AI: A Practical Pathway for Technical Staff | NEN Webinar

AI didn’t wait for an invitation. It has turned up in browser extensions, in software updates, in the tools schools already use, and in the pockets of staff and students. This session from the National Education Network (NEN) is for IT leaders, network managers and technical teams. It doesn’t ask whether AI belongs in schools. It asks how to find the AI already in use, protect the data it touches and secure the systems it runs on. Host George Martin (Security and Data Protection Advisor, SWGfL) leads a practical panel discussion built around three phases: 🔍 Discover: get a baseline of which AI tools are being used, by whom and why, using staff engagement, web filtering, next-generation firewalls and tools like Microsoft Purview. 🛡️ Protect: what the ICO expects, using DPIAs as a way to start conversations, AI and data asset registers, admin controls, and lessons from real ICO cases. 🔒 Secure: monitoring and testing your controls, adding AI scenarios to incident response and business continuity plans, and building a no-blame security culture. The session ends with key takeaways and a suggested 12-month timeline you can adapt to wherever your school or trust is on its AI journey. Panel Heather Toomey, Principal Cyber Specialist, Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Mike Richardson, Technical Architect, One IT Mark Anderson, Principal Education Consultant, NetSupport Hosted by George Martin, SWGfL, with Q&A from Andy Robinson Chapters 0:00 Welcome and session overview 6:50 Meet the panel 10:49 Discover: getting a baseline of AI use 22:39 Protect: ICO expectations for school data 28:34 Using DPIAs in practice 33:22 Access controls, AI registers and admin settings 37:34 When things go wrong: lessons from ICO cases 43:20 Secure: filtering, monitoring and business continuity 47:28 How AI can support technical teams 49:29 Building a security culture 54:01 Clear processes everyone understands 59:13 Q&A: starting a DPIA and when to consult the ICO 1:04:40 A minimum viable process for smaller schools 1:07:46 Should IT leaders mandate which AI tools are used? 1:11:02 Summary, key takeaways and 12-month timeline Recordings of every webinar in the series, full transcripts, key-point summaries and suggested school actions and implementation roadmaps are available on the NEN website: https://www.nen.gov.uk #AIinEducation #EdTech #SchoolIT #DataProtection #CyberSecurity #NEN