LeadersSafeguardingCPDGovernorHubKeyGPT
Training Hub

Creating a school improvement framework for your MAT

Learn how to create the right environment in your MAT to drive school improvement. Get to grips with what you need to determine as a central team, and how to involve each school in creating the improvement framework by sharing good practice and successful interventions.

Last reviewed on 13 February 2026
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 44198
Contents
  1. The 3 elements of a MAT improvement framework
  2. Top-down improvement: what to determine at MAT level
  3. Bottom-up improvement: encourage your schools to innovate
  4. Peer-to-peer improvement: enable your schools to learn from each other
  5. Assessing your school improvement framework
  6. Further tips for delivering school improvement across your trust

The 3 elements of a MAT improvement framework

Understand how to build a school improvement framework that takes into account:

  • ‘Top-down’ improvement, i.e built and dictated by the MAT
  • ‘Bottom-up’ improvement, where the learnings of each academy feed into the improvement model
  • ‘Peer-to-peer’ improvement, to account for where academies can share resources and knowledge

We look at each of these elements below.

Top-down improvement: what to determine at MAT level

Create an education vision

Your framework should centre around a shared vision of what makes a great education.

For example, your MAT may choose to prioritise:

  • Pupil mastery of core skills
  • A knowledge-rich curriculum
  • Social mobility and routes to higher education and high-quality vocational learning
  • Creativity
  • Developing character, wellbeing and resilience

Have