Having a strong Multi Academy Trust website is more important than ever. It should clearly reflect your MATs values, be simple to navigate, and make it easy for parents, staff, and prospective schools to find the information they need.

In this article, we’ve picked six of the best MAT websites of 2025. We’ll explore what makes each one effective and share ideas you can use to improve your own Trust’s online presence.

Areté Learning Trust

Areté Learning Trust is a growing MAT in North Yorkshire with a clear focus on excellence, inclusion, and wellbeing. Their old site didn’t reflect the Trust’s ambition. It was hard to navigate on mobile, and key information like policies and vacancies were buried deep within the website.

The new website is clean, modern, and easy to use. A bold homepage showcases the Trust’s vision and values, while dedicated school pages give each academy space to shine. The layout is simple and mobile-friendly, with clear menus and quick access to important content. Staff can easily update the site through a flexible CMS, saving time and keeping everything current.

Overall, the design captures what Areté stands for – professional, welcoming, and forward-thinking – helping the Trust stand out to parents, partners, and future schools.

https://www.aretelearningtrust.org/

The Learning and Achieving Federation

The Learning and Achieving Federation brings together two schools with a shared focus on high standards, inclusion, and community. Their website now reflects that vision clearly.

The updated design is clean, bright, and easy to navigate. A simple menu structure makes it quick to find key info like policies and governance. Each school has its own section, but the branding ties everything together nicely.

It’s also mobile-friendly, with clear buttons and well-organised pages that load quickly on any device. Staff can easily keep content up to date, making it a useful hub for parents and carers. Overall, the site feels welcoming, professional, and aligned with the Federation’s values.

https://www.learningandachievingfederation.co.uk/

Brontë Academy Trust

Brontë Academy Trust brings together four village primary schools with a clear mission: Achieving Together for Every Child. Their website captures this perfectly with a warm, welcoming design that’s easy to navigate.

Their new website brings this message to life with a bright, clean design and intuitive structure. The homepage introduces the Trust’s story and schools in a welcoming, visually engaging way.

Each school’s section is linked to, maintaining individuality while reinforcing the Trust’s strong brand. Navigation is simple and clear: parents and staff can easily access key areas like statutory information, governance, policies, and curriculum details without clicking through excessive menus.

It’s a great example of how a MAT website can be both community-focused and efficient. This makes it easy for parents, staff, and visitors to stay informed and connected.

https://www.bronteacademytrust.org.uk/

Enhance MAT

Enhance Academy Trust oversees a family of Church of England primary schools and a post-16 performing arts college, united by the values of Encourage, Help, Achieve, and Nurture. Their website reflects this vision with a clear, professional design that’s easy to explore.

The homepage introduces the Trust’s ethos and schools in a clean, well-structured layout. Navigation is simple, with quick access to key areas like policies, governance, vacancies, and school pages.

Each academy is featured with consistent formatting, making it easy for parents and staff to find information while keeping a strong, unified brand. It’s a great example of a site that’s both purposeful and user-friendly. This helps support clear communication across the Trust community.

https://www.enhanceacad.org.uk/

The Federation of Riders Infant and Junior Schools

The Riders Federation brings together Riders Infant and Junior Schools with a shared commitment to opportunity, inclusion, and achievement. Their website reflects this with a clean, practical design that’s easy to use.

The homepage offers a warm welcome and clear links to both schools, while the layout keeps everything simple and accessible. Navigation is intuitive, helping parents quickly find information like policies, curriculum, admissions, and key updates.

Each school maintains its own space within a unified structure, reinforcing the Federation’s identity. It’s a strong example of how a federation site can be both family-friendly and functional.

https://www.ridersschools.co.uk/

The Westbrook Trust

The Westbrook Trust brings together four primary schools in Medway with a focus on collaboration, inclusion, and high standards. Their website reflects this perfectly with a clear, welcoming design that’s easy to navigate.

The homepage introduces the Trust’s vision and links to each school, while a simple menu helps users quickly find key information like policies, governance, and admissions. Each school is given space to showcase its strengths, while staying visually consistent with the Trust’s overall branding.

