Adam Sturdee

“AI readiness is now mainstream.” That is the headline from the latest Bett UK Education Priorities Report, and on the face of it, it is good news. Sixty per cent of educators put AI near the top of their concerns. Policies are being written. Working groups are meeting. Schools are, by their own account, getting ready. I want to offer a slightly uncomfortable thought. Readiness is not the same as change. And in our hurry to look ready, we risk repeating a mistake this profession has made more...

Most discussion of AI in education is a classroom discussion. Can teachers plan with it? Can pupils use it safely? Can it cut marking time? Can it generate quizzes or model answers? These are useful questions, but they are not the most important ones. The more important question is now a leadership one. How should headteachers, deputies, assistant heads, CEOs and directors of education actually be using AI to think, decide, communicate and lead? How that question is answered will shape almost...

On research, AI, and the coming premium on taste In her Day 2 keynote at the BERA TEAN conference in Sheffield this week, Professor Eline Vanassche shared a comment that someone had left under one of her LinkedIn posts. Seven words: "Reality is soup. Research is a fork." I haven't stopped thinking about it. It's the kind of throwaway line that quietly rearranges a small filing cabinet in your head. In seven words it captures what I've spent years of school leadership trying to articulate to...