Trustworthy AI in education: phase-agnostic conversation
9am – 12.10pm19 June 2026
London
techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AD
Education is one of the most exposed sectors when it comes to the ethical deployment of artificial intelligence. Compared with industries that have developed mature assurance systems over time, schools, colleges, universities and workplace learning providers generally lack the specialist capacity, shared structures and independent oversight needed to guide safe, fair and evidence-based adoption at scale. Yet the pressure to adopt AI tools is intensifying across every phase of learning and the consequences of getting it wrong are not evenly distributed.
This event takes a deliberately phase-agnostic approach. Rather than examining AI trustworthiness through a single institutional lens, it asks what responsible and trustworthy AI looks like across the full learning journey: in schools, in further and higher education, and in workplace and lifelong learning contexts. What challenges are common to all phases? Where do the stakes, the governance structures and the available safeguards diverge? And what would a coherent, cross-phase approach to AI trustworthiness actually require?
The morning opens with a policy introduction setting out the current landscape of Sovereign AI Benchmarks and Product Standards, before moving into three focused panel discussions. Each panel brings together practitioners, researchers and system leaders to examine how trustworthiness is understood, implemented and contested in their context.
Who should attend
This event is designed for school and college leaders, higher education professionals, workplace learning specialists, policymakers, EdTech providers and those working in AI ethics, assurance and governance. It will be especially relevant to anyone involved in developing or guiding practical frameworks for safe, equitable and evidence-based AI deployment across education and training institutions.
Programme
09:00–09:30 | Arrival and registration
09:30–09:40 | Welcome and framing
Austin Earl, Senior Programme Manager, Education and EdTech, techUK
A short scene-setting introduction establishing why trustworthiness in AI needs to be examined across all phases of learning simultaneously and what is at stake if each phase continues to develop its own responses in isolation.
09:40–09:55 | Policy introduction: sovereign AI benchmarks and product standards
An overview of the current policy architecture around AI trustworthiness in education, including the Sovereign AI Benchmarks and Product Standards framework, as well as what it means for institutions across all phases of learning.
09:55–10:35 | Panel one: schools
Schools sit at the centre of current regulatory and policy attention. The Online Safety Act, the AI in Education guidance, and the emerging Product Standards framework all bear most directly on the school system, yet schools are also the phase least resourced to respond. This panel examines what trustworthy AI looks like in practice for schools navigating a landscape of competing pressures, limited capacity and uneven access to expertise.
10:35–10:50 | Break
10:50–11:30 | Panel two: further and higher Education
FE and HE are grappling with AI on multiple fronts simultaneously: academic integrity, staff workload, student wellbeing, procurement and institutional strategy. Investment in AI tools is high and adoption is accelerating, but the regulatory gaze is comparatively lighter than in the school system. This panel asks whether that relative freedom is enabling genuine innovation, masking risk, or both, and what a trustworthy approach to AI looks like for institutions operating at this level of complexity.
11:30–12:10 | Panel three: work-based learning
Workplace and lifelong learning represents the frontier where AI adoption is moving fastest and regulatory scrutiny is weakest. Employers are deploying AI-driven learning tools at scale, often with limited independent oversight and outside the institutional frameworks that govern schools and universities. This panel examines what trustworthiness means in a context defined by commercial imperative, workforce transformation and the absence of a coherent regulatory architecture, and asks who is responsible for getting it right.
Austin Earl
Senior Programme Manager, Education and EdTech, techUK
Austin Earl
Senior Programme Manager, Education and EdTech, techUK
Austin leads techUK’s Education and EdTech programme, shaping strategies that support the digital transformation of schools, colleges, and universities. His work focuses on strengthening the UK’s education technology ecosystem, enhancing core technology foundations, and advancing the adoption of emerging technologies to improve educational outcomes.
Austin also chairs the EdTech Advisory Panel for AI in Education, contributing to national discussions on the future of EdTech, AI, and the UK's Education system.
techUK’s Education and EdTech programmeseeks to address this challenges by bridging the gap between education, the tech industry, and policymakers. We ensure that education institutions can effectively adopt technology that enhances learning, streamlines operations, and supports skills development. Visit the programme page here
Attend three workshops by Trusted Research
Between January 2026 and March 2026 we will be hosting Trusted Research for three workshops.
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Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Senior Programme Manager, Education and EdTech, techUK
Austin Earl
Senior Programme Manager, Education and EdTech, techUK
Austin leads techUK’s Education and EdTech programme, shaping strategies that support the digital transformation of schools, colleges, and universities. His work focuses on strengthening the UK’s education technology ecosystem, enhancing core technology foundations, and advancing the adoption of emerging technologies to improve educational outcomes.
Austin also chairs the EdTech Advisory Panel for AI in Education, contributing to national discussions on the future of EdTech, AI, and the UK's Education system.
