Podcasts
Foundational Impact
Foundational Impact is a weekly podcast exploring how artificial intelligence is changing education. Across our work with schools, researchers, policymakers, and young people, we're examining what those changes mean for teaching, assessment, safeguarding, equity, leadership, and the future of learning. Each episode brings you into conversation with the people whose work is helping to shape the direction education takes next.
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The Role of AI in Student Feedback with Daisy Christodoulou
In this episode from the Festival of Education at Wellington College 2026, host Daniel Emmerson speaks with Daisy Christodoulou, Director of Education at No More Marking. Daisy discusses the role of artificial intelligence in educational assessment, emphasising the importance of actionable feedback over lengthy written notes, the mechanics of comparative judgment, and why handwritten work remains vital for learning. She also addresses the potenti
Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith: Stop Buying Tools Before You’ve Answered This
Our guest in this episode is Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith, an independent researcher who studies the relationship between pedagogy and digital tools, and the lived experience of students in the classroom.
Jonathan Baggaley: Are Young People Forming Relationships with AI?
What does AI mean for the way young people relate to each other and to technology itself? That's the focus of the conversation in this episode when Daniel speaks with Jonathan Baggaley, CEO of the PSHE Association and former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.
Jane Mann: Education on the Frontline
What does great education look like when the classroom is a refugee camp? When the teacher is under-resourced, under-supported, and still showing up? We are delighted to welcome Jane Mann, Managing Director of the Partnership for Education and Education Director for International Education at Cambridge University Press and Assessment.
Elizabeth Moore: Philanthropy Filling the AI Education Gap
The conversation between Elizabeth Moore and Daniel in this episode provides a window into how the Gates Foundation is navigating the evolving landscape of AI in K-12 education. As Deputy Director with the U.S. K-12 team, Elizabeth explains that the Gates Foundation operates at multiple levels to improve classroom instruction through research, quality standards, and strategic investments. This includes influencing frontier AI labs like OpenAI and
Calvin Eden: When Your Students Trusts AI Over You
Our guest for this episode is Calvin Eden, the founder of LoudSpeaker who works with students across the UK through high-energy and interactive workshops on topics like resilience, emotional intelligence, and healthy relationships.
Erin Mote: The AI Research to Classroom Gap No One is Talking About
In this episode, Daniel sits down with Erin Mote of InnovateEDU about how education systems are responding to AI and where current approaches are falling short. Erin challenges the assumption that progress in education operates within fixed limits. She argues that system-level change depends on collaboration, shared practice, and open infrastructure rather than competition between schools, organisations, or regions.
Dr. Biljana Scott: Language as Our Defining Asset
What makes human communication unique in an age of increasingly sophisticated AI? Daniel Emmerson invites Dr. Biljana Scott, a linguist with expertise in diplomatic communication and language analysis, to explore this question in depth. With her multilingual background and extensive experience in teaching the nuances of communication, Biljana probes the complex interplay between human language and AI interaction.
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Claire Archibald: Creating Effective AI Governance Structures in Schools
Is having an AI policy enough to protect your school? In this episode, Daniel Emmerson speaks with Claire Archibald, Legal Director at Brown Jacobson and former Data Protection Officer, about what effective AI governance in schools looks like.
Setting Visible Boundaries to Safeguard our Students in an AI-infused World
Daniel's conversation with Gemma Gwilliam, Portsmouth's Head of Digital Learning, Education and Innovation, explores transparency, privacy and safeguarding in AI education. The discussion takes a dramatic turn when Gemma puts on a pair of AI-enabled glasses which she purchased easily for under £10 right in the middle of the recording, bringing theoretical concerns into stark reality.
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