Don’t Just Manage Risk—Reframe It: Why AI Coaching Tools Deserve a Place in Every School’s Strategy

In the fast-moving world of education technology, many school leaders are rightly cautious. We’ve spent years building systems to protect data, comply with GDPR, and shield students and staff from harm. But in the age of AI, risk isn’t just about what you take on. It’s also about what you miss out on.

Too often, conversations about AI in schools stall on a single axis: is it safe? But the better question might be: what happens if we wait too long?

The Hidden Risk of Inaction

While schools delay decisions, other sectors are accelerating. Corporate training, healthcare, and leadership coaching are already using AI to provide personalised, real-time feedback at scale. According to market research, the UK market for AI coaching tools will grow from $381.6M in 2025 to over $1.7B by 2030—a fivefold increase. Education is part of that picture, but only if schools choose to act.

Waiting doesn’t protect us from risk—it just shifts it. The risk becomes missed opportunities for professional growth, continued burnout due to unsustainable workload, and students learning in classrooms where teaching practice hasn’t evolved because feedback systems can’t scale.

Flip the Narrative: From Fear to Trust

The real work for leaders is not just due diligence—it’s building trust. Trust that AI can enhance human judgement, not replace it. Trust that our data policies, when properly implemented, can protect staff and students. Trust that transparency and control—such as letting teachers delete their own recordings—are key to making adoption ethical and empowering.

Starlight, for example, provides specific, actionable feedback from lesson audio within minutes. It’s not surveillance—it’s support. Teachers remain in control, data is anonymised, and insights are designed to promote growth, not judgement. That reframing matters. When staff understand the “why” behind the tool, adoption grows—and impact follows.

Ask Better Questions

Rather than defaulting to “what could go wrong?” school leaders might ask:

• What’s our current system for coaching and feedback—and is it scalable?

• How can we reduce workload without sacrificing quality or professionalism?

• What would it mean to have real-time insights across departments, key stages, or schools in our MAT?

• How can we empower teachers with tools they can use independently, with or without a coach?

The Leadership Opportunity

Adopting AI coaching tools isn’t just an IT decision—it’s a leadership one. It’s about creating a culture that values growth, reflection, and innovation. The most successful schools in the next five years won’t be the ones that waited the longest. They’ll be the ones that asked the right questions early, built the right safeguards, and chose to lead.

So let’s not frame this as a binary choice between innovation and caution. Let’s lead with both.

The Insight Engine is written by Adam Sturdee, co-founder of Starlight—the UK’s first AI-powered coaching platform—and Assistant Headteacher at St Augustine’s Catholic College. This blog is part of a wider mission to support educators through meaningful reflection, not performance metrics. It documents the journey of building Starlight from the ground up, and explores how AI, when shaped with care, can reduce workload, surface insight, and help teachers think more deeply about their practice. Rooted in the belief that growth should be private, professional, and purposeful, The Insight Engine offers ideas and stories that put insight—not judgment—at the centre of development.