Education leaders today are navigating an unprecedented landscape of financial restraints and rapid technology change, with more than more than half of MATs forecasting an in-year deficit in 2025. This confluence of fiscal pressure and policy momentum presents both a challenge and an opportunity, how can we deliver effective digital strategies that preserve teaching and learning standards while driving innovation? This session will explore practical approaches to implementing effective digital strategies while facing limited resources. 

• In what ways can trusts collaborate across schools, through shared procurement, AI policy frameworks, or joint initiatives, to stretch resources further?
• How do we measure the value of digital investment beyond cost, capturing long-term, cultural, and relational benefits?
• What strategies help align stakeholders across the trust to see digital as an enabler of success rather than a cost centre?

Technology is transforming teaching and learning at unprecedented speed, but are Multi-Academy Trusts leading the charge or playing catch-up? This session brings the classroom to the conference, featuring live student voices from The Cornerstone Academy Trust. Students will share first-hand how total immersion in digital tools is shaping their learning, creativity, and preparation for the future. How can we reimagine the potential of digital transformation across trust and put students at the heart of innovation?

• Learn how The Cornerstone Academy Trust has built a trust-wide framework for digital adoption, balancing innovation with safeguarding, data protection, procurement, and teaching and learning oversight.
• Real classroom examples demonstrating how digital tools enhance engagement, assessment, and personalised learning.
• Hear directly from learners on what works, what challenges they face, and how technology empowers them.

With recent Government investment to close the digital divide in the classrooms, digital standards are now a requirement for all schools to ensure no learner is left behind. Digital technology has the power to transform learning, but unequal access to devices, connectivity, and digital skills can widen educational gaps. For MATs, ensuring digital equity is no longer optional; it is central to safeguarding student outcomes, meeting inspection expectations, and fulfilling the trust’s mission. This session combines insights from expert speakers with small group conversations to explore how leaders can embed equity into digital strategy, policy, and practice across their schools.

• How can MATs assess and map digital disparities across their schools to target interventions effectively?
• How do trusts develop staff capacity and technical abilities to deliver inclusive digital pedagogy that accounts for varying student needs?
• How can MATs measure the impact of digital inclusion initiatives beyond access, towards engagement, achievement, and student wellbeing?

AI in education is no longer a distant possibility; it’s already reshaping teaching practices and learning experiences. It is critical that MAT leaders move beyond the question of if AI will impact education to how they will strategically guide that transformation. This panel discussion will explore successful digital transformation case studies, focusing on AI adoption amongst staff and students, building collaborative networks with other institutions, and establishing digital governance. What are the practical challenges associated with moving on from AI pilot projects to institution-wide digital maturity?

• What does current guidance say about ethical AI use and digital governance within the classroom and in assessments?
• How can trusts account for the accelerating pace of AI innovation while embedding policy into existing governance structures and operational procedures?
• How do we stay up to date with how students are using AI tools?

As MATs invest in devices and infrastructure, true transformation depends on whether teachers, and all school staff, can use those tools confidently and meaningfully. This session will cover how to build sustainable, scalable digital literacy across a trust: from embedding pedagogically-sound practice and blended learning, to equipping staff to use free and existing tools, adapting to budget constraints, and tracking impact beyond devices.

•  What does effective, sustainable digital CPD look like across a MAT?
•  How do we embed training into everyday workflows instead of relying on one-off sessions?
•  What does a realistic digital competency framework look like?

MATs are prime targets for cyberattacks, and 2025 has already seen an increase in sophisticated, well-funded threats. The latest Academy Trust Handbook emphasises the need for strong cyber hygiene and robust recovery plans to protect school and trust data without disrupting learning. Critical questions continue to surround what guidance exists to strengthen defences, protect sensitive data and ensure resilience in a sometimes-hostile digital environment. This session will explore:

• Practical strategies to secure IT systems across multiple schools.
• How to implement recovery plans that minimise disruption and risk.
• Approaches to achieving high-level security even on constrained budgets.

Recent data shows that nearly one in five pupils in England now has identified Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), with a 31.2% increase in numbers since 2016. That sharp rise underscores the urgent need for inclusive, equitable approaches across all trusts. Digital tools offer a powerful, yet under-exploited, opportunity to embed inclusion into everyday learning. This session will explore how MATs can harness technology not just as an add-on, but as a core driver of whole-trust strategy for SEND support.

• How everyday digital tools, from assistive software to adaptive learning platforms, can make learning accessible for SEND students.
• The role of upskilling and supporting staff to feel confident in delivering high-quality SEND support using digital tools.
• The potential impact when digital upskilling is delivered at scale.