How a targeted data cleanse uncovered more than 12,500 changes across 17,000 school decision maker contacts

Contact data does not have to be missing to be wrong. In schools and colleges, people move, responsibilities shift and Heads of Department change, meaning a database can look complete while still pointing to someone who has left the organisation or moved into a different role.

Our client, a national awarding body overseeing qualifications and assessments in schools and colleges, needed reliable contact details for Heads of Department across thousands of centres as major education reforms approached. Blueberry was brought in to review and update the data, giving the client a clearer, more current view of subject-level decision makers. Across the campaign, Blueberry cleansed 16,996 Head of Department contacts, uncovering more than 12,500 changes and new contacts along the way.

Results at a Glance

• 16,996 Head of Department contacts cleansed
• 74% required a change or new contact
• 49.8% of cleansed contacts were either updated or newly identified
• 1,570 centres fully cleansed

The Challenge

The awarding body supplied around 227,000 contacts across 4,456 centres. The difficulty was the level of detail needed, with the campaign focused on Heads of Department across up to 17 priority subjects and, in some centres, 19 or more individual contacts.

That level of detail is difficult to keep current. A school may still be open with its main number unchanged, while the person responsible for Science, English, Maths or another subject may have moved school or taken on a different role. The aim was to check what was already there, fill in the gaps and understand how much of the existing data could still be relied on.

How We Ran the Cleanse

Blueberry organised the data by centre and worked through reception staff and exams officers, allowing several subject contacts to be checked in one conversation. In larger centres, up to 14 Heads of Department were cleansed in a single call. Existing contacts were updated where needed, while missing decision makers were identified and added.

What the Cleanse Uncovered

Only 26% of contacts needed no change. The remaining 74% were either updated, newly identified, removed because the role was no longer correct, or linked to someone who was no longer at the centre. The breakdown was:

• 6,023 contacts with updated details
• 2,451 new contacts
• 2,380 records where the existing role needed removing
• 1,648 contacts who were no longer at the centre
• 4,494 contacts that remained correct

The same issue was evident across the core subjects, with around 42% of English contacts, 45% of Science contacts and 32% of Maths contacts either new or needing an update.

The Outcome

Across the wider campaign, Blueberry contacted 2,954 centres. Of those, 1,570 were fully cleansed, with all target subject contacts completed, and a further 376 were partially cleansed.

The client now has a more reliable, subject-specific contact base for communications around the upcoming reform, with a clearer view of which contacts are current, where details still need updating and where gaps remain.

If your school or college data needs checking, updating or building, Blueberry can help you assess what you have, identify any gaps and improve how you reach the right contacts. Call +44 (0)113 200 5200 or email info@blueberryms.co.uk.

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