AGBIS/HMC/ISBA Heads, Governors and Bursars’ Conference - Wednesday 11 November 2026 (BMA House, London)

Leading the Digital School: Strategy, Safety and Sustainability in the Age of AI

Description

This one‑day conference brings together Heads/CEOs, Bursars/CFOs and Governors from independent schools to explore one of the most significant leadership challenges of our time: how to lead schools confidently and coherently in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Bookings should be made via the AGBIS Website:

AGBIS | AGBIS | HMC | ISBA Joint Conference 2026

Conference Programme
09.00 -10.00	Registration and refreshments
10.00 – 10.05	Welcome and opening remarks
10.05 – 10.35	Plenary 1: The Digital School as a System: Leadership, Risk and Responsibility in the Age of AI Speakers: Al Kingsley MBE, CEO, NetSupport
10.35 – 11.20	Plenary 2 – Panel session: Who Owns Digital Strategy? Governance, Leadership and Operations Speakers: Gary Henderson, Director of IT, Winchester College Chair: Julie Robinson, CEO, ISC
11.20 – 11.50	Refreshment break among the exhibitors
11.50 – 12.40	Workshop Sessions (Block A) A1: Governing AI: Oversight Without Panic How boards and senior leaders can provide confident, proportionate oversight of AI grounded in values, ethics and educational integrity. Speaker: Ross Garrod, Founder & CEO, Involve Education A2: Digital Risk & Cyber Governance Understanding cyber and digital risk at board level, including governance responsibilities, assurance and crisis preparedness. Preparing schools for cyber incidents through resilience, recovery planning for business continuity and effective governance reporting. Speaker: Simon Holden, Founder & CEO, Safehire.ai and Founder, CyBur A3: AI in Teaching & Learning A strategic look at how AI is reshaping curriculum, assessment and professional judgement — and how schools can respond sustainably. Speaker: Laura Knight, Founder, Sapio A4: Funding Digital Transformation Planning affordable, sustainable digital investment: infrastructure, devices and long‑term financial risk. Speaker: Gary Henderson, Director of IT, Winchester College
12.40 – 13.40	Lunch
13.45 – 14.35	Workshop Sessions (Block B) B1: Governing AI: Oversight Without Panic How boards and senior leaders can provide confident, proportionate oversight of AI grounded in values, ethics and educational integrity. Speaker: Ross Garrod, Founder & CEO, Involve Education B2: Digital Risk & Cyber Governance Understanding cyber and digital risk at board level, including governance responsibilities, assurance and crisis preparedness. Preparing schools for cyber incidents through resilience, recovery planning for business continuity and effective governance reporting. Speaker: Simon Holden, Founder & CEO, Safehire.ai and Founder, CyBur B3: AI in Teaching & Learning A strategic look at how AI is reshaping curriculum, assessment and professional judgement — and how schools can respond sustainably. Speaker: Laura Knight, Founder, Sapio B4: Funding Digital Transformation Planning affordable, sustainable digital investment: infrastructure, devices and long‑term financial risk. Speaker: Gary Henderson, Director of IT, Winchester College
14.35 – 15.00	Refreshments and exhibition
15.05 - 15.50	Plenary 3: From Policy to Culture: Building a Digitally Confident School Speaker: TBC
15.50 – 16.00	Closing remarks and depart