February.

Northern Ireland
Spring Term Day One - 3rd January.
Mid-Term Holiday - 15th to 16th February.

Scotland
Spring Term Day One - 8th January.
Spring Half Term - 12th to 16th February.

Wales
Spring Term Day One - 8th January.
Spring Half Term - 12th to 16th February.

It’s worth noting that these dates can vary by council, and not all schools follow the dates designated by local education authorities. If there’s a particular school you wish to target, always check on their website.

Funding releases

Throughout the academic year, schools will receive funding from the government. Targeting funding releases in your marketing to schools, especially if you reference how to access a specific fund, is a highly effective means of engaging education budget holders.

Recovery Premium
The Recovery Premium is a government package to support students whose learning has been affected by the pandemic. It’s limited in availability until the end of the 2023/24 academic year, but £1 billion was set aside for use across 2022/23 and 2023/24. Academies and Free Schools will receive the second of four instalments of the Recovery Premium on the 9th January.

Pupil Premium
This grant is calculated each year, with schools receiving a per-pupil figure based primarily on whether students are eligible for free school meals. Academies, Free Schools, and Non-Maintained Special Schools receive the third of four instalments of Pupil Premium funding at the start of January.

National Tutoring Programme (NTP)
The NTP provides schools with funding to spend on tutoring students; it was launched to help with learning gaps when schools returned post-lockdown. Academies and Non-Maintained Special Schools will receive their second of three instalments at the end of January.

PE and Sports Premium
This grant focuses on a government aim to provide opportunities for students to be involved in 60 minutes of physical activity a day. During February, New Maintained Schools receive the first allocation of the PE and Sport Premium.

School events

The wintry weather means schools are less likely to be inviting visitors into their school in January, but things start to pick up again in February.

Second Parents’ Evening
Schools are required to hold one parents' evening a year in England. Many schools go further and the spring term sees schools starting to schedule these from early February on. In secondary schools, they tend to have a focus on learning progress, with results from mock exams often used to identify where students need to focus their efforts in their preparations for the summer term exams.

Valentine’s Disco
Not every school will run this type of event but many choose to time charity fundraising efforts, such as a Valentine’s Day disco, around or on Valentine’s Day. It’s a timely reminder of a well-known event you may wish to connect to your own marketing campaign.

Exams and tuition

The new year brings fresh exams alongside the continuation of testing periods that began before the winter break.

11+ entrance exams
For Independent Fee-Paying Schools, the 11+ exam period is quite long, as they are not required to synchronise their results around a national deadline. November is when many schools get started, with the 11+ exam period going all the way through until the end of January at some schools.

International exams
For international schools based in the UK, many will be participating in the Oxford AQA and Pearson Edexcel January exams, with a particular focus on international A-Levels and GCSEs.

Mock exams
Ofqual guidance is that schools hold one ‘mock exam’ for students to complete as preparation for the summer exams. Whilst schools have the freedom to choose when to hold mock exams, the December to January period is the most popular.

Themed campaigns

We’ve collated below some of the strongest themes for the start of the new year so that you can time your education marketing campaign around the most relevant events. Just a handful of dates are shared below, but if you want to know about everything that’s going on, our live Education Calendars on Campus are the place to go.

Reading & storytelling
Winnie the Pooh Day - 18th January.
National Story Telling Week - 27th January to 4th February.
Charles Dickens’ Birthday - 7th February.

Marking history
Martin Luther King Jr. Day - 15th January.
Holocaust Memorial Day - 27th January.
LGBT+ History Month - 1st to 29th February.

Participate for charity
RSBP Big Schools Birdwatch - 8th January to 19th February.
Heart Month - 1st to 29th February.
NSPCC Number Day - 2nd February.

Mental health & safeguarding
Children’s Mental Health Week - 5th to 11th February.
Time To Talk Day - 1st February.
Safer Internet Day - 6th February.

Career pathways
National Apprenticeship Week - 5th to 11th February.
National Apprenticeship Show South West - 6th to 7th February.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science - 11th February.

Education conferences
Bett UK 2024 - 24th to 26th January.
World of Learning Summit - 30th to 31st January.
Nursery World Show - 2nd to 3rd February.

Access Marketing Intelligence

That concludes our rundown of education marketing hotspots coming up in January and February. If you found this useful for your preparations, imagine the impact on your education marketing that full access to all of our intelligence will have. Take advantage of everything Sprint Education has to offer by upgrading to our industry-changing education marketing platform - Campus.

Education Calendars
On Campus, you can access live education updates on our UK and International School calendar, so you can be sure not to miss a thing. Each calendar is divided into categories from School Events to Exams, Budgets to Education Exhibitions, you’ll find the events most relevant to you at the click of a button. Not to forget, we’ll soon be adding a US education calendar so you can make a splash across the pond.

Want a taste of some of the education dates you'll be able to access on our live calendars?

Download our free UK Academic Year desktop calendar today.

Education News Bulletins
On Campus, you receive updates on the education developments that matter. Our Education News Bulletins are hosted by former teacher, Ben Sawyer, who focuses only on the news that impacts education businesses and their target audience. Exclusively available to Campus users, it sits alongside a wealth of education-focused reports designed to help you master the market.

Get in touch

To discover all that Campus has to offer as THE one-stop shop for businesses that market to schools, contact our team today to arrange a demo of our revolutionary platform that’s evolving education marketing.

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