Where we are going into 2027
The picture as it stands, so the planning is built on real numbers. Every figure has its source next to it. Nothing here is estimated.
Enrolments since SAL started with the school
Chris's direct figure, 11 September 2026, while reviewing the account. Not yet checked against the school's enrolment register, which is the first thing worth doing today.
34 confirmed new enrolments
Full 2026 capacity (440 students) reached ahead of schedule, and the school started talking about a third stream. Source: Marketing Impact Report, St Pauls.
96 enquiries at $20.78 each
The Lead Gen campaign, 17 July 2025 to 11 September 2026: $1,994.91 spent for 96 enquiries. Pulled live from the Meta ad account. The earlier, now paused version added 28 more at $18.59 each.
252 direct calls from Google
Plus 3,528 website visitors (up 57%), 3,112 of them first-time. Source: Marketing Impact Report, St Pauls.
Full, no waitlist
Confirmed by you on 2 September. The Kindy 2027 ad came off rather than spending on enquiries the school can't take, and Kindy 2028 is built ready to go.
What changed this term
So the "what worked, what we drop" conversation starts from the same list.
Meta rebuilt: Kindy 2027 retired, Kindy 2028 built on the same structure, Relocating Families (NSW, VIC, QLD) given a real budget, a retargeting campaign built against the people who already engage with the school's Facebook and Instagram (up to about 3,200 between the two). Total Meta budget set to $500 a month.
Google Ads cleaned up: brand campaign retired, an Australia-wide campaign added for families relocating to Karratha, a proper competitor campaign built, and searches for the school's own name excluded from the prospecting campaign so it only finds new families.
Assistant Principal recruitment ad switched off, role filled. Strong hook on that video (48.5% of people who saw it stopped to watch), which is worth remembering for the next role.
Your LinkedIn growth plan built: profile audit, who has the audience in WA Catholic education, ten drafted posts, and the questions for the first recording session.
Kindy 2028 and Relocating Families are built and paused, waiting on fresh ad copy and video before they go live. That's the main thing holding the 2027 pipeline back right now.
Your LinkedIn strategy
The full plan is its own page (button at the top). This is just what we need to agree on today so it starts moving.
Walk through
- Where your profile sits now, and who already has the audience in WA Catholic education
- The ten drafted posts, starting with Post 1 ("The school holidays are not a perk of the job")
- How the recording sessions work: one session a month, two posts' worth of you talking, we write from that
Why it matters
- Parents and staff check who runs the school before they enquire or apply. Your profile is part of the enrolment funnel whether we treat it that way or not.
- Your standing in the principals' network is real. LinkedIn is where that becomes visible outside the room.
- It doesn't cost ad spend. It costs about an hour of your time a month.
Decide in the room
Tick what's agreed. Anything not ticked comes back to Chris to rework.
Strategy for 2027, and how we attack it
What earned its place this year, what's still a test, and what we've already let go. Then the calendar, working backwards from the dates that matter.
Keep, it worked
- Meta enrolment lead ad96 enquiries at $20.78 each, lifetime. The structure carries over to Kindy 2028 as is.
- Local Google prospecting ("schools in Karratha")11% of people who see the ad click it, and it produced this month's real enquiries.
- Recruitment video adsAssistant Principal role filled. Half of everyone who saw the video stopped to watch.
- Boosting the school's own postsThe "kids and staff having a real moment" posts win every month. More of those, fewer process posts.
Test, built but unproven
- Relocating Families (NSW, VIC, QLD)Interstate interest is real in the account. Needs its own message: what moving for Pilbara work actually feels like, not "enrol now".
- RetargetingAds to the people who already engage with the school online (up to about 3,200), excluding anyone who's already enquired. Small budget, already-warm audience.
- Australia-wide Google searchCatching "moving to Karratha" searches from anywhere in the country.
- Competitor searchShowing St Paul's when someone searches the other local schools by name.
Dropped, on purpose
- Kindy 2027 adFull, no waitlist. No point paying for enquiries you can't take.
- Brand-name Google campaignWas mostly existing parents looking for the absentee form.
- The old competitor campaign54 cents spent in its whole life. Replaced with a real one.
The 2027 calendar, working backwards
Your dates on the left, what we need to have live before them on the right. Fill in what you know, rough is fine, we'll firm it up.
| Milestone | Date (or best guess) | What has to be live before it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 4 filming day | Nothing, this is the unblocker. Kindy 2028 video, relocating families video, two LinkedIn posts' worth of you. | ||
| Kindy 2028 enrolment push starts | Kindy 2028 Meta ad live, landing page checked, enquiry form tested. | ||
| 2027 enrolment cut-off (other years) | Local Google and Meta ads pointed at the year levels with gaps (see agenda 03). | ||
| Open day or school tour | Ads 3 to 4 weeks ahead, a post the week of, a follow-up to everyone who attended. | ||
| Orientation (Kindy 2027) | Content to capture on the day for next year's Kindy ad. | ||
| Interstate relocation window | Relocating Families ad live, ideally before families lock in a move for the new year. | ||
| Other |
Decide in the room
Content to film in Term 4 so January isn't a scramble.
The numbers going into 2027
This is the shared scoreboard. Once these are in, every campaign next year gets pointed at a specific gap instead of "enrolments" in general, and the reporting can say whether it's closing.
Kids: 2027 by year level
Type the numbers, the gap works itself out. Green means full, red means there's a push needed, amber means over capacity.
| Year level | Capacity 2027 | Enrolled / confirmed | Waitlist | Gap | Push needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kindy | – | ||||
| Pre-Primary | – | ||||
| Year 1 | – | ||||
| Year 2 | – | ||||
| Year 3 | – | ||||
| Year 4 | – | ||||
| Year 5 | – | ||||
| Year 6 | – | ||||
| Whole school | – | – | – | – |
Gap = capacity minus enrolled. A negative gap means over capacity (the third-stream conversation).
Staff: roles you expect to recruit for
So the recruitment ad is ready before the gap opens, not three weeks after. Even a rough guess is useful.
| Role | When (term or month) | How sure | Notes (housing, allowance, relief vs permanent) |
|---|---|---|---|
Decide in the room
The scoreboard only works if it keeps getting filled in.
Focus areas for next year
Pick the two or three things that actually move enrolments and say no to the rest. Then the budget and what the reporting should look like.
Pick two or three
Rank them 1 to 3. Anything unranked is a "not this year".
Budget
Where the ad spend sits now. The retainer is separate and unchanged.
Decide in the room
Reporting
What you and the board actually need to see, so the weekly hub and monthly report earn their place.
Decide in the room
Wrap-up
Everything ticked or typed above, pulled into one summary. Read it back together before we leave, then send it through and it lands with Chris straight away.
Nothing filled in yet.