What's the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials is a verified self-assessment against five security controls. Cyber Essentials Plus tests the same controls with a hands-on technical audit by a licensed assessor. You must hold Cyber Essentials before doing Plus.

Do you do the work, or just assess us?

We do the work. Foresight runs the gap analysis, carries out hands-on remediation, prepares the evidence and liaises with the assessor, so you pass first time rather than paying to re-sit a failed audit.

How much does Cyber Essentials cost?

The IASME assessment fee is tiered by size from around £320 + VAT and includes £25,000 cyber liability insurance for eligible UK businesses. Cyber Essentials Plus is scoped to your estate, typically from around £1,380 + VAT.

Education

AI adoption for schools: safe, practical, and built around safeguarding

AI can save your staff real hours — but in a school, “just roll out Copilot” is a safeguarding risk waiting to happen. We help schools and trusts adopt AI safely, starting with what’s actually happening and what to fix first.

Book an AI Readiness Audit Call 0161 738 1399

Greater Manchester & UK-wide · free, no-obligation chat

Why Foresight

Cyber Essentials Plus certified
16 years supporting 56+ primary schools
Safeguarding & DfE-standards aware
Honest advice — not licence-selling

Quick answer

AI adoption for schools means introducing AI in a way that saves staff time without putting pupil, SEND or safeguarding data at risk. We start with an AI Readiness Audit — finding which AI tools staff already use, checking your Microsoft 365 for oversharing (Copilot surfaces anything a user can already access), and mapping real tasks to the right tool. School business managers and admin staff often benefit most; safeguarding records are kept firmly out of scope. We then fix governance and roll out only what’s safe and useful.

Safeguarding first

Why schools can’t just “roll out Copilot”

Copilot only shows a user what they can already access — which sounds safe until you realise how much is quietly over-shared in a typical school SharePoint. Pupil records, SEND information and safeguarding files are exactly what you don’t want an AI assistant surfacing on a quick search. Add DfE digital standards and data-protection duties, and it’s clear schools need the groundwork done before AI goes live.

Where AI helps in a school

Typical findings

Role	Where AI fits
School Business Manager	Hours on reports and policy updates → Microsoft 365 Copilot
Office admin	Repetitive parent queries → an FAQ agent
Teachers	Planning and differentiating lessons → Copilot Chat (free)
Safeguarding	Safeguarding records → a firm no-go, kept out of scope

How we keep it safe

Governance built in

Before anything rolls out, we tidy up tenant permissions and sharing, apply sensitivity labels, put a simple AI usage policy in place, and complete any DPIA — all aligned with the new AI-in-scope Cyber Essentials rules. It all starts with a fixed-fee AI Readiness Audit. See also our wider AI adoption service.

FAQs

Common questions

Is it safe for schools to use Copilot?

Only once the groundwork is done. Copilot surfaces anything a user can already access, so schools must fix over-sharing and permissions first — otherwise pupil and safeguarding data can appear in results.

Which school staff benefit most from AI?

Usually school business managers (reports and policies) and office admin (parent queries), with teachers benefiting from free Copilot Chat for planning. Not everyone needs a paid licence.

What about safeguarding and SEND data?

It stays firmly out of scope. Part of our job is drawing clear lines around the data AI must never touch, and making sure your tenant enforces them.

Do we need an AI policy and a DPIA?

Almost certainly — a simple AI acceptable-use policy and, where personal data is involved, a DPIA. We help you put both in place.

How do we start safely?

With a fixed-fee AI Readiness Audit that shows what staff already use, where AI helps, and what to fix before you scale — built around safeguarding from the start.

Bring AI into your school — safely

Start with a fixed-fee AI Readiness Audit built around safeguarding, pupil data and DfE standards.

Book an AI Readiness Audit Call 0161 738 1399