How four education leaders are building operational excellence with AI

AI: It’s a bit of a buzzword, but it’s also going changing the world of education as we know it.

At Arbor, we hosted two roundtable discussions, where Chief Operating Officers in trusts were invited to summarise their feelings about AI. Overwhelmingly, the response was ‘Excited but…’ nervous, cautious, sceptical, daunted. We discussed the (valid) concerns and obstacles which normally come with big technology changes, like budget constraints, time restrictions, lack of resource, creating more workload and data protection. But there was also a big sense of, as one trust leader put it, “not knowing what I don’t know.”

Schools and trusts are used to having to make big technological changes while already operating under budget pressures and the everyday challenges of school life. During lockdown, schools had to introduce new systems almost overnight to support their community of students and parents, which allowed them to teach, track and operate remotely. And more recently, the shift to cloud software from on-premise solutions has been seismic. So, the education sector is not immune to digital transformation. But the pace of change and data security concerns around AI, mean that its rapid rise has brought with it a culture of nervousness and a sense of the unknown.

Let’s change our mindset. Schools and trusts are brilliant at adapting under pressure, and with a little broadening of our horizons, I believe that our organisations can start to get the most out of the exciting opportunities that AI has to offer. I encourage you to go back to the beginning, reopen those conversations around AI into ones of potential, and encourage a culture of community and cross-trust collaboration. 

In our free eBook, you’ll find insights from myself, school and trusts leaders, and the Confederation of School Trusts, on how exactly you can do that. I hope these real-life examples leave you feel inspired to see what AI could do for your organisation.