MAT Forward 2025 – Webinar library
Catch up on this years’ webinars.
Governance 101 – many schools, one vision
Uniting multiple schools under a single trust vision can be as complex as it is crucial. In this session, Al Kingsley, CEO of NetSupport / Chair of a Multi-Academy Trust, draws on his extensive MAT leadership and governance experience, offering guidance on how MATs can create alignment across schools while still allowing for local context. From strategic coherence to governance frameworks, Al will offer practical insights and provocation to help MAT leaders take their trust-wide coordination to the next level.
This session sheds light on:
- The big questions: how can we define success, and what should we be measuring across a MAT?
- Connecting the dots: strategies for aligning vision, operations, and outcomes across multiple schools.
- Quality descriptors & beyond: using sector frameworks as a guide – not a checklist – for building effective governance.
Recruiting and retaining staff in a values-led organisation
In a competitive education landscape, recruiting and retaining great staff is about more than just job specs and salaries – it’s about building a culture rooted in shared values. In this session, Oliver Burwood, CEO at Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust, explains how a values-led approach has helped the Trust not only attract the right people but also support them to thrive and grow.
Learn how strong organisational values can shape behaviours, boost retention, and ultimately improve pupil outcomes.
This session explores:
- How values-driven recruitment can help MATs attract and retain the right people for the long term.
- Practical ways DNEAT has embedded its values in everyday practice to help staff feel empowered and fulfilled.
- Why leading with values can drive school improvement while ensuring people are treated with care, dignity, and respect.
Collaboration and sharing best practice – embedding teaching excellence
Join Laura Grainger, Head of Curriculum, Assessment and Pedagogy at Anthem Schools Trust, as she explores how MATs can move beyond isolated CPD events to create truly embedded, trust-wide collaboration.
With a focus on curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, this session will examine how structured sharing of best practice can drive consistency, raise standards, and make excellence the norm across all schools in a trust.
This session covers:
- Embedding trust-wide collaboration: how to move beyond one-off CPD events to foster ongoing, structured collaboration across schools.
- Focus on core educational pillar: strategies for aligning curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment to drive consistency and excellence.
- Share and scale best practice: how systematic sharing of effective approaches can raise standards and make high-quality teaching the norm.
AI beyond the hype – sustaining engagement and relevance for students aimed at MAT leaders
AI is dominating headlines, but what does its meaningful application look like in a multi-academy trust context? In this insightful session, AI thought leader and international school strategist Matthew Wemyss explains how MATs can use AI not just as a buzzword, but as a practical tool to enhance student engagement, inform responsive planning, and close the feedback loop at scale. Expect real-world examples and a critical eye on what works – and what doesn’t.
Topics for this session include:
- Data: turning raw metrics into usable insight that informs strategic decision-making across your trust.
- Planning: co-designing responsive curricula and CPD that reflect both learner needs and staff development goals.
- Action: using AI to support targeted interventions and follow-through, helping to personalise learning and improve outcomes.
Helping every student reach their potential – strategies for SEND success
Creating inclusive, high-impact strategies for learners with SEND is essential – not exceptional.
In this thought-provoking session, Stephen Steinhaus, CEO and Co-Founder of Solihull Alternative Provision Multi Academy Trust, draws on his leadership in alternative provision to challenge assumptions and share actionable approaches to SEND inclusion across MATs.
He unpacks how co-production, planning, and deliberate adaptation can enable all learners to thrive – while questioning what we, as system leaders, are truly prepared to stand for.
This session focuses on the following areas:
- Why “AP shouldn’t be special” and why recognising need over choice is critical to equity.
- The role of “co-production” in shaping meaningful SEND provision: what will we stand for, and what won’t we?
- Practical strategies for “deliberate adaptation”, planning, and best-practice adjustments to support every learner.