Artificial intelligence is already embedded in schools across teaching, assessment, wellbeing, and operations.
The challenge for school leaders is no longer whether AI will be used. It is whether its use is visible, aligned, and intentionally guided.
This resource draws on insights from a recent leadership panel discussion co-hosted with British Schools Middle East and Middle East Schools Leaders Conference, and distills them into practical guidance leaders can act on now.
The reality leaders are facing: AI adoption is happening incrementally and often quietly
Across many schools:
- Teachers experimenting with AI to save time or enhance learning.
- Platforms adding AI features without explicit school-level decisions.
- Students using AI beyond formal systems and policies.
This momentum is not inherently problematic. The risk emerges when leadership visibility lags behind reality, leaving schools to respond reactively to questions of ethics, data use, and accountability.
Editorial Director of Teach Middle East and former school leader, Lisa Grace Wilson observed:
“AI adoption is often being driven by individual champions rather than leadership strategy.”
Fragmentation is the real risk
The most consistent insight from the discussion was that fragmentation, not AI itself, is the emerging risk.
Fragmented adoption can look like:
- Multiple AI tools solving narrow problems without coherence.
- Inconsistent expectations across departments or year levels.
- Limited clarity around data use and models.
- Tension between innovation, trust, and accountability.
Without a unifying approach, leaders are left managing consequences rather than shaping direction.
From tools to architecture
A key shift highlighted in the discussion was the need to stop thinking about AI as a set of tools, and instead treat it as architecture.
An architectural lens shifts the focus from individual products to foundational questions:
- How do we maintain visibility as AI embeds across systems?
- Where should decision-making authority sit?
- How do governance, culture, and values shape AI use over time?
As former Director of Digital Strategy Andrew Norwood summarised during the session:
“AI isn’t a tool decision, it’s an architecture decision.”
Practical actions you can take now
Schools do not need to “solve” AI all at once. What matters is taking deliberate, leadership-led steps that bring clarity and alignment.
- Start with visibility
Map where AI is already being used by staff, students, and platforms before introducing new policies. - Reframe decisions around purpose
Ask why AI is being used in each context, not just which tool is being adopted. - Clarify ownership
Ensure it’s clear who approves AI use, who evaluates risk, and who reviews impact. - Treat governance as ongoing
AI governance should evolve as tools, behaviours, and expectations change. - Build shared understanding
Invest in shared language and AI literacy across leadership and staff, not just technical capability.
The leadership question that matters
AI will continue to evolve rapidly. Tools will change.
The leadership question is no longer if AI is used in schools, but whether its use is being guided in a way that reflects the school’s values, culture, and long-term intent.
That is an architectural question, and a leadership one.
Watch the full panel discussion to explore these ideas in greater depth, with examples from schools at different stages of AI adoption.