It’s a well-structured, mobile-friendly site that makes it easy for parents, staff, and the wider community to stay connected and informed.

https://www.thewestbrooktrust.org.uk/

Ready To Build The Perfect MAT Website

A great Multi Academy Trust website should do more than just share information. It should bring your schools together under one clear, professional identity. The best MAT websites in 2025 are easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and help parents, staff, and prospective partners stay connected.

Want to improve your Trust’s online presence? Get in touch with our team to learn more about our school website design services.

Digital marketing is essential in today’s educational landscape, transforming how multi-academy trusts communicate and engage with their audiences. As more families turn to online resources to make educational decisions, having a robust digital presence is key.

This article will delve into seven critical digital marketing strategies tailored for multi-academy trusts. Each marketing strategy is designed to boost visibility and significantly enhance enrolment and community interaction.

Building an Engaging, User-Friendly Website

A website acts as the digital face of any multi-academy trust. A multi-academy trust website must be designed to be user-friendly and accessible on all devices, including smartphones. An intuitive, easy-to-navigate site ensures that parents, students, and staff can find the information they need quickly and effortlessly. This accessibility not only enhances the user experience but also supports better engagement with your trust’s educational offerings and community initiatives.

Implementing Effective SEO Strategies

For multi-academy trusts, implementing tailored SEO tactics is vital to enhance visibility in search engine results, making your institutions easily discoverable by prospective students and parents. Begin with thorough keyword research to understand your audience’s terms when searching for educational options. Incorporate these keywords naturally into high-quality content, titles, and meta descriptions to boost on-page optimisation.

Pay attention to the power of local SEO. Ensure that each academy within the trust optimises its listings for local searches. This includes accurate Google My Business entries, local keywords, and location-specific content, which can significantly increase each academy’s visibility in its respective community.

Leveraging Social Media to Build Community

Social media is a dynamic tool for multi-academy trusts, serving as a bridge to connect with students, parents, and local communities. These platforms offer a unique space for interactive engagement and real-time communication, enhancing the sense of community and belonging.

When selecting platforms, consider where your target audience is most active—whether it’s Facebook for parents or Instagram and Snapchat for students. Maintain a consistent posting schedule to keep your audience engaged and informed. 

Using interactive content such as polls, live videos, and Q&A sessions to encourage participation and foster a more connected community atmosphere is essential. This approach boosts engagement and strengthens the trust’s presence in the digital world.

Utilising Content Marketing to Showcase Expertise

Content marketing is crucial for multi-academy trusts looking to establish themselves as thought leaders in the education sector. You can demonstrate your expertise and commitment to educational excellence by sharing insightful and valuable content.

To effectively engage your target audiences, diversify your content types. Develop informative blogs that address common questions or concerns, send out newsletters highlighting successes and upcoming events, and create video tutorials offering educational support or showcasing day-to-day activities at your academies. Each piece should provide real value, aiming to inform, educate, or solve problems, reinforcing the trust’s reputation as a leader in the field.

Enhancing Engagement with Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful tool for multi-academy trusts, allowing for direct and personalised communication with parents, students, and staff. It’s an efficient way to disseminate information, from academic updates to event notifications.

To maximise the effectiveness of your email campaigns, start by segmenting your mailing lists. This means organising your contacts into groups based on criteria like age, enrolment status, or specific interests, which ensures that recipients receive relevant content. Personalise your emails to create a connection; including the recipient’s name can increase engagement. 

Automation tools can also schedule emails for upcoming events or regular updates, ensuring consistent communication without constant manual input. These strategies help maintain an organised, impactful communication flow that resonates with each segment of your community.

Using Paid Advertising to Boost Enrolment

Paid advertising is an effective accelerator for boosting enrolment within multi-academy trusts. Leveraging PPC campaigns and targeted social media ads, you can directly reach those actively searching for educational opportunities.

To get the most out of your advertising budget:

1. Focus on targeting.
2. Use PPC ads in search engine results when prospective students and parents are looking for schools in your area.
3. For social media, customise your ads to appeal to specific demographics within geographical limits, ensuring your message reaches those most likely to enrol.

Carefully selecting your target audience and crafting compelling ads that speak to their needs and aspirations will help you increase the visibility and attractiveness of your academics.

