The government's new "Giving every child the best start in life" policy paper has landed. It's a significant, 44-page document that sets out a clear national mission for the early years.
For Multi-Academy Trust leaders, the question isn't just "What's in it?" but "How do we respond?"
How do you move from a dense policy document to a cohesive, trust-wide strategy? How do you measure your academies' current alignment with these new pillars? And how do you identify which schools are already 'Exemplary' and which are just 'Emerging', so you can share best practice and direct support effectively?
We've done the hard work for you. We have distilled the entire policy paper into a clear, comprehensive, and actionable self-evaluation template, designed specifically for the strategic needs of a MAT.
Introducing the "Best Start in Life" MAT Template
Our new template translates the paper's complex pillars into eight distinct, evaluative areas. It provides a structured framework for your trust to review its provision, from high-level strategic partnerships right down to the quality of your reception classrooms.
The template covers:
- Family & Community Integration
- Health & Wellbeing Integration
- Strategic Partnership & Data Sharing
- Availability & Affordability of Places
- Early Years SEND & Inclusion
- Workforce Development & Quality
- Curriculum & Targeted Intervention (EYFS)
- Reception Transition & Quality
Each area features clear levels (from 'Emerging' to 'Exemplary') and a set of practical challenge questions, quoted directly from the policy, to guide your evaluation and help you build an evidence base.
This Isn't Just a Template. It's a Trust-Wide Strategic Tool.
The real power of iAbacus for a MAT isn't just in completing the evaluation—it's in what you can do next.
This template is designed for a powerful, three-step collaborative process:
- Central Baseline: Your central team can complete the abacus to establish a high-level, trust-wide baseline.
- Academy Rollout: You can then share the template with each of your academy Headteachers, allowing them to conduct their own honest self-evaluation.
- Instant Strategic Insight: Using the iAbacus 'Overlay' and 'Stack' features, you can instantly compare the evaluations from all your academies on a single screen.
This gives you a panoramic, real-time view of your entire trust. You can see in an instant which academies are leading the way on health integration, which may need central support on workforce development, and how consistent your SEND provision is across the group.
It turns a complex policy document into a clear, visual, and comparable dashboard for your trust board.
From Evaluation to Action
This template gives you the "what," but iAbacus provides the "so what."
By identifying strengths and barriers, you can use our built-in analysis and action-planning tools to create targeted, evidence-based improvement plans. You can connect your central strategy to the on-the-ground reality in each school, all within one unified platform.
Stop just reading policy. Start implementing it with clarity and confidence.
Get the Template
This new template is available now to our iAbacus partners.
- Existing iAbacus Users: Please contact your iAbacus support lead or get in touch with us, and we will be happy to add this template to your trust's library, free of charge.
- New to iAbacus? If you want to see how this template could transform your trust's strategic planning and quality assurance, contact us today to schedule a personal demo. We can walk you through the template and show you exactly how the 'Overlay' and 'Stack' features can empower your MAT leadership.
