Google and the NGA launch AI Policy Toolkit for school governors
Free AI training for 650,000 UK and Ireland educators, plus a new AI Policy Toolkit for governors and trustees. For school leaders, the toolkit may prove the more significant announcement.
Free AI training for 650,000 UK and Ireland educators, plus new governance guidance
Google has expanded its free AI Educator Series to schools across the UK and Ireland, making the programme available to an estimated 650,000 educators. Alongside the training, the company has partnered with the National Governance Association (NGA) to produce an AI Policy Toolkit aimed at governors and trustees.
For school leaders, the toolkit may prove the more significant of the two announcements.
What the training offers
It is delivered through short, teacher-led sessions, both online and in person, and covers practical uses such as lesson planning, reducing administrative workload and adapting resources for different learning needs. Participants earn micro-credentials and badges as they complete modules.
Why the governance toolkit matters
Much of the conversation about AI in schools has focused on what teachers and pupils may or may not do. Far less attention has been given to governors, who are expected to hold leaders to account for decisions they may not feel equipped to question.
The NGA toolkit is designed to help governors and trustees approach AI policy, tools and training with greater confidence. Because it has been developed with a UK governance organisation, it is built around the structures of English schools and trusts.
Governing boards might use it to frame questions such as:
- What educational or operational problem is the school trying to solve with AI?
- Which AI tools have been approved, and by whom?
- How have data-protection and safeguarding risks been assessed?
- What evidence shows that AI is improving outcomes or reducing workload?
- Who reviews new applications and responds if something goes wrong?
Questions like these could sit comfortably within an annual review of the school's digital strategy.
A note of caution
The training is built around Google's own products and should not be mistaken for an independent qualification. Completing it does not give a school access to particular Gemini licences or products. Equally, the toolkit is guidance. It does not replace a school's own data-protection impact assessments, local authority or trust requirements, or the judgement of its leaders and governors.
What leaders should do next
Leaders who want to strengthen oversight of AI should look at the governance toolkit first. It offers immediate value for a governing board and can be reviewed in a single meeting. The training programme is worth considering as a free CPD option, particularly for staff who are new to AI, but it is a larger time commitment and should be weighed against existing priorities.
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