School and College Radio Station Website: Presenters, Schedule and Archive

A school or college radio station's website has an unusual mix of visitors: students who want to hear themselves and their friends, parents who want to know when their child is on air, staff and governors who want to see what the station does, and the wider community. It also carries a responsibility most station sites don't: many of the people on it are young.

This guide covers the website: presenter profiles, the schedule, the archive and events. Running the station (scheduling the week, automation, what students can do from a browser, licensing) is covered on our RadioHost Studio page for schools and colleges.

The pages a school station needs

Student presenter profiles that protect privacy

Presenter profiles are part of what makes a student station fun: students want to see their name on the site. They are also public pages that search engines index. Before publishing any, agree a policy with your school or college, and write it down.

Practical defaults that work for most school stations (this is practical advice, not legal advice; follow your institution's safeguarding and data protection policies and the law where you are):

• First names or on-air names only. "Maya" or "DJ Comet", not a full name. Never combine a full name with the school's name and a photo.
• No contact details. No email addresses, phone numbers or personal social media on student profiles. RadioSiteMaker's profile fields for social links are optional; leave them blank. Put a single station contact on the contact page instead.
• Get written consent before publishing. For students under 18, that usually means a parent or guardian, covering the name used, the photo (if any), the bio and the audio archive. Keep consent records with the station, not on the website.
• Photos are optional. A profile works without one. If you use photos, consider show artwork, a group shot or an illustration instead of an individual portrait, and avoid uniforms or locations that identify the school.
• Keep bios about the show. Music taste and what the show is about, not age, class, home town or timetable.
• Review before publishing. One staff member checks each new profile and show description before it goes live.
• Take profiles down when students leave. Each profile can be set inactive, which removes it from the site without deleting it.

A schedule parents can follow

Parents most often visit to find out when a particular show is on. Make that easy:

• Enter every regular show and place it on the weekly schedule grid, with the presenters linked (by first name or on-air name).
• Write a short description for each show: what it is and when it runs. During term breaks, say so on the about page and in show descriptions so nobody waits for a show that isn't on.
• Share the schedule page's link with families at the start of each term.

A podcast archive of shows

Many families can't listen live during the school day. Recording shows and publishing them as podcast episodes lets them listen later, and gives students a portfolio of their work. Set up a podcast series per show or one series for highlights, and write a short description for each episode.

Apply the same consent rules to audio as to profiles: get consent before publishing recordings, and remove episodes on request. If you already publish to a podcast host, paste its RSS feed URL when you create the series and the existing episodes are imported. Our podcast hosting guide covers where to host the audio.

Events

Live broadcasts from sports days, concerts, open days, fundraisers and outside broadcasts each get an event page with date, time, venue and image. It's a good way to show the wider school what the station does. Our event promotion guide has ideas for promoting them on air.

Features to switch on, and off

RadioSiteMaker lets you turn individual features on or off. For a school station, think about which ones your staff can supervise:

• Live chat, voice messages and dedications put listener messages on or behind the site. Switch them off unless someone is responsible for moderating them during the times they're open.
• The Join page collects applications from people who want to get involved, which suits recruiting new presenters each year.
• Song requests are available to stations using RadioHost Studio.

Running the station side

The website plays your stream and shows what's on. Producing the stream (automating the hours when no students are on air, letting presenters broadcast from a browser, scheduling the week) is a separate job. See RadioHost Studio for schools and colleges. The website and Studio are separate subscriptions, and the website works with any stream host.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should student presenters use their real names on the website?

Use first names or on-air names, and get written consent (from a parent or guardian for students under 18) before publishing a profile. Don't publish contact details or personal social media for students. Follow your school's safeguarding and data protection policies, which take precedence over any general advice.

Can we remove a student's profile when they leave?

Yes. Each profile can be set inactive, which takes it off the public site. You can also edit or delete it. Do the same for podcast episodes if a student or their family asks.

How can parents hear a show they missed?

Publish recordings of shows as podcast episodes, with the show name and date in each episode's title or description. Share the podcasts page link with families alongside the schedule.

Can students update the website themselves?

The website is managed from the station's dashboard. A simple arrangement is for students to send their show descriptions and episode notes to a named staff member or senior student, who checks them and publishes them.

Is the website the same as RadioHost Studio?

No. RadioSiteMaker is the station's public website with the live player. RadioHost Studio is the browser-based software for running the station. They are separate subscriptions and you can use either without the other.