CDB FOR MULTI-ACADEMY TRUSTS
Transform communication and collaboration across your Trust
Increase communication, productivity and efficiency
We build a powerful online school hub, to connect your staff and your students and get them working and learning – together.
Central communications hub
Your Trust-level intranet site – a dynamic central hub – connects employees from across your MAT, while school level intranets for your academies come complete with appropriate branding.
Ignite teaching and learning
Bring all of your teaching and learning apps, resources and communications channels together with a secure, central online portal built in Teams and SharePoint.
CPD Training and on-going support
Comprehensive training and on-going support maximises user adoption and ensures best practice across your estate.
A feature-rich platformdedicated to achieving more
Your internal communications platform
Your portals can feature news, information on key initiatives, training videos, policies and procedures etc. All the content is very simple to edit and personalise for staff and/or pupils with ease.
Support the future growth of your Trust
On-board new schools within your easy-to-use platform, and present your vision and ethos impactfully and consistently across all your academies.
A system for everyone
You’ll have a global, personalised menu for easy, clear navigation so that all your staff will be able to take advantage of the technology – not just tech-savvy teachers.
Work and learn collaboratively
Your mission-critical business and learning files are stored securely in a system that is both intuitive to use and accessible to the right people, wherever they are.
Allowing teachers to teach
Save huge amounts of time thanks to automated, central resource areas where teachers can co-author, share and re-use resources year after year.
Improve the quality and consistency of resources
Phase and department leaders can easily check and drive up the quality of resources and ensure that all necessary work is being set, thanks to assignment analytics.
Ready to get started?
How our customers have benefitted from Cloud Design Box
Transforming Cross-Trust Collaboration: How Resilience MAT Enhanced Communication and Resource Sharing
In 2023, Resilience Multi Academy Trust partnered with Cloud Design Box to improve collaboration and communication across six schools.
Read Case Study >
Elevating Education with Cloud Design Box: A Case Study of the Cranmer Education Trust’s Digital Journey
Established in 2015, Cranmer Education Trust aims to deliver excellent schools that inspire, support, and empower young people.
Read Case Study >
How Harris Federation Streamlined Microsoft 365 Use Across 54 Academies with Cloud Design Box
A large-scale digital transformation project improving collaboration, consistency, and learning outcomes across one of the UK’s top MATs.
Read Case Study >
Powered by Microsoft School Data Sync
Supported MIS Integrations
POWERED BY SALAMANDERSOFT
Plus many more integrations
Connect with a Technical Consultant
Dedicated Multi-Academy Trust Plans
We can help your trust work more efficiently by providing a trust intranet for central services and team department groups.
Already have Teams? 
We can help your trust work more efficiently by providing a trust intranet for central services and team department groups.
Choose your level of digital maturity
Essentials
Strong foundations for modern Microsoft 365 environments.
For schools establishing structure, clarity and reliable day-to-day operations.
Key Features
Secure and structured foundations
Modern SharePoint intranet framework
Automation & provisioning engine
Teaching & learning tools (Core)
Support & success (Core)
Request proposalSee all features
Teaching & Learning Tools
- Student Assignment Lookup Tool
- My Assignments web part
- My Classes web part
- Class Dashboard
- Weekly email digest for parents & guardians
Automation & Provisioning Engine
- MIS integration (all major MIS)
- Automated Class Teams creation
- Automated Subject & Department Teams creation
- Automated Subject Year folder creation
- Class ‘drop-in’ feature for cover & lesson visits
- CDB Self-service Site Creation Tool
- Student folders in Class Teams
- Automated MAT-wide academic department teams
- Microsoft School Data Sync (SDS)
- Parent & Guardian SDS Sync
Support & Success
- Unlimited technical support**
- Unlimited teaching & learning support**
- Fully managed academic year rollover
Standard
Most popularOperational optimisation and consistency across your organisation
Most chosen by ambitious schools and MATs seeking efficiency, visibility and sustained improvement.
Everything in Essentials, plus
Enhanced teaching & learning tools
Analytics & insights
User adoption & skills development
Greater operational visibility & oversight
Trusted by 750+ schools, colleges and MATs | 98% customer retention
Request proposalSee all features
User Adoption & Skills Development
- Self-service training portal
- Online training courses
- CPD-certified courses
- Staff CPD certificates
- Trainer-led online workshops*
- Training needs analysis support
- Guided rollout support
Analytics & Insights
- Teams Assignment Analytics
- Student Assignment Submission Analytics
- MAT-wide Assignment Analytics
- Assignment overview dashboard (school level)
- Submitted / outstanding assignments
- Student submission & assignment lateness tracking
- Subject level assignment reporting
- Teacher assignment activity reporting
- Year group assignment & submission insights
- Identification of at risk students (late/ missing work)
- Assignment analytics data exports
Teaching & Learning Tools
- Student Assignment Lookup Tool
- My Assignments web part
- My Classes web part
- Class Dashboard
- Weekly email digest for parents & guardians
- Student late assignment data
Automation & Provisioning Engine
- MIS integration (all major MIS)
- Automated Class Teams creation
- Automated Subject & Department Teams creation
- Automated Subject Year folder creation
- Class ‘drop-in’ feature for cover & lesson visits
- CDB Self-service Site Creation Tool
- Student folders in Class Teams
- Automated MAT-wide academic department teams
- Microsoft School Data Sync (SDS)
- Parent & Guardian SDS Sync
Support & Success
- Unlimited technical support**
- Unlimited teaching & learning support**
- Fully managed academic year rollover
Excellence
Strategic alignment and sustained digital maturity
For organisations embedding Microsoft 365 into long-term leadership strategy and continuous improvement.
