Potential Gains:

• Students develop digital citizenship and critical thinking skills.

• Teachers feel confident modelling ethical AI use.

• Parents trust the school to prepare their children for a tech-rich world.

• The school becomes a leader in future-ready education.

What Needs to Happen:

• Develop a shared AI usage policy and integrate it into your Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

• Build age-appropriate curriculum content around AI ethics and digital literacy.

• Offer regular workshops for teachers, students, and parents.

Barriers:

• Limited staff knowledge/confidence in AI ethics.

• Lack of agreed-upon standards for AI use in education.

• Rapid changes outpacing policy updates.

Your Influence:

• Establish a working group to co-design ethical guidelines.

• Lead by example in transparent, responsible AI use.

• Share success stories and practical classroom applications to build momentum.

2. How might we use AI to reduce teacher workload and empower them to innovate in their teaching?

Potential Gains:

• Teachers reclaim time for relationship-building and high-impact instruction.

• Staff well-being improves.

• Students benefit from more personalised and engaging learning experiences.

What Needs to Happen:

• Identify high-burden tasks that AI can streamline (e.g., admin, marking, lesson planning).

• Provide training and showcase tools that are easy to integrate.

• Create time and space for staff to experiment with AI tools safely.

Barriers:

• Teacher scepticism or fear of “replacement.”

• Inconsistent access to high-quality AI tools.

• Professional learning not tailored to individual teacher needs.

Your Influence:

• Model usage of AI for admin and communication in leadership.

• Celebrate small wins from teachers experimenting with AI.

• Allocate time for staff-led workshops and peer coaching.

3. How might we teach students to think critically and creatively when using AI tools?

Potential Gains:

• Students become discerning users, not passive consumers.

• Creativity flourishes as students use AI as a partner, not a crutch.

• Deeper learning occurs through reflection, evaluation, and revision.

What Needs to Happen:

• Design learning tasks that require student judgement, reflection, and human creativity.

• Scaffold the use of AI tools with metacognitive questions.

• Encourage projects where students compare AI-generated and human work.

Barriers:

• Pressure for fast outputs may lead to overreliance.

• Teachers may not yet have pedagogical models for using AI in this way.

• Some tools lack transparency (black-box nature of AI).

Your Influence:

• Embed critical AI use in curriculum expectations.

• Offer model lessons and team-teaching opportunities.

• Build a shared bank of examples and good practice.

4. How might we ensure all students benefit equitably from AI-enhanced learning opportunities?

Potential Gains:

• Students with additional needs, EAL learners, and underperforming students access more personalised support.

• The digital divide is narrowed.

• All students have the chance to build future-ready skills.

What Needs to Happen:

• Audit current access to devices and tools.

• Select inclusive AI tools that support translation, text-to-speech, scaffolding, etc.

• Train staff to use tools with equity in mind.

Barriers:

• Cost of licenses or hardware.

• Staff may not know which tools are most effective for specific needs.

• Risk of students being labelled or over-supported by AI rather than challenged.

Your Influence:

• Use EdTech budgets strategically to prioritise equity.

• Partner with SEN/EAL teams to co-deliver training.

• Monitor usage to ensure no group is disproportionately excluded.

5. How might we prepare our school community to navigate and lead through rapid technological change?

Potential Gains:

• Staff and students become adaptive, innovative, and resilient.

• Families trust the school to remain future-focused.

• The school builds a reputation as a thought leader in digital transformation.

What Needs to Happen:

• Develop a clear vision for AI integration tied to your school’s values.

• Set up systems for ongoing exploration, such as “AI Innovation Labs” or Futures Weeks.

• Build student voice into decision-making about technology.

Barriers:

• “Initiative fatigue” if AI is seen as just another fad.

• Lack of clarity or alignment with the wider school strategy.

• Overemphasis on tools, not thinking.

Your Influence:

• Embed AI and future-readiness into your strategic plan.

• Encourage cross-functional teams to pilot innovations.

• Host regular reflection points to course-correct and scale successes.

1. Potential Gains

a. Students

• Benefit from improved teaching efficiency, feedback, and personalised learning.

• Indirectly experience more innovative, responsive, and engaging classroom experiences.

• Are better prepared for a world where AI is part of everyday life.

b. Staff (Teaching & Business Support)

• Gain confidence with AI through low-stakes exploration.

• Save time on repetitive tasks and increase capacity for high-value work.

• Develop professionally by sharing ideas and learning from peers across the network.

c. Schools

• Build a culture of innovation and reflective practice.

• Identify scalable tools that improve outcomes and reduce inefficiencies.

• Encourage cross-functional collaboration across roles and departments.

d. Individuals

• Feel empowered and valued for their contributions to innovation.

• Grow digital competence, adaptability, and professional agency.

e. EiM (Network Level)

• Create a clear, replicable model of best practice around AI integration.

• Position EiM as a future-ready, progressive organisation.

• Strengthen consistency, collaboration, and strategic alignment across schools.

2. What Needs to Happen

• Leadership endorsement and clear communication of the initiative’s purpose.

• Curated menu of AI tools, segmented by role, with starter guides.

• Simple feedback system for reflection and sharing (e.g. Google Forms or Padlets).

• Scheduled sharing sessions at school level, with time protected for participation.

• A process for selecting and evaluating top ideas (school and network level).

• Final collation of impactful tools into a user-friendly, accessible toolkit.

3. Barriers to Success

• Time constraints — staff may feel they don’t have time to trial something new.

• Confidence gaps — staff with lower digital confidence may hesitate to participate.

• Misalignment — some tools may not feel relevant to certain roles.

• Tokenism risk — without meaningful follow-up, it may be viewed as a one-off gimmick.

• Sustainability — tools may not be maintained or kept updated over time.

4. Your Influence (as Leaders)

• Champion the vision – communicate why this matters and how it links to broader goals (innovation, collaboration, impact).

• Model participation – try a tool yourselves and share your reflections.

• Make space – build time into INSETs, team meetings, or development time.

• Support and scaffold – ensure all staff have access to training and support.

• Celebrate early wins – spotlight creative or impactful uses quickly and often.

• Ensure follow-through – oversee the creation of the final toolkit and make it easy to access, use, and evolve.