Three education leaders from Discovery Schools Academies Trust are set to travel to Sweden next month as part of an international programme exploring how technology can be used at scale to improve teaching, inclusion and outcomes for pupils.
Discovery has been awarded three fully-funded places on the Skolon Ed-Venture: Sweden 2026, an exclusive three-day programme bringing together UK multi-academy trust leaders and Swedish digital education specialists in Stockholm.
The places, including travel and accommodation, are being provided by digital education platform Skolon at no cost to Discovery Trust to help enhance a working partnership kicking off this year.
Mike Sanderson, Chief Technical Officer at Discovery, and Jo Stone, the Trust’s PedTech Lead, will take part alongside one of Discovery’s 36 Digital Champions.
The third place is being offered through an internal application process, giving educators involved in Discovery’s Digital Champions programme the chance to represent the Trust and bring learning directly back to colleagues across its schools.
Jo Stone said: “What excites me most about this opportunity is not simply seeing technology being used in another country but understanding what we can learn from a system that has been working with digital education at scale for many years.
“We want technology to have a clear purpose. It should make learning more accessible, give teachers more time to teach and help every child participate and succeed.”
The trip will include visits to three Swedish schools, workshops and discussions with education and technology leaders, alongside opportunities to explore how Sweden – an early adopter of technology in education – has approached digital learning at scale.
Participants will examine issues including pedagogy, data compliance, digital subscriptions, visibility of technology use and how schools can ensure investment in digital tools is both effective and cost-efficient.
Mike Sanderson said the visit would provide an opportunity to learn from international practice while sharing Discovery’s own experience.
He said: “We are ambitious about what technology can do for children, but this has never been about technology for technology’s sake.
“As a Trust grows, managing its digital environment becomes increasingly complex. You can very quickly find yourself with hundreds of tools and subscriptions across different schools, and the challenge is making sure everything you use has a purpose, provides value and supports the people who actually need it.
“Sweden gives us an opportunity to see how some of those challenges are being tackled in a country with a long history of digital education. We can then bring those ideas back, test them against what works for our communities and share the learning across our schools.”
Sweden has been one of Europe’s most heavily digitalised school systems for years.
Digital infrastructure and devices are deeply embedded with more than 90% of Swedish 15-year-olds having access at school to laptops, internet, educational software and learning-management platforms.
Discovery Trust is beginning the rollout of the Skolon platform across the Trust this academic year.
Skolon provides a single digital environment through which pupils and staff can access educational tools and resources. The partnership forms part of Discovery’s wider work to simplify its digital ecosystem, strengthen oversight of areas such as data compliance and safeguarding and give schools greater visibility of how digital resources are being used.
Only 20 places are available on the Skolon Ed-Venture and Francesca Russell-King, Customer and Content Manager UK at Skolon, said they were delighted to be including one of the Trust’s Digital Champions with the purpose is to feed learning back into classrooms.
She said: “We are thrilled to host UK educators on this Sweden exchange for an exciting opportunity to see digital technology in action. I’m particularly excited to have Discovery Trust join us and bring one of their digital champions along.
“The Trust has demonstrated that they don’t just buy technology, they adopt and embed it. Skolon is proud to be the next step in their journey to using EdTech successfully.”
Discovery Trust’s Digital Champions programme is developing a network of 36 educators from across primary, secondary and specialist settings who will help colleagues explore how technology, artificial intelligence and blended learning can remove barriers and improve classroom practice.
This is a first-of-its-kind year-long development programme funded through the apprenticeship levy and delivered in partnership with leading digital skills provider Primary Goal, with a strong focus on evidence-informed digital learning, the programme will equip teachers with the skills to use digital tools to promote invisible inclusion, personalise learning and increase pupil engagement.
Head of Delivery at Primary Goal Lee Moorton said: “This programme was built around the Trust’s vision, fully aligned with their ped-tech strategy with inclusion and SEND as the golden thread that ties everything together.
“Our approach combines coaching, collaboration and real workplace application, ensuring every learner can confidently put new skills into practice from day one.”
Discovery Trust is not new to digital innovation is also a Microsoft Showcase Trust, with 15 individual Microsoft Showcase Schools, and adopts a purposeful use of technology to support teaching and learning at the heart of its approach to inclusion.
The successful Discovery Digital Champion will be announced later this month.
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