Multi-Academy Trusts are not just running schools; they are orchestrating complex digital ecosystems across multiple sites, each with unique demands, legacy infrastructure, and a growing list of compliance requirements. Connectivity has become a mission-critical utility – yet for MATs, it’s rarely straightforward.
The strain of digital-first classrooms
Secondary schools have embraced digital learning in all its forms: Chromebooks for every pupil, virtual classrooms, online assessments, and cloud-based management systems. Add livestreamed parent evenings and new demands for online exam delivery, and bandwidth expectations are rising sharply. Networks that were “good enough” pre-pandemic are now struggling to keep up.
Cybersecurity and safeguarding under the spotlight
MATs face a dual challenge: keeping their networks secure against an escalating wave of cyberattacks, while also protecting students from harmful content online. The 2025 update to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) places additional emphasis on misinformation and disinformation, widening the safeguarding remit. Filtering, monitoring, and preventing VPN bypasses have become daily battles for already-stretched IT leads.
Multi-site complexity
One school with patchy Wi-Fi is a headache. Ten or twenty schools across a trust, each with different legacy networks, contracts, and support arrangements, is chaos. MATs need centralised visibility and economies of scale, without sacrificing reliability at individual schools.
Compliance and Connect the Classroom
The Department for Education (DfE) has set clear expectations for wireless networks, security standards, and safeguarding policies. Connect the Classroom funding is welcome, but with it comes a weight of specifications, site surveys, and paperwork that many schools struggle to navigate.
Critical resilience during exams
Exam periods create make-or-break moments for school networks. GCSEs and A-Levels increasingly rely on digital platforms, and IT teams know failure at these times is not an option. Networks must be stress-tested to withstand peak demand without faltering.
Balancing legacy infrastructure with future-proofing
Many schools are still running on ageing Wi-Fi 5 access points and overstretched broadband lines. At the same time, MATs are expected to plan for the future: supporting AI-enhanced learning tools, augmented reality resources, and ever more cloud-based services. The upgrade treadmill is relentless.
Cost pressure and funding gaps
MAT leaders are tasked with delivering secure, reliable, and scalable networks across all sites while keeping costs in check. The temptation to patch together multiple vendors and contracts is high, but this only adds to long-term complexity and support challenges.
How Glide supports MATs
Glide is helping MATs tackle these challenges head-on with solutions designed for scale, compliance and reliability:
- DfE-aligned solutions: Fully compliant with Department for Education specifications, with support navigating Connect the Classroom funding and paperwork.
- Future-ready infrastructure: Upgrades that meet today’s demands and tomorrow’s digital innovations.
- Centralised visibility and control: Multi-site monitoring, management, and proactive support from Glide’s 24/7 Network Operations Centre.
- Safeguarding and cybersecurity: Delivered in partnership with Smoothwall, providing robust filtering, monitoring, and protection against cyber threats.
- Built-in resilience: Prioritised performance during exam periods and rapid response to incidents.
- Cost efficiency at scale: Flexible, managed services that reduce the burden on IT leads while maximising value across the trust.
With MATs under growing pressure to deliver safe, seamless, and scalable connectivity, Glide provides the expertise, infrastructure, and service partnership needed to keep every site connected and compliant – today and into the future.
