Reflections on the SAASHOW London: The Conversations Shaping Education

The Schools & Academies Show London 2026 welcomed thousands of school and trust MAT leaders, senior education professionals and specialist solution providers to the Excel, London for a dynamic day of discussion, discovery and collaboration focused on the future of education.

With a buzzing show floor and packed theatres throughout the day, this year’s event created a platform for meaningful conversations around some of the sector’s most pressing priorities; from inclusion and operational resilience to funding, leadership, wellbeing and school improvement. 

Visitors engaged with a wide-ranging CPD programme featuring expert-led panels, policy discussions and practical case studies designed to support schools and trusts navigating a rapidly evolving educational landscape.

A key theme across the event was the growing importance of sustainable, strategic leadership in education. Discussions explored how schools and trusts can respond to increasing operational pressures while continuing to deliver strong outcomes for pupils and staff. Conversations also centred around SEND provision, attendance, workforce challenges, safeguarding, digital transformation and the impact of policy reform across the sector.

As Headline Sponsor, Commercial Services Group brought wellbeing and workforce resilience into sharp focus through its keynote session exploring the human side of education leadership. Suzie Lavington from Art of Brilliance delivered an engaging and practical session on the Main Stage grounded in findings from Commercial Services Group’s 2026 wellbeing study. The session explored how wellbeing directly underpins workforce capacity and examined the key pressure points currently affecting school staff. Visitor's gained insight into how small, sustainable behaviours can boost positivity, morale and confidence across school communities.

This year’s show also introduced several new interactive features designed to encourage engagement and practical learning opportunities for attendees.

The brand-new Inclusive Classroom feature brought inclusive learning environments to life through immersive examples, practical demonstrations and specialist insight from leading SEND providers and experts. The feature showcased innovative approaches, technologies and strategies designed to help schools create more accessible and supportive learning experiences for every pupil, while giving leaders practical ideas to strengthen provision within their own settings.

Visitors were also invited to share their reflections, questions and concerns surround the governments reforms on our White Paper Wall. This feature created an open forum for attendees to highlight the strategic, operational and practical challenges they are currently navigating across their organisations, sparking important peer-to-peer conversations throughout the day.

Another new addition for 2026 was the Operational Excellence Hub, supported by ISBL, which focused on the critical role operational leadership plays in supporting school and trust success. Bringing together sector expertise, practical frameworks and specialist partners, the hub provided a platform to explore how resilient operational systems can protect leadership capacity, improve efficiency and ultimately create the conditions for better outcomes for children and young people.

SEND and inclusion remained central themes across the event programme, with VenturEd Solutions, sponsor of the SEND Conference, leading discussions around integrated wellbeing and safeguarding systems. Their session explored how outcomes improve when wellbeing, safety and belonging are designed as connected systems rather than isolated services.

Our exhibition floor hosted hundreds of innovate solutions and services specifically designed to support schools and MATs across every aspect of education leadership and operations. From technology and estates management to SEND support, HR, finance and wellbeing solutions, attendees were able to connect with trusted suppliers, discover new products, compare solutions and explore practical tools to support school improvements.

As always, the event continued to provide the sector with an opportunity to connect, collaborate and share experiences with peers facing the same challenges as them. Our networking lounges at the centre of the show were packed throughout the day with visitors sparking new ideas, reflecting the sector's commintment to partnership, innovation and shared learning.

The Schools & Academies Show will return to the NEC Birmingham on 18–19 November 2026, where education leaders from across the UK will once again come together to shape the future of education. 

🗓️ 18th & 19th November 2026
📍 NEC, Birmingham
🎟️ Register here: https://lnkd.in/ehX85pK3