Report: The patchwork problem

School management report 2026: How a 'connected view' has become critical to school improvement 

Leading trusts are turning the information they already hold into one connected view and are acting where it matters most. The 2026 report shows what that view makes possible across a whole school and trust. 

Be the first to read it

Spread of a few pages of the report

School leaders have never had more data at their fingertips. Yet it sits in separate systems, and assembling it into one clear picture of the school is often impossible. 

This is the patchwork problem: the gap between holding information and being able to use it. The report explores what closing that gap makes possible for schools and trusts. 

 

Inside the report

Executive summary: The patchwork problem

Inside the connected school: seven key capabilities

  1. Finding, hiring and retaining great teachers 
  2. Training and developing teachers 
  3. Managing classrooms and pupils 
  4. Keeping schools safe 
  5. Planning and delivering lessons 
  6. Engaging parents and the school community 
  7. Running schools efficiently 

What a connected school looks like. What sets the leading trusts apart. How Tes supports connected schools.

School management report pen to first couple of pages

What you'll take away

Read the report and you'll come away with: 

  • See where it matters most

    Where a connected view makes the biggest difference across staffing, pupils, safeguarding and operations. 

  • Learn from the leading trusts

    What the strongest trusts do differently, and the practices you can apply in your own school or trust. 

  • Make the case for change

    National evidence to take to your board or leadership team, grounded in the report. 

Who is it for

  • Trust leaders

    CEOs, CFOs and COOs looking at the operating model and the value connected technology brings. 

  • School leaders

    Headteachers and school business leaders balancing workload, budgets and accountability. 

  • Function leads

    Safeguarding, SEND, people and data leaders who hold the information and need it where it is needed. 

Be the first to read it

The report publishes on 1st September 2026. Pre-register today and we will send it straight to your inbox on launch day.