A diverse group of seven people sitting around a conference table in a meeting room, engaging in a discussion. There is a framed photograph of an abandoned building with trees inside the room on the wall behind them.

MAT SEND School Improvement

Whole Education’s SEND School Improvement programme supports over a thousand schools nationally to develop their provision for pupils with SEND. Over 90 Multi Academy Trusts now benefit from the support and sharing that comes with being a part of this network.

Leadership at All Levels in a MAT Context
Successful provision demands the engagement of all leaders. At the MAT level, our work engages the MAT SEND Leaders alongside other Trust leaders, helping SEND to become part of the strategic conversation across schools.

MAT-wide collaboration is powerful because it enables Trusts to:

  • Share and scale effective practice rapidly across multiple schools.

  • Support consistency of provision so that all pupils with SEND benefit, no matter which school they attend.

  • Build strong peer networks where leaders and practitioners can both give and receive support.

  • Develop sustainable, system-wide approaches that strengthen inclusion at scale.

How We Work with MATs
Our work with MATs is delivered through SEND leadership networks. MATs can effectively bring together colleagues from different schools; we provide the tools and structures to maximise the benefits of this collaboration and to ensure provision for SEND moves forward across the Trust. At the school level, we also engage SENDCOs alongside Headteachers and senior leaders, ensuring that strategic leadership of SEND is embedded at every level of a Trust.

What We Do

At the heart of our work are a number of factors that support SEND School improvement:

  • A focus on the controllable factors for school leaders, centred around 7 core themes

  • A diagnostic that supports effective self-evaluation and allows settings to compare their provision to other settings within their MAT network and nationally

  • Action planning support for schools

  • Training and support through live and pre-recorded webinars

  • A trove of online resources on our Digital Network supporting leadership in relation to SEND

  • Practice-sharing opportunities, both within a MAT network and nationally

Our CPD Offer for MATs

  • Expert webinars for SENCOs

  • Specialised networks for Resource Provision leads and Special School leaders

  • Bespoke support for new and aspiring SENCOs and for aspiring MAT SEND Leaders

  • Regional, in-person events for school leaders

  • Live CPD for non-SENCO school leaders looking to drive inclusive practice

  • Live CPD for TAs

  • Recorded CPD for Governors, teachers, TAs and senior leaders

  • Tailor-made resources for subject leaders around SEND

Our Impact in Trusts:
From the school and MAT leaders within our network:

“The bespoke support from Whole Education has enabled the Trust Inclusion Lead to implement her strategic vision based on engagement with current research and exceptional practitioners. The impressive CPDL offer continues to positively impact inclusive practices across the Trust.”
— Debra Roscoe, Head of Safeguarding and Inclusion, Pioneer Educational Trust
“Colleagues who run and those who are participants in the network are generous with their time, ideas and resources, which is invaluable. Being able to reach out to colleagues in similar roles to ask for their help or support and share best practice is incredible. Without this network we would all be isolated and ‘reinventing the wheel’.”
— Kelly Nash, SEND School Improvement Director, Maiden Erlegh Trust