MAT Connectivity

Multi Academy Trust Connectivity

Secure, private, high performance networking for every school in your Trust.

As MATs grow, so does the need for reliable, secure, Trust-wide connectivity. Oakford’s Multi Academy Trust Connectivity solution creates a private Wide Area Network (WAN) that links all your schools together — regardless of location — allowing them to share resources, central systems, and IT services as if they were all on one site.

This solution is scalable, secure, and designed specifically for MATs aiming to centralise IT, improve collaboration, and reduce operating costs.

What Makes This Possible?

Advanced Connectivity Built on MPLS

Our MAT connectivity solution is powered by Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) — a high-speed, enterprise-grade networking technology normally used by major telecommunications providers.

What MPLS Does (In Plain English)

Instead of routers inspecting every packet and checking routing tables, MPLS uses lightweight “labels” that tell the network exactly where data needs to go.

This means:

Faster delivery of traffic
Better performance for cloud and shared services
More efficient routing
Reduced latency

Perfect for a MAT where multiple schools rely on the same systems.

Why MPLS Matters for MATs

MPLS allows us to create Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) environments — essentially private routing domains unique to your Trust.

With VRF, your MAT gets:

A completely private network for all schools
Traffic that never touches the public internet
Secure access to shared systems (e.g., finance servers, MIS, safeguarding tools)
A “one big LAN” experience — across multiple geographical locations
No need for VPNs or slow remote-access workarounds

Your academies communicate securely and seamlessly, as if they were rooms in the same building.

Benefits of Oakford MPLS for Multi Academy Trusts

Private, Secure Connectivity

All inter-school traffic stays inside your private WAN — not on the internet.

Centralised MAT IT Systems

Run finance, MIS, filtering, telephony, backups, and cloud services centrally.

Standardisation Across All Schools

A single, unified network across the Trust improves consistency and supportability.

No Distance Limitations

Link schools across towns, counties, or across the entire UK.

No VPN Required

Staff can access shared servers at any school without VPN friction.

Cloud, VoIP & Centralised Services Run Better

Lower latency + higher performance = better user experience.

Built for MAT Growth

Add new academies easily as the Trust expands.

Resilience You Can Depend On

Oakford’s core network has been designed with maximum resilience, giving your Trust the continuity it needs for mission-critical education services.

Built-in Resilience Includes:

Dual connections recommended per site (primary + secondary)
Multiple core routers in separate UK datacentres
Automatic failover to alternate routes
Redundant power, cooling, and connectivity
Router redundancy via virtualised stacking

This ensures your network remains live — even if individual components fail.

Proven Reliability

Our core “peering router triangle” — three major routing points across separate datacentres — achieved 100% uptime in its first six years of production.

This demonstrates the robustness of our architecture and the reliability MATs can expect from an Oakford-designed connectivity solution.

Find Out More

We offer free consultations for schools and Multi Academy Trusts.

Contact us today to discover how Oakford can design, deliver, and support a secure, private, high performance network for your MAT.

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