AI Literacy Course for School Leaders

This free AI Literacy course gives school leaders practical frameworks to evaluate any AI tool, lead responsible adoption, and develop informed perspectives on AI's role in education.

Whether you're considering specific tools, building AI policies, or simply want to understand the landscape, this course provides the foundation you need to make decisions aligned with your school's values and needs.

You'll learn how to anchor decisions in your school's mission and vision, build a culture of safe innovation, and manage challenges around academic integrity, accuracy, bias, and equity while meeting your compliance obligations.

The course covers essential AI skills including how to evaluate AI lessons using Rosenshine's principles, protect teacher judgement from deskilling, distinguish between automation that frees time and automation that erodes capability, and spot the six hallmarks of excellent AI teaching in any classroom.

The course is designed specifically for UK contexts and includes National Curriculum alignment, GDPR and Data Protection Act requirements, Ofsted inspection readiness, and the language and concerns of UK school leaders.

Each short module includes specific actions and resources you can use immediately: questions and sample scenarios to build staff critical thinking around AI, templates for managing AI usage, and decision frameworks for adoption.

You'll get practical tools including the six shifts framework for leadership decisions, six hallmarks checklist for lesson observation, Rosenshine-based evaluation indicators, vendor questions covering safeguarding and data control, staff development scenarios for building AI literacy, and a decision framework before adopting any tool.

Whether you're just starting to explore artificial intelligence or refining your approach, this AI literacy training provides the school and trust leadership foundation framework you need.

Who this course is for:

• Headteachers and senior leaders exploring AI's role in their school


• Multi-academy trust leaders developing AI strategy across their schools


• Deputy heads and assistant heads responsible for teaching standards or digital strategy


• Anyone making decisions about digital strategy and AI use in schools

Core resource materials:

• Five 10–15 minute video modules presented by Laura Knight


• Six hallmarks of excellent AI-enabled teaching


• Rosenshine checklist of lesson evaluation questions and indicators


• Vendor assessment questions for safeguarding, compliance, data control, and pedagogical quality across all AI contexts


• Decision framework before any AI adoption in your school or trust


• Staff development scenarios for building AI confidence without dependency


• Certificate of completion

Each module also includes specific downloadable templates, implementation checklists, and relevant CPD suggestions. All these are yours to adapt freely for your context, share with colleagues, or use to evaluate any AI tool.

Why have Third Space Learning created this course?

Third Space Learning provides AI maths tutoring to UK schools. We designed Skye, our AI tutor, by making deliberate choices about teacher control, content accuracy, data protection, and pedagogical grounding. This course, created and delivered by Laura Knight, uses those design decisions as a case study — not as a sales pitch.

We don't tell you which tools to adopt or claim that AI is essential for your school. Instead, we give you the frameworks to reflect on your own context and values and then make informed decisions around your use of AI that best serves your pupils and staff.