Halo AI Academy
Supporting your journey to being an AI Confident School
A year of bespoke training, support and resources for a single fee.
What’s the benefit of a whole year package?
AI is a huge topic that’s changing all the time. New tools are getting introduced, existing platforms are evolving and adding features at a rapid pace and it’s hard enough for those of us that work with AI to keep up with it all never mind school staff.
If I look back at the training I was delivering 2 years, or in some cases, 6 months ago I’m surprised at how much has changed. The idea of the Halo AI Academy is to keep you informed with updated training and staff that feel confident and current.
Through regular meetings with your AI Leads and with an evolving resource and learning space on our website, the goal is for schools to feel less like AI is a big daunting thing that they need to start exploring and more like they are excited to have someone who can help guide them towards using AI in an informed, ethical and responsible way.
The 4 pillars of the Academy
Each Academy year follows the same structured approach in order to ensure we’re setting targets and working towards them in a measured and thought-out way.
The first step is a Discovery Session to understand how your staff currently feel about using AI, where they are confident and where they need help. Whether you're right at the beginning of your AI journey, or are well on your way down that path, we map out what support is needed and ensure clear goals and outcomes are set for the year ahead. You receive this as a document you can use to track progress against these goals as the project progresses.
- ›In-person Discovery Session with SLT
- ›A written plan with clear goals for the year
- ›Track progress towards your goals
Whole school training allows us to bring everyone together and ensure that all members of the Team receive the support they need. When everyone is on the same page there can be more widespread use of any technology. We can also provide catchup sessions for less-confident staff and bespoke training for certain roles like Admin staff and SLT. We can also support with a session to parents and facilitate a Q&A.
- ›Catch-up sessions for less-confident staff
- ›Dedicated support for Admin and office staff
- ›Support with parent awareness session
I can't spend every day in your school so we work with a member of staff or small team of your choosing to enable them to take on the role of the AI Leader in school. We meet online roughly once a month or once a half term and we can tackle projects that are specific to your school like building bespoke Agents and Tools or explore workflows and ideas that are specifically designed for you. Having someone in school that is keen to explore more advanced AI use-cases ensures that your AI journey is always progressing.
- ›Regular 1-2-1 meetings with your AI Lead(s)
- ›From prompting basics to building Agents
- ›Projects built around your school
Whether you're looking for template AI policies, letters to parents or quick-look guidance for staff - our Member Only area is designed to provide you with supporting materials as well as ideas on how to use AI from us and other schools. This is designed to grow and evolve over time and build into a detailed and feature-rich resource that keeps pace with the platforms you use.
- ›AI policy template, staff guidance and parent letters
- ›How-to guides and quick-look staff guidance
- ›Ideas from us and other schools
Tai Education Centre
We’ve worked with the Tai Education Centre in RCT for around 6 years now and they were kind enough to share their thoughts on the support and training they have received.
Recorded in October 2026
Meet your Trainer
Tom Lewis
Company Director / Training Lead
I’ve been delivering technology training to schools since 2014 and have developed a style that is clear and purposeful whilst also being relaxed and approachable. My goal is to make complicated topics easy to understand and make sure everyone leaves feeling confident, not just the people at the front.
I’ve been working with AI since the early days of tools like ChatGPT and have delivered training sessions to staff across the country, from complete beginners to senior leadership teams. I’ve also presented to clusters and whole Local Authorities of schools across South Wales.
When you join the Academy, I’m the person you’ll work with all year, from the Discovery Session through to the final twilight. Every session is tailored to your school.
CPD Accredited
All Halo Support AI courses are accredited by The CPD Group, meaning they meet a recognised industry standard for continuing professional development. AI is an ever changing landscape but the training we offer focusses on long-term skills and foundational understanding rather than chasing the latest trends to ensure you gain effective transferable skills.
Interested but not sure where to start?
Investing in training is a decision worth getting right.
Register your interest here and we'll get in touch for an informal chat - no sales pitch, just an honest conversation about whether AI training is right for your school right now.
FAQs
Q: Will this work for staff who have never used AI at all?
