Maintaining a compelling, up-to-date school website is no longer optional. It’s a vital tool for communication, engagement, and reputation management in both the independent and state sectors. Yet one question remains consistent across education clients: how often should a school website be refreshed?
At Datum, we work closely with primary schools, secondary academies, multi-academy trusts, and independent schools. We understand the cyclical nature of academic life, and how a school’s digital presence needs to keep pace. In this blog, we’ll explore why regular website updates matter, when to refresh key content, and how a retained partnership can make it seamless.
Why School Website Updates Matter
Your school website serves many purposes: it informs prospective parents, supports current families, celebrates achievements, and meets statutory obligations. If it’s static or outdated, it quickly becomes a liability rather than an asset.
Fresh content:
- Shows that your school is active, vibrant, and well-run
- Improves SEO, making your site more discoverable
- Ensures compliance with DfE and Ofsted expectations
- Supports admissions by presenting the school in its best light
- Helps reduce admin by making important information easy to find
Aligning with the Academic Year
The school calendar offers a natural rhythm for refreshing digital content. Aligning website activity with termly or seasonal milestones helps schools stay ahead.
Autumn Term (Sept–Dec)
- Update staff lists and governor profiles
- Refresh uniform details and policy documents
- Promote open days and admissions deadlines
- Share new prospectus or term plans
Spring Term (Jan–March)
- Post key dates for SATs, mocks, and exams
- Highlight extracurricular successes from Autumn
- Share newsletters, photo galleries, or student blogs
Summer Term (April–July)
- Celebrate leavers and end-of-year achievements
- Promote holiday clubs or summer activities
- Start preparing content for the next academic year
By breaking the website workload into manageable cycles, schools avoid falling into the trap of doing everything at once – or worse, letting it slide entirely.
How Often Should the Design Be Refreshed?
While content updates are frequent, a visual and functional design refresh is typically needed every 3-5 years. This ensures your site remains modern, accessible, mobile-friendly, and reflective of your school’s evolving brand.
If your school website:
- Looks outdated on mobile
- Loads slowly or breaks on certain browsers
- Is hard to navigate for SEN users
- No longer reflects your ethos or values
…then it’s time to consider a full design and structure update. It’s not just about aesthetics — it’s about creating a better experience for users and showcasing your school in the best light.
The Benefits of a Retained Partnership
At Datum, we often work with schools on a retained basis — providing monthly support that covers content updates, design tweaks, blog writing, policy uploads, and termly planning.
This approach offers several advantages:
- Predictable costs across the year
- Guaranteed turnaround times
- Proactive planning aligned to your calendar
- Reduced admin burden on staff
- Regular strategic reviews to improve performance
Rather than reactive fixes, schools benefit from a steady stream of professional support. Our education team becomes an extension of yours — keeping your school website fresh, compliant, and compelling.
What Makes a Successful School Website?
From our experience across hundreds of education clients, successful school websites:
- Prioritise clear navigation and accessibility
- Blend statutory compliance with personality
- Include strong photography and video
- Feature regularly updated content (news, blogs, events)
- Make contact details and calls-to-action prominent
We also recommend integrating social media feeds, calendar tools, and simple CMS training so schools can manage key updates in-house, with backup from Datum as needed.
Ready to Refresh?
If your school website hasn’t been updated in the past year — in content or structure — it may be time for a review. Datum offers free website health checks for schools, assessing compliance, usability, and design.
Contact us today to book a review or discuss a retained website support plan tailored to your school’s needs.
