iAM Compliant

08/10/2026

What needs attention now, and what can wait? It’s a difficult call when you haven’t got a clear picture of your school estate.

It was a recurring theme at our Strategic Estate Management Roundtable last week, where 15 leaders from eight multi-academy trusts joined Luke and the iAM team.

When we asked people to rank their priorities, building condition data and forward planning ranked at the top. Knowing what you’re working with makes it easier to decide where to focus. Plus, you can explain those decisions when required and plan beyond the immediate jobs. It’s vital to have that evidence ready, given the DfE Education Estate Strategy, to secure future capital funding.

The discussion brought us back to something that’s easy to overlook: Tech is only useful if you can trust the information going into it.

We’d just like to thank everyone who joined us for the event and spoke so openly about the realities of managing your estates. We really appreciated hearing your experiences, and it’ll help shape iAM Compliant going forward.

07/10/2026

Is your school or trust ready for SEMS?

You’re compliant. But can you prove it across every school?

It’s one thing to know your sites are compliant. It’s another to produce clear, consistent evidence across the whole trust when it’s needed.

With DfE expectations shifting towards data-led evidence and self-assessment against SEMS, school and trust leaders need a reliable picture of their estate without creating even more work for central and school teams.

Join our FREE 30-minute iAM Compliant walkthroughs next week to see how you can:

🔹 Capture core data consistently across every academy
🔹 Bring asset registers, statutory checks and condition records together
🔹 Produce clearer evidence for SEMS self-assessment and reporting
🔹 Strengthen trust-wide oversight without increasing admin workload
🔹 And much more!

Allison Underhill, Headteacher at St Andrew's C of E Infant School, explains why iAM Compliant was the right fit for their school:

"iAM Compliant has, without question, saved me time, money, and a lot of stress."

We hope to see you there!

👉 Book Your Place: https://hubs.li/Q04zpDlv0

06/10/2026

The emergency plan is written. The alarm sounds. Now comes the part that no policy can do for you: acting under pressure.

Whether it's a medical emergency in the classroom, a fire during lunch or severe weather while pupils are outside, no two incidents look the same. But every member of staff needs to know how to respond.

Introducing Crisis Management and Emergency Response, the brand-new course from iAM Academy.

This course helps school staff recognise when a situation is becoming an emergency, follow a structured response and make safer decisions when time is limited.

The course helps staff look beyond the immediate danger, too. Learners will explore why clear reporting, recovery and reviewing what happened can help everyone respond better in future.

You can’t predict every emergency, but you can prepare your people to face one.

Crisis