Francis Holland Schools Trust
AI strategy for leaders, staff and students.
A trust of independent schools brought me in to work on AI with its senior leaders, its staff and its students. It began with an audit and trust-wide CPD, moved on to strategy and policy, and ended with a published AI strategy for the whole trust and a set of case studies.
- Organisation
- Independent schools trust
- Role
- Strategic partner on AI
- Work
- Strategic consultancy, Professional development, AI for students
- Relationship
- 2025-26 academic year, now complete
Moving beyond experiment.
Francis Holland Schools Trust is a well-established independent schools trust with a strong reputation for academic excellence and pastoral care.
As artificial intelligence began to have a tangible presence across teaching, learning and operations, senior leaders were keen to move beyond experimentation towards a more coherent, values-led approach. They wanted AI use to serve the trust’s educational purpose and professional standards, and they wanted that settled before adopting new tools.
A long-term, strategic partner.
I worked with the trust as a strategic partner throughout the 2025-26 academic year, helping senior leaders shape a thoughtful and responsible approach to AI. The aim was to build on what the trust already did well and give leaders room to think the questions through together.
Finding out where the trust stood.
The work focused on building a common base of understanding across the trust, including:
- A trust-wide exploration of how AI was already being used across teaching, learning, leadership and support functions
- Structured conversations with staff and students to surface opportunities, questions and concerns
- Trust-wide CPD sessions, establishing a common language around AI, ethics and professional judgement
- An AI readiness audit, capturing strengths, gaps and priorities for future development in a detailed report to leaders and governors
Common ground after one term.
By the end of the first term, leaders and staff had a clearer, shared understanding of what responsible AI use looked like in the Francis Holland context.
The work drew scattered conversations together and gave the trust a sound basis for strategic planning. Staff feedback highlighted increased confidence, greater coherence across conversations, and reassurance that AI was being approached in a way that protected educational values.
From orientation to strategy.
From there the work moved on to strategy, planning and implementation, as the trust began to turn its principles into policy, professional guidance and lasting practice.
What came of it.
By the end of the year the trust had published an AI strategy for all its schools, and a set of case studies showing how its staff were using AI in their teaching.
Our students grow into increasingly independent thinkers in the Sixth Form, so it was invaluable for them to hear expert guidance on using AI thoughtfully to support and streamline their learning, without cutting the learning process short.
Read the full comment
José led an engaging and thought-provoking session on AI literacy, ethics and integrity, exploring what AI is, how it works, and crucially how it may be used to enhance, but should never replace, human learning and judgement. Students were invited to consider and discuss how they might question the validity of the content that AI generates, such as requesting a verified source, or cross-referencing against information they receive in lessons. Our students grow into increasingly independent thinkers in the Sixth Form, so it was invaluable for them to hear expert guidance on using AI thoughtfully to support and streamline their learning, without cutting the learning process short. Huge thanks to José for such an insightful and timely discussion!