In early 2025 NASUWT, one of the UK’s largest teaching unions, partnered with Agenda’s Comms Lab to strengthen its communications strategy by determining which frames and tone of voice would maximise its influence with policymakers and public engagement via the media.
The challenge
Organisations working in complex policy areas often face the same barriers:
Their evidence is strong but policymakers do not always see the urgency or relevance to their own work.
Long-term change is needed but has to be framed as possible within short-term political cycles.
Messaging from across the sector is fragmented, with many voices competing and not always aligning, making cut through difficult and any calls to action or asks easier to ignore.
Our work with NASUWT took on the challenge: how to build a compelling narrative that gains traction with policymakers and the media to secure public buy-in and long-term political prioritisation.
Our approach
Agenda’s Comms Lab combined systems thinking, academic research and strategic communications expertise to understand how education policies, in particular teachers’ pay and conditions, have been framed by decision-makers and key media outlets compared to NASUWT.
Through in-depth analysis of messages, metaphors and psychological tools, we mapped out where there were chances for the union to adapt its narrative, reinforce helpful frames and align with more positive language of the people with power.
For this project we:
Analysed political framing – with a particular focus on identifying the Labour government’s language on education policy and where the union may need to adjust its own language to have greater cut through.
Reviewed media coverage – understanding how dominant narratives around crisis, cost and failure in education and teaching were shaping public perceptions.
Audited existing communications of both the union and their main competitor – assessing the frames, metaphors and tone of voice of current campaigns to identify overlaps, contrasts and opportunities for alignment.
Considered psychological drivers – such as the use of social proof, compare and contrast and other similar tools – and how these impacted attitudes and behaviours.
Mapped the landscape - using all the insights from the different frame analyses to map how education is framed, build alignment and identify where small shifts in language use could unlock greater influence with policymakers.
Developed actionable recommendations – focusing on strategic narrative change over time, not just short-term message testing.
What we found
Our analysis of political party communications revealed a clear shift in how Labour has been framing education. Among the key findings were insights such as:
From protest to partnership: Prior to the 2024 General Election, Labour had used strong crisis narratives to highlight problems and appeal to outrage and urgency. By 2025, it had moved towards an aspirational, solution-driven approach to engage partners, secure buy-in and drive long-term change.
Justice and fairness: Education was presented as a fundamental right and a driver of equality by the government.
Shared responsibility: Teachers were positioned as partners in delivering higher standards, not as adversaries.
Tone: Aspirational, constructive and solutions-focused, with a strong emphasis on system reform.
Political opportunities were clear: Labour was framing education as a story of justice, fairness and collaboration – opening the door for organisations ready to act as constructive partners.
Media environment
Media narratives were dominated by crisis coverage, particularly around teacher shortages and policy failures.
While validating union concerns, this reliance on crisis frames risked reducing teachers to victims or costs rather than professionals – which in turn were likely to deter people from pursuing careers in teaching.
Journalists signalled demand for evidence-based, solutions-led stories that elevate professional voices and offer credible alternatives, suggesting a media strategy of this nature would cut through more powerfully than abstract critique.
Messaging landscape
Union members want constructive advocacy: regular communication, evidence-based solutions and a sense of being active participants in education policy rather than passive recipients.
The union’s pragmatic, data-driven tone already positioned it as credible and constructive.
However, overuse of crisis framing risked demoralising members and fatiguing wider audiences.
Competitors leaned on urgency and moral outrage, which was powerful for mobilisation, but often polarising and less effective in building long-term partnerships with decision-makers.
Recommendations in action
We worked with the union to identify a strategic communications framework rooted in three principles:
Equity and justice. Ensure stories highlight the systemic barriers facing members and communities, particularly those most marginalised.
Partnership not protest. Position the union as a policy-shaper – aligning where appropriate with government priorities, while not being afraid to hold the government to account, maintaining independence and credibility.
Narrative change for the long term. Balance urgency with empowerment, celebrate success as well as challenge failure, and use a combination of evidence-based storytelling and diverse voices to shift policy and public understanding over time.
The impact
The Comms Lab process equipped the union with a clear, evidence-based positioning strategy to help it stand out in a crowded advocacy landscape. It provided a shared narrative framework that resonated with political and public priorities while staying true to the union’s core values and objectives, ensuring that it could engage with influence without compromising its identity.
Most importantly, the process delivered practical tools for long-term change: not just short-term message testing, but a deeper understanding of how narratives and mindsets evolve over time, and how to intervene in ways that shape them. This was important because change campaigns rarely succeed on evidence alone – audience identities and the emotions sparked by messaging are just as crucial.
The Comms Lab findings help strengthen the union’s role as a policy-shaper and to find stories that aligned its values of pride, pragmatism and progress with evidence and key asks. Above all, the recommendations were all designed to drive long-term narrative change, ensuring that investment in education and teaching is essential for a fairer, more prosperous society.