What educational technology trends are shaping schools and trusts?

How do school leaders and trusts in England plan to maximize the impact of technology on education?

Recently, our education team conducted the most comprehensive survey to date. The report gathers insights from 130 senior leaders across schools and institutions in England.

The result is our white paper, The IRIS Education Leaders’ Survey 2025. This report provides an overview of the major challenges facing the sector, from budgets and SEND provision to recruitment and pupil numbers.

The report also reveals where school and trust leaders in England are looking for Edtech solutions.

Areas where technology investments are planned… and why

Before we look at where school leaders and trusts are investing in technology, we need to understand the key drivers behind the decision to do so.

Having partnered with 75% of the UK’s multi-academy trusts (MATs), we think we know the answer.

In many areas of school and trust management, we see a fundamental lack of time. Unnecessary admin slows you down and prevents you from focusing on the tasks that make a difference. The data needed to make decisions, from building condition surveys to student attendance and progress, staff absence or asset use, is often incomplete, scattered and out of date by the time the data is collected. And there are too many obstacles to working together. Often, there is no simple way to make something happen.

Good technology can help schools and trusts save time, gain a clear view and work better together.

In numbers: are school and trust leaders planning to invest in new technology?

We asked school and trust leaders whether they planned to invest in new technology solutions in the next three years. The results below separate respondents into MAT leaders, SAT leaders, Academy leaders in MAT, and LA retained school leaders.

Amid tight budget pressures (read more here), there are more school leaders and trusts looking to invest in technology than not.

Specifically, 77% of MAT leaders said they plan to invest in new technology over the next three years. On the face of it, perhaps this reflects MAT leaders wanting to invest in a strategic system that is trusted by the whole school.

Educational technology trends in detail

School leaders and trusts who indicated they planned to invest in new technology in the next three years were asked to choose the areas in which they would prioritize investment.

We see SEND at the top. Out of our graph, leaders of individual academies and managed schools in LA showed the most interest in SEND investment (100% and 72% respectively).

We have looked in this report at the challenges schools face in their current SEND provision, and it is interesting that leaders feel that technology can help. There is a role to play in assessing, providing support strategies, monitoring and tracking pupils with SEND – as well as gathering evidence to speed up the EHCP application process.

Apart from SEND: other areas that school leaders and trusts are prioritizing for investment

‘Staff training and professional development platforms’ was the second biggest technology investment priority, at 51%. Interestingly, this area is a much greater priority for MAT leaders (72%) than for LA school leaders (33%).

This may reflect greater capacity within the MAT system to formally define programs for staff training and development.

In our latest research report, Happy staff, happy students: New tools and rules to help staff and students thrive, we found that 50% of staff surveyed don’t have a single online system for performance management, training and career progression, so there could be big gains to be made from this. Data analytics, student management information (MIS) systems, compliance and estate management, and recruitment and onboarding were all selected as priority areas by around a quarter of school and trust leaders, indicating a fairly even gap in other areas of potential technology investment.

Gain insights that matter in 2025

Get the FREE whitepaper

Click here

View important education trends

The IRIS Education Leaders Survey 2025 white paper brings together the voices of 130 sector leaders. If you want a clear picture of the pressures, priorities, and opportunities facing schools and institutions, this is an important resource.

Here’s what you’ll get from the free whitepaper

Explore how MATs navigate SEND provision, recruitment challenges and financial pressures – and what strategies are proving most effective.

Understand the real problem: Look beyond the noise of the headlines. Get a real reality check on what’s affecting state education.

Get that all-important context: How do your school or trust challenges compare? Find out here.

Find hidden problems: If you have the full picture, nothing should surprise you. This report helps you see the entire education story for 2025 and beyond, meaning you and your team are ready.

Click here to get the whitepaper.