Everything in Standard, plus
Enhanced analytics & insight
Deeper strategic & governance alignment
Advanced adoption & optimisation support
Premium implementation pathway
Request proposalSee all features
User Adoption & Skills Development
- Self-service training portal
- Online training courses
- CPD-certified courses
- Staff CPD certificates
- Trainer-led online workshops*
- Training needs analysis support
- Guided rollout support
- Ongoing training programme
Leadership Strategy & Governance
- Digital Strategy Report for Leaders
Analytics & Insights
- Teams Assignment Analytics
- Student Assignment Submission Analytics
- MAT-wide Assignment Analytics
- Assignment overview dashboard (school level)
- Submitted / outstanding assignments
- Student submission & assignment lateness tracking
- Subject level assignment reporting
- Teacher assignment activity reporting
- Year group assignment & submission insights
- Identification of at risk students (late/ missing work)
- Assignment analytics data exports
- Strategic analytics review sessions
Teaching & Learning Tools
- Student Assignment Lookup Tool
- My Assignments web part
- My Classes web part
- Class Dashboard
- Weekly email digest for parents & guardians
- Student late assignment data
Automation & Provisioning Engine
- MIS integration (all major MIS)
- Automated Class Teams creation
- Automated Subject & Department Teams creation
- Automated Subject Year folder creation
- Class ‘drop-in’ feature for cover & lesson visits
- CDB Self-service Site Creation Tool
- Student folders in Class Teams
- Automated MAT-wide academic department teams
- Microsoft School Data Sync (SDS)
- Parent & Guardian SDS Sync
Modern Intranet Experience
- Digital Strategy Report for Leaders
Support & Success
- Unlimited technical support**
- Unlimited teaching & learning support**
- Fully managed academic year rollover
- Priority onboarding
- Named success manager for Year 1*
- Annual strategic planning meeting
Multi-Academy Trusts: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How should Microsoft 365 be structured across a Multi-Academy Trust?
Most Trusts need a balance between Trust-wide consistency and local flexibility.
A common approach is a central Trust SharePoint hub for Trust communications, policies, services and shared resources. Each academy then has its own intranet for local content. Microsoft Teams, groups, permissions, naming and navigation follow agreed standards across the Trust.
Cloud Design Box designs and automates that structure. Staff get a consistent experience, and each academy keeps the areas, content and identity it needs.
Can a MAT have one central intranet while each school keeps its own identity?
Yes. Cloud Design Box can create a central Trust intranet for Trust-wide communication, policies and services. Each academy also gets its own SharePoint intranet, with local branding and content.
Shared navigation and common structures help staff who work across more than one academy. School-level areas still reflect each academy in the way they should.
So the Trust gains consistency, and no school has to look or operate exactly the same as the next.
How can a MAT standardise SharePoint and Microsoft Teams across all its schools?
Standardisation starts with agreement — common structures, naming, permissions, navigation and ownership, decided once rather than rebuilt differently by every school.
Cloud Design Box provides reusable SharePoint designs, Microsoft Teams structures and automated provisioning across the Trust. Central governance then sits alongside controlled local flexibility.
Microsoft 365 becomes easier to support, duplication drops, and staff get a more predictable experience as they move between Trust and academy content.
Can teachers share resources across schools in a Multi-Academy Trust?
Yes. Cloud Design Box can give teachers access to Trust-wide spaces to share resources, collaborate and communicate across academies.
Cloud Design Box creates structured SharePoint or Microsoft Teams areas for departments, subjects or other cross-Trust groups. Access is controlled through school MIS data.
That cuts duplicated resources across schools and helps specialist staff work together. Local academy content stays separate where it needs to be.
How does Cloud Design Box help when a new school joins a MAT?
A standard Cloud Design Box structure makes it much easier to bring a new academy into an established Trust.
The new school inherits your agreed intranet structure, navigation, governance and Microsoft 365 conventions. Nobody designs it all again from scratch. Automation then creates the Teams, groups and resource areas it needs, using the school data available.
Growing Trusts get a repeatable onboarding model, which makes future expansion far easier to manage.
