AI INSET training for schools: how to make AI training stick

Plenty of schools have now run an AI INSET day. Staff watch a demo, try a chatbot, and go back to marking. A term later, little has changed. A Bett/YouGov survey of UK teachers in 2026 found that 52% use AI weekly, yet 55% of those using it work the same hours as before¹. AI INSET training for schools only pays off when staff leave with something they’ll use the following Monday, and when there’s a plan for what happens after the day.

Why do one-off AI INSET days fade?

Most fade for the same three reasons.

• They show tools, not tasks. A demo isn’t the same as a teacher building next week’s Year 8 retrieval quiz.
• They pitch at one level. In any staffroom, some staff have never opened an AI assistant and others use one daily. One session can’t serve both.
• Nothing follows them. Without a follow-up, a shared prompt bank or a named person to ask, new habits drift back to old ones.

The fix isn’t a longer day. It’s a shorter first step, tied to real work, with a clear next step after it. Our AI Use Hierarchy is one way to plan that path.

What should AI training for teachers focus on?

Start with workload. It’s the reason most staff will give AI a second try, and DfE’s guidance names the same uses: lesson planning, resource creation, feedback, and admin². Concrete tasks land best:

• Planning: adapting a lesson plan for a mixed-ability group, or turning a scheme of work into a sequence of retrieval questions
• Feedback: drafting whole-class feedback from a teacher’s own notes on a set of books
• Adapting resources: rewriting a reading text at a lower reading age, or producing a scaffolded version of a worksheet
• Letters home and admin: a first draft of a trip letter, a newsletter item, or a club timetable

Staff should work on their own material, and leave with a working result and a prompt they can reuse.

Keep the human in charge. DfE’s guidance says AI can’t replace a teacher’s judgement and subject knowledge, and staff remain responsible for what they produce².

Don’t forget support staff

Teaching assistants, office teams, and business managers often have more repetitive writing than anyone. Give them their own tasks: summarising meeting notes, drafting routine emails to parents, tidying policies into plain English. DfE’s support materials are written for all school staff, not only teachers³, and your plan should be too.

Safeguarding and data protection: what staff need to know

DfE’s position is that personal data shouldn’t be entered into generative AI tools. Where it has to be, schools must protect it, follow data protection law and their own policies, and be open with pupils and parents about how their data is used². In practice, that means staff never paste pupil names, SEND information, safeguarding notes, or assessment data into an unapproved tool.

Three other points belong in every session:

1. Pupils’ work and copyright. Schools mustn’t allow pupils’ original work to be used to train AI models without permission from the pupil, or a parent if the pupil is a minor².
2. Safeguarding policy. DfE asks schools to cover AI in their online safety and safeguarding policies, and to check that filtering and monitoring cover generative AI tools².
3. Approved tools. Staff should know which tools the school or trust has approved, and why. Many schools run Google Workspace rather than Microsoft 365, so training should fit the tools you have.

A Green/Amber/Red decision matrix helps: green tasks are fine in an approved tool, amber tasks need anonymised material and a careful check, and red tasks stay out of AI. Our article on responsible AI covers the same principles in more depth.

What do DfE and Ofsted say about AI in schools?

DfE’s guidance on generative AI in education, last updated in August 2025, supports careful use that reduces workload, with safeguards on data, safeguarding, and intellectual property². DfE has also funded free training: the “Using AI in education settings” support materials, developed by the Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching, were refreshed for 2026 to 2027 in May 2026. There are four modules plus a pack for leaders, and DfE recommends the safe use module for every member of staff³. The Chartered College offers a free assessment linked to them³.

Those materials are a good base. External AI CPD for school staff adds value by turning them into hands-on practice with your own policy, tools, and tasks.

Ofsted doesn’t inspect AI as a separate area, doesn’t require schools to use it, and doesn’t evaluate AI tools directly. Inspectors can consider the impact AI use has on pupils’ outcomes and experiences, and any risks are judged within existing areas such as safeguarding and data protection⁴. So the question for leaders isn’t “are we using AI?” but “are our decisions about AI good for pupils, and can we show it?”

How can a trust roll out AI training across its schools?

AI training for a multi-academy trust (MAT) works best as one programme, not separate INSET days booked by each school.

1. Set one trust position first. Agree the AI policy, the approved tools, and the red lines centrally, so every school trains to the same rules.
2. Find out where staff are. A quick check across a sample of schools shows your starting point.
3. Train a core all-staff module once. A self-paced online course on safe, policy-aligned use gives every school the same foundation, including new starters.
4. Run workshops by phase or role. Primary, secondary, and office staff need different tasks.
5. Grow champions. One or two confident staff per school who share prompts keep it going after the trainer leaves.
6. Measure it. Track completion, confidence before and after, and what staff say they now use. That’s the evidence trustees will ask for.

For the wider picture of planning AI adoption across an organisation, see our guide on how to implement AI. It’s written for universities, but the planning steps transfer to a trust.

Where do parent and pupil AI sessions fit?

Pupils are already using AI, and parents have questions. Once staff are confident, a short parent session on what AI is, how the school uses it, and how to talk to children about it at home can build trust. For pupils, AI literacy sits best inside existing computing and PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education) teaching, delivered by staff who’ve been trained first. Do staff first: they’ll be the ones answering pupils’ questions. Our article on AI literacy training for staff explains what that foundation should include.

How WorkSmart-AI can help

We’re education specialists who train adults to use AI on real tasks, built around your policy and tools. For schools and trusts, that means INSET workshops from one hour to a full day, from £250, and self-paced online courses on your own learning platform or ours, from £750. You can see the full list on our courses page, or estimate where AI could save your staff time with the AI Savings Calculator.

The best place to start is our free AI Capability Check. It’s a 30-minute call over Teams or Zoom, with no obligation. We’ll place your staff on the AI Use Hierarchy, give you two or three prioritised next steps, and send you a written report to keep.

Book your free AI Capability Check

Frequently asked questions

What should an AI INSET day for teachers include? Hands-on practice on weekly tasks such as planning, feedback, and letters home, clear rules on pupil data, and a follow-up plan.

Is there free AI training for teachers in the UK? Yes. DfE’s “Using AI in education settings” support materials are free for school and college staff in England, with a free Chartered College assessment linked to them³.

Can teachers put pupil data into ChatGPT or Copilot? DfE recommends that personal data isn’t entered into generative AI tools. Follow your school’s data protection policy and use only tools your school has approved².

Does Ofsted inspect how schools use AI? Not as a separate area. Inspectors can consider the impact of AI use on pupils, and judge any risks under existing areas such as safeguarding⁴.

How long should AI CPD for school staff be? Short and repeated beats long and once: a one-hour or half-day session, a follow-up, and an online course for all staff.