Leading with AI: Strategic Guidance for School Leaders

You’ll also have the opportunity to explore Leading with AI, Ann Palmer’s book and podcast series, and see how AI is shaping school leadership. The workshop will help you discover practical strategies and begin building an actionable plan tailored to your context. Insights from a school leader already using AI in practice will illustrate these strategies in action, complementing the strategic guidance.

By taking part in this workshop, you will:

• Build clarity on how AI can support your leadership role and priorities
• Understand key ethical considerations including fairness, transparency and inclusion
• Discover practical strategies and tools you can apply in your context
• Explore real examples from a school leader already using AI in practice
• Identify quick wins and longer-term actions to move your AI approach forward
• Leave with increased confidence and direction to lead AI use across your school or trust

How the workshop works:

This two-hour online workshop blends strategic guidance with practical application. It includes:

1. Setting the Scene
   Reflect on where your school is on its AI journey and explore how AI is evolving across education.
2. Ethics, Myths and Responsible Use
   Examine safety, fairness, transparency and inclusion, and build confidence in responsible AI leadership.
3. Applying AI Across Leadership Roles
   Discover practical ways AI can support teaching and learning, curriculum, inclusion, pastoral care and whole school improvement.
4. AI in Action
   Hear from a school leader actively integrating AI, including what’s working, emerging and what they’ve learned.
5. From Awareness to Action
   Turn ideas into a practical plan, with early wins and longer-term steps tailored to your setting.

This session is ideal for:

• Senior leaders
• Middle leaders
• Teaching & Learning, Curriculum and Assessment leads
• Pastoral and inclusion leads
• School and trust improvement teams

No technical expertise is required — just curiosity and a desire to lead this agenda with clarity and confidence.

Key Speaker

Ann Palmer FCCT, CEO – Fig Tree International Ltd

Ann Palmer is a highly accomplished and widely respected leader, consultant, and executive coach whose career spans more than 35 years across the education, corporate, and non-profit sectors, both in the UK and internationally. Her impact is visible across schools, universities, businesses, and government bodies, where her leadership has consistently driven innovation, inclusion, and strategic transformation.

Read full bio

What participants said about Ann Palmer’s previous workshop with SSAT:

• “Thank you so much for this session — lots of ideas and great conversations.”
• “Very useful. I now have a better idea of how to start tackling AI — and I’ve bought the book!”
• “Really helpful… I feel more confident to proceed.”
• “Very informative and inspiring.”

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