A: Yes, and that’s who most of our sessions are built around. We start by finding out where your staff actually are rather than assuming, and sessions are paced so that confident staff stay engaged while nobody else feels lost. No prior experience needed.
Q: How does the Academy fit with Estyn and Welsh Government guidance?
A: Estyn’s 2025 report on AI in schools found that most schools are exploring AI on their own, and called for a clear, ethical national approach with structured professional learning and strong leadership. The Academy is designed to help with exactly that in the meantime. It gives you a plan, trained staff and an AI Lead in school, so you’re in a strong position whatever national guidance follows. It’s there to support, not replace, any guidance from Welsh Government or your Local Authority.
Q: We already have an AI policy, is the template still useful?
A: It can be. Until there’s clear national guidance, our template is there if it helps, whether that’s to fill gaps in what you already have or to give you a starting point. It’s not meant to override anything your Local Authority or Welsh Government provides.
Q: What happens to our data when used with AI?
A: This is often one of the first questions schools ask and is an important one to discuss first. The answer depends entirely on the platform you’re using. As part of the training I’ll explain how AI was trained and where the data came from along with how your data is managed on different AI platforms today.
Q: Which AI tools do you cover?
A: The training is deliberately platform-agnostic. Most schools work with Copilot or Gemini, and we’ll focus on whatever your staff actually have access to. Sessions cover the underlying skills that transfer between tools, rather than teaching one platform that may change next month or next year.
Q: Do you work with the tools we access through Hwb?
A: Yes, both Copilot and Gemini are available through the Hwb platform in Wales.
Q: Who should be our AI Lead and how much time will it take?
A: Anyone keen to take AI forward in school, whether that’s your Digital Champion, IT Coordinator or a small team. They don’t need to be an expert. We meet online roughly once a month or once a half term, for around an hour each time.
Q: Does the Academy cover admin and support staff, or is it just for teachers?
A: Both. The Academy includes dedicated support for admin and office staff, either as part of whole-staff sessions or as their own separate session, whichever suits them. Support staff often see the quickest time savings, and they’re too often left out of school CPD.
Q: How long is a twilight session?
A: Generally 90-120 minutes depending on your availability.
Q: Can we join partway through the school year?
A: Yes. Your Academy year starts from your Discovery Session, not from September, so you can join whenever suits you.
Q: What if we can’t fit all the sessions into the year?
A: We aim to get all sessions delivered within a 12 month period, but we know school calendars don’t always play ball. If that’s not possible, we’ll work with you to make sure you get an outcome that works for you, in a timeframe that fits for everyone.
Q: What happens after the first year?
A: Around six to eight months in, we’ll sit down together and look at what a second year could look like, based on where you’ve got to and what you want to do next. There’s no obligation to continue.
Q: Is the cost per school or per member of staff?
A: Per school. Costs aren’t based on the number of attendees, so there’s no penalty for bringing everyone.
Q: Can a group or cluster of schools join together?
A: Yes, and that can work really well. Get in touch and we can talk about how to make it work for your schools.
Q: Do you offer anything for parents?
A: We do. We can help you with notices to parents and can also support with a Parent awareness and Q&A session.
Q: Do you have DBS clearance and public liability insurance?
A: Yes to both.
Q: Can you deliver training in Welsh, or for Welsh-medium schools?
A: Unfortunately not in Welsh any more as I’m nowhere near as fluent as I once was, but I can absolutely deliver content to Welsh-medium schools and understand the requirements of a Welsh-medium education.
Q: How far do you travel?
A: We’re based in South Wales and primarily work in the local area but can travel further afield if needed. Please get in touch and we can discuss this with you.
Q: Do staff get CPD certificates individually?
A: CPD Certificates will be sent to the school following training.
Based on over 500 responses:
97.9% of attendees said they would recommend the courses to others.
What attendees say:
“Thank you Tom, I thoroughly enjoyed the session. Your knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm came across in spades and I left the session feeling really motivated and inspired to try things. Thank you!”
-K. Lewis
“Great pace and atmosphere of training. I learnt lots and am looking forward to using it.”
-C. Harries
“Thank you! This training will benefit me enormously in my role”
-M. O'Mahony