AI Leadership Career Pathway
with AISL Academy, in partnership with Educate Ventures Research
Ready to start your learning journey? Select your access type to begin.
Certification: AISL Academy & Educate Ventures Research
Programme Fee:
- GBP £ 299 (Early Bird)
- GBP £ 350 (Regular Price)
- Free for AISL Staff
Duration: Self-paced (24 hours)
1. Why take this pathway?
Schools and educators are facing growing pressure to understand and apply artificial intelligence, but often lack clear, practical guidance on how to do so impactfully, safely, ethically, and effectively. This pathway addresses that gap by providing a structured, research-informed approach and practical hands-on application to AI in education. It tackles the challenges of developing strategy, safeguarding learners, building AI literacy, and making evidence-based decisions, ensuring that AI adoption enhances rather than disrupts teaching, learning, and leadership.
2. Who is it for?
This pathway is designed for school leaders, educators, and education professionals who want to build confidence and expertise in AI. It is particularly valuable for:
- Senior leaders developing whole-school AI strategies.
- Classroom teachers seeking to integrate AI tools responsibly into teaching and learning.
- Digital leads and curriculum coordinators exploring innovation and risk management.
- Advisors, and education consultants who support schools in navigating AI adoption.
Whether you are just beginning your AI journey or looking to refine and lead practice in your institution, this pathway equips you with the knowledge and skills to act with confidence.
3. What you will Learn
This AI Leadership Career Pathway is designed to equip educators and school leaders with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in education. Across six focused courses, learners will explore how AI can be applied responsibly, effectively, and creatively to enhance teaching, learning, and leadership practices.
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of AI’s role in modern education.
- Develop practical strategies to implement AI safely, ethically, and effectively in schools.
- Acquire insights into emerging AI tools and innovations that support teaching, learning, and leadership.
What’s on offer in the pathway
This Pathway consists of 6 courses as follows:
Course 1: AI Leadership and Strategy
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by AI’s relentless pace in education? You’re watching it race ahead, yet most strategies seem scattered, overwhelming, or dangerously shallow. It leaves you anxious about costly missteps that could impact students and staff, or simply too stretched to turn big ideas into safe, effective practice. You’re not alone. Many educators and school leaders feel the same mix of excitement, fear of falling behind, and uncertainty in a landscape that shifts month by month. That’s exactly why this course exists.
Building upon Professor Rose Luckin’s proven 4D AI Strategy Framework—a holistic, purpose-driven approach trusted by schools worldwide—this course cuts through the hype to provide a clear, structured way forward: what truly matters, where to focus your efforts, and how to take meaningful, context-specific steps.
By the end, you’ll not only understand the framework but also feel confident applying it in your setting, transforming hesitation and risk into clarity, momentum, and purposeful AI leadership and strategy.
Course 2: AI Safeguarding
As an educator, you’re seeing AI reshape classrooms and student behaviour every day, exacerbating existing risks like data breaches, misinformation, and bias, while introducing new ones such as deepfakes, overreliance, and wider equity gaps.
It’s unsettling to wonder: Are we protecting our learners adequately? Could hasty AI adoption create more harm than good when it comes to safeguarding, inclusion, and ethics? Many school leaders and teachers feel this tension—wanting to embrace AI’s potential while fearing unintended consequences in a fast-moving field.
This course gives you a clear, practical way forward. You’ll learn to spot threats amplified or created by AI, assess how AI can both worsen and ease safeguarding issues, build approaches that prioritise ethical standards and inclusive outcomes, and apply data protection principles to evaluate tools, reduce risks, and guide responsible adoption in your school.
By the end, you’ll feel equipped to make confident, values-driven decisions that keep students safe and supported.
Course 3: AI Literacy and Education
This course explores how to foster AI literacy among educators and learners, offering a foundational understanding of how AI is transforming education. Participants will examine the implications of AI for curriculum design, assessment strategies, and classroom practice.
Course 4: AI Collaboration and Development
This course helps educators develop skills to collaborate with AI effectively, blending human creativity and insight with AI’s analytical capabilities. Participants will explore how collaboration with AI can enhance teaching, learning, and educational decision-making, while gaining practical strategies to integrate AI in ways that are thoughtful, ethical, and impactful.
Course 5: AI Evaluation and Risk Management
This course equips educators with practical skills to critically evaluate AI tools in educational contexts. Participants will learn how to gather and interpret evidence, assess the effectiveness of AI applications, and manage associated risks strategically.
Course 6: AI Innovation and Use Cases
This course introduces educators to practical applications of AI in school settings, with a focus on enhancing engagement and inclusion. Participants will explore the use of on-device AI, assistive robots, and emerging technologies to support diverse learning needs. Through real-world examples tailored to different class levels, educators will gain hands-on insights into how AI can enrich teaching practices and create more inclusive learning environments.
Your Experience with the Pathway
This pathway consists of six self-paced courses, designed to fit seamlessly into your schedule, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Each course, estimated at 2-3 hours to complete, features engaging learning activities woven throughout and culminates in a quiz to solidify your understanding and equip you with immediately applicable skills.
Upon successful completion of all six courses, you will earn a certificate jointly awarded by AISL Academy and Educate Ventures Research, recognising your commitment to professional growth.
Pathway Instructors
Dina Foster
Dina Foster is head of educator AI training at Educate Ventures. She is an experienced former secondary school Deputy Head teacher and is currently a doctoral candidate at UCL with a research focus on how schools develop AI strategy to harness the benefits of AI, and augment teaching and learning. She gained her MA in Education and Technology and also holds a Master’s in Teaching, both from the Institute of Education. Dina is particularly interested in supporting school leaders with the development and implementation of successful EdTech strategies to address school priorities.
Dave Turnbull
Dave Turnbull is a deputy head of educator AI training at Educate Ventures. Dave’s seven years’ experience in primary classrooms, including 5 years as his school’s Computing Curriculum Lead, has given him a front-row view to the challenges schools face in developing coherent digital strategies. As Deputy Head of Educator AI Training at EDUCATE Ventures, he’s helping to build next generation CPD for leaders and teachers in this space. Dave has a BA in Media Arts from Royal Holloway University of London and worked in film and television prior to completing a PGCE at Goldsmiths, specialising in Early Years. He planned, developed, and implemented his school’s digital strategy, enabling him to guide the staff through remote teaching during the pandemic.
If you have any questions regarding our AI Leadership Career Pathway, please feel free to email us directly at cs@aisl-academy.com
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