The government’s Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper places SEND at the heart of change, setting out an ambition for a more connected, coherent system that can support every child to achieve and thrive.
For many multi-academy trusts, that ambition feels right. It reflects what leaders are trying to achieve every day. The challenge is that it assumes a level of consistency and visibility that many trusts are still working towards.
At this year’s Schools and Academies Show, where the team from Zellis was fortunate to have conversations with a wide range of trust leaders, and it was interesting to hear how the focus is less about policy intent and more about operational reality. Leaders – across the C-Suite as well as in HR and payroll teams, are dealing with workforce pressure, SEND complexity and rising expectations, all while trying to maintain consistency across growing organisations. There is no shortage of ambition, but what stands out is how stretched teams already are, and that is where the challenge begins.
The reality MATs are working with
Creating a more coherent system sounds straightforward, but in practice it depends on much more practical questions. Can leaders see their workforce clearly across the trust? Can policies be applied consistently? Do HR and payroll teams have the capacity to support change, or are they tied up in administration?
These questions matter because SEND‑focused reform is not just about provision. It depends on how effectively trusts can coordinate people and respond to need across multiple schools.
That complexity is increasing. As SEND reform shifts towards tiered support, trusts need a clearer understanding of where specialist skills sit, how they are deployed, and what capacity exists. Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCO) roles are evolving quickly, with greater responsibility for coordination and planning. Without a trust‑wide view of workforce data, it becomes difficult to balance demand, let alone plan ahead.
In most MATs, this pressure is felt most in HR and payroll. Multiple contracts, different pay arrangements and fragmented systems make it harder to maintain a single, reliable view of what is happening. Over time, that fragmentation builds. Data becomes less trusted. Processes take longer. Teams spend more time reacting than improving.
You can’t deliver SEND reform on fragmented operations
Adding more process on top rarely fixes this. It tends to increase complexity.
The more effective shift is to simplify. Create a single, trusted view of workforce data. Move from retrospective reporting to real-time visibility. Reduce manual intervention so teams are not constantly firefighting.
This becomes critical when planning SEND provision at scale. Leaders need to understand the cost and availability of specialist roles across the trust, identify gaps quickly and respond as needs change. That level of planning depends on connected, accurate data.
This is where HR and payroll move from operational necessity to strategic enabler.
The move from batch to real-time payroll is a good example. With Zellis HCM AIR, payroll is continuously calculated as data changes, rather than processed at a single point in time. Pay is always up to date, not waiting for month end.
The impact is immediate. Issues are identified earlier. Data is validated as it enters the system. Insights are available in the flow of work. Payroll teams have visibility and control throughout the cycle, not just at payday.
Over time, risks are surfaced earlier, manual effort reduces, and teams can focus on improving processes rather than holding them together. That is where HR and payroll begin to support how the trust operates.
What this looks like in practice
We are already seeing this in action. Through its partnership with Zellis, Enquire Learning Trust is modernising its approach to HR and payroll, creating greater consistency and visibility across the organisation.
This is not transformation for its own sake. It is about aligning operations with how a multi‑academy trust actually works, giving leaders the clarity to act with confidence.
Closing the gap between ambition and delivery
SEND‑focused reform depends on decisions made every day. How resources are allocated. How staff are supported. Where capacity is under pressure, particularly in roles like SENCOs.
Those decisions are only as strong as the data and processes behind them.
The trusts making progress are the ones strengthening those foundations. Not as a technology exercise, but as a way to operate with greater clarity and consistency.
If SEND reform is the priority, HR and payroll are part of what determines whether it succeeds in practice. That is where the gap between ambition and delivery is closed.