Analysing and Adapting Strategies with Analytics

Data is the backbone of any successful digital marketing strategy. Analytics tools are invaluable as they provide insights into website traffic, user engagement, and conversion rates, enabling multi-academy trusts to understand what’s working and what isn’t.

To make the most of these tools:

1. Start by setting clear goals for what you want to track, such as increased website visits, longer engagement times, or higher numbers of applications.
2. Regularly review the data collected to see patterns and trends.
3. Use this information to refine your marketing approaches. For example, you could tweak your website layout or adjust your ad campaigns to better meet the needs of your target audience.

Continually analysing and adapting based on data can improve your ROI and ensure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

7 Marketing Tips for Multi-Academy Trusts

Adopting digital marketing strategies is essential for multi-academy trusts aiming to thrive in the competitive educational landscape. These strategies enable trusts to broaden their reach, engage more effectively with their communities, and directly impact enrolment and retention rates.

We encourage trusts to embrace a dynamic and data-driven approach to their marketing efforts. Leveraging the power of digital tools and analytics helps trusts make informed decisions that resonate with their target audiences.

On February 19th, 2024, the Blessed Christopher Wharton Trust Workshop brought together enthusiastic educators, administrators, and tech innovators to share and explore cutting-edge strategies aimed at enriching the educational landscape within BCWCAT. This gathering was not just a meeting of minds but a beacon of collective aspiration towards elevating the standards of education through technological advancement and community involvement. Here’s a deeper dive into the key highlights and the promising future that lies ahead as a result of this productive engagement.

The Dawn of a New Digital Era: Website Redesign with School Jotter 3

The workshop kicked off with an engaging presentation by Becky Cunliffe and Mathew Basierak, focusing on the transformative redesign of the Trust’s website utilizing School Jotter 3. This initiative marks a significant step forward in how the Trust communicates its vision, values, and educational initiatives. The upcoming website, set to be unveiled in late March 2024, is expected to be more than just a digital space. It aims to be a vibrant community hub that showcases the Trust’s commitment to innovation and excellence in education, enhancing interaction among students, educators, and the wider community.

Streamlining Operations with Totara Learn

The introduction of Totara Learn by Arthur Howie was a highlight of the workshop, presenting a strategic approach to simplifying compliance and administrative processes for site managers and non-teaching staff. This system promises to streamline operations within the Trust, making it easier for staff to focus on what truly matters—delivering quality education. The collaboration between Arthur and Nicola, the HR lead, is eagerly anticipated as they explore the full potential of Totara Learn to support the Trust’s mission.

Empowering Student Voices Through Sound Branch

Another innovative tool introduced at the workshop was Sound Branch, championed by Mathew Basierak. This platform stands out as a powerful medium for amplifying student voices, enabling them to share their insights, reflections, and learning experiences through podcasting. Sound Branch promises to revolutionize the way students engage with their learning material, offering a unique avenue for assessment and peer-to-peer learning that prioritizes student expression and active participation in their educational journey.

Overcoming Barriers with Event Anywhere

Sean Gilligan’s presentation on Event Anywhere addressed a common challenge in educational settings: the logistical difficulties of organizing face-to-face training and networking sessions. By leveraging this innovative platform, the Trust aims to foster stronger connections among teachers, facilitate seamless collaboration across schools, and actively involve families in the educational process. Event Anywhere stands as a testament to the Trust’s commitment to overcoming obstacles and ensuring that professional development and community engagement remain top priorities.

Looking Ahead: A Future Filled with Collaboration and Innovation

The workshop concluded on a note of optimism and excitement for the future. The announcement of the Sound Branch platform being provided at no cost, courtesy of the workshop organizers, and the enthusiastic response to proposals for continued collaboration using Event Anywhere, underscored the community’s shared dedication to enhancing educational quality and accessibility.

As we reflect on the insights and initiatives discussed at the Blessed Christopher Wharton Trust Workshop, it’s clear that the path ahead is paved with opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and growth. The Trust stands at the forefront of educational excellence, ready to embrace new technologies and strategies that promise to enrich the learning experiences of all students within its care.

In closing, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all participants for their invaluable contributions and look forward to witnessing the fruits of our collective efforts unfold in the months and years to come. Together, we are shaping a brighter future for education within the Blessed Christopher Wharton Trust, fueled by a shared passion for learning and a commitment to excellence.