WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY....
KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE IN EDUCATION 2026: WHY THE SUMMER HOLIDAY WON’T BE A BREAK FOR SCHOOL LEADERS
Comment by DAVID SAVAGE, Chief Technology Officer at Ripple T
he largest overhaul of safeguarding and cyber security in over a decade comes into force in September and yet the final guidance is still yet to be
published. Schools have a short window to implement an expansive and complicated procedure with no additional budget and a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) that is already managing three other jobs making this summer a scramble rather than a holiday for school leaders.
One of the key components to get right over the summer is for schools to get to grips with the updates to cybersecurity. The responsibility no longer falls on IT departments; it now also sits with the DSL, with data breaches now classed as a safeguarding concern. From a guidance implementation perspective, DSLs should create a robust communications and escalation procedure in the event of any data breach, ensuring that safeguarding measures are in place should a student’s data become compromised.
Beyond September, school leaders can take the new guidance as an opportunity to embrace cybersecurity as an organisational importance by working with IT departments to educate staff and students in cyber security, creating phishing tests for the school that mimic real attacks, ensuring the whole school is alert to the dangers of cyber attacks. In conjunction with cyber attacks, KCSIE 2026 also seeks to protect
students from harmful material online. Most schools will already have filtering systems that block content like pornography or violence from school devices, but more sophisticated methods are required to ensure protection against online harms. Primarily, it is no longer enough to block content. If students are searching for topics relating to self-harm, suicide, eating disorders or wider mental health issues, technology needs to be in place that not only highlights that a student might be struggling, but also provides them with direct support at the point of search. Additionally, we have seen with our own Ripple BrowserShield that internet users speak in code when referencing content relating to suicide and self-harm and wider topics, meaning that school leaders will need to keep on top of the latest trends to ensure all searches are being intercepted, or seek the help of other organisations and software that is specifically designed to intercept harmful searches online. Time constraints limit what is realistically possible but it’s important that the responsibility of implementing KCSIE 2026 and the wider safeguarding policy doesn’t land on the shoulders of the DSL. Cyber security and combatting online searches are critical for student wellbeing and it will take leadership and patience to deliver a successful implementation. Schools are being asked to implement complex technical changes with no additional budget or support, and leadership should consider seeking support from wider organisations versed in online safety and wellbeing.
HOW AGENTIC AI CAN HELP SCHOOLS DO MORE WITH LESS Comment by SIMON JEFFERIES, Director of Technology at Sharp UK
M
ost teachers didn’t go into the profession to spend their evenings on admin. But that is increasingly what the job looks like. Planning, safeguarding paperwork, data reporting: the list of tasks that have nothing to do with being in a classroom keeps growing.
Most schools are already experimenting with generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot to help with the admin load, and it is useful. But the bigger opportunity is agentic AI: working in the background to monitor workflows, spot patterns, flag concerns, and automate routine
tasks so staff can focus on what matters. Getting there is not complicated, but the order you do things matters more than most people realise. Start with the right processes. Before deploying anything, schools and trusts need to map their workflows and identify where time is genuinely being lost. Internal referral forms, timetabling, lesson planning, data reporting: these are the kinds of processes where AI can make an immediate difference. The key is to start small. Pick two or three non-student-facing processes and experiment there first, where the stakes are lower, and the learning curve is manageable. This phase requires a test, fail and learn mindset. Not every pain point will be solved by AI, and that is fine. The goal is to find the areas where it can make a tangible, measurable difference and build from there.
Governance must come before scaling. Safeguarding, data protection, and human oversight need to be built in from the start, not added later. That means training for all staff, clear codes of conduct, and defined boundaries around what requires human judgement. Tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot offer a solid foundation, with compliance controls embedded in familiar workplace apps. The integration of models like Claude extends what is possible for policy drafting, safeguarding documentation, and operational
July/August 2026
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reporting, within those same security parameters. Governance should also be a conversation. Involving governors, parents, and where appropriate, pupils, builds shared investment in how AI is being used. Where agentic AI changes the picture. For MATs, this is where the real gains sit. Agentic AI can aggregate data across schools, flag emerging issues, and surface recommendations for the right staff member without waiting to be prompted. Generative AI drafts the report. Agentic AI schedules the follow-up and prepares the next briefing. There is always a human in the loop, but the time savings at scale are significant. It also opens up more personalised approaches to learning, helping surface the right resources for different students without teachers having to build that in manually. AI transformation in education does not happen overnight, and it should not. Start with a handful of high-impact workflows. Build confidence through responsible prototyping. Expand once governance and staff capability are genuinely in place. The technology is ready. The question is whether the implementation is. Get that right, and the potential to reduce workload across a MAT and free up staff to focus on students is very real.
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