I help schools take control of AI

AI is already in your school your staff are using it, students are using it, and new products are being suggested, bought and trialled without anyone on the leadership team knowing about it. Most schools don’t need another presentation about what AI might do one day. They need someone who can deal with what is happening now, and that’s what I do.

I work with schools and trusts to find out what is already happening with AI, decide where it is useful, put the right safeguards around it and turn the things worth doing into something that works in practice. That includes telling schools to slow down and telling them not to buy something at all.

I don’t arrive with a pre-built AI package. A school where a handful of teachers are experimenting with ChatGPT has a very different problem from a trust considering an organisation-wide AI platform. So I find out what is going on. What are staff using? What has been bought? Where is pupil data going? What do your policies say, and does practice bear any resemblance to them?

I save schools money by recommending less technology, not more. I find software schools are paying for but not using, different products doing the same job, and proposed purchases that make no sense when the school already owns something that does what it needs. Across a network of around 30 schools, I identified unnecessary software spending that nobody had questioned. They stopped paying for technology they didn’t need and saved a small fortune.

I’ve worked with leadership teams who believed AI use was limited. Once I looked, staff were already using multiple tools through personal accounts without any guidance about what information could be entered into them. Leaders need to know what is happening. Staff need clear boundaries. Safeguarding and data protection need to reflect what people are doing, not what a policy assumes they might do.

The same problem comes up with technology and policy every time. Something gets introduced, a policy gets written, training happens, and six months later practice bears no resemblance to what was agreed. I developed governance frameworks across around 30 schools, replacing outdated approaches and creating consistency. Writing the document wasn’t the difficult bit. Making it stick across real schools with different leaders, different staff and different levels of confidence was. I don’t separate governance from implementation. A policy sitting unread on SharePoint is not governance.

I’ve trained hundreds of teachers. Some are enthusiastic AI users, some are nervous, and some would happily never hear the words Artificial Intelligence again. They all work in the same school. Implementation is not about teaching everyone as many AI tools as possible. It is about giving staff the understanding to exercise professional judgement and introducing changes worth keeping after the training day is over. I tell leaders to pilot with a small group before rolling out across a school. There is a significant difference between something that makes a good demonstration and something that will survive a staff rollout.

What I can help with

AI strategy and implementation. AI policy and governance, from acceptable use through to KCSIE, data protection, procurement and governance oversight. AI safeguarding, helping DSLs and senior leaders respond to deepfakes, AI-generated imagery, AI companions and products processing children’s data. AI readiness and digital audits. Staff training and CPD, from whole-school INSET to practical workshops. Governor, trustee and parent briefings. Ongoing strategic support.

I didn’t decide to offer one of everything. I get brought in to solve one problem and then asked to help with the next.

People ask me back

Most of my work comes through recommendations and referrals. I get commissioned to solve one problem and asked to work on another. I get introduced to other schools by people I’ve worked with. A client didn’t need me to be “a specialist in all kinds of AI” They needed their problem solved, and then they trusted me with the next one.

“The best thing about Chris was that she saw safeguarding concerns we would never have thought of and had solutions to fix them.” 
— Senior leader, Multi-Academy Trust

“The CPD Chris delivered was very practical and my staff managed to plan and make resources in the session.  Chris gave them practical advice and boosted their confidence to use AI well.  I was particularly impressed with how she dealt with the sceptics among the staff.” 
— Headteacher, secondary school

“We commissioned Chris to give advice on governance and went on to look at the software we used in school.  She found a lot of overlap and saved a small fortune across the trust by identifying what software wasn’t being used.  She has been back several times for AI implementation and has run CPD for staff, SLT and governors.  This lead to pilots and successful implementation of AI across several schools in the trust.”
— Trust leader

Speaking and conferences

I deliver keynotes, panel sessions, workshops and breakout sessions at UK education conferences on the decisions leaders need to make, the risks that get missed and what implementation looks like beyond the demonstrations.

Work with me

When you contact Meta Pedagogy, you get me. Tell me what’s happening, what you’re worried about and what you’re trying to achieve. If I can help, I’ll tell you what the work should involve. If you don’t need me, I’ll tell you that too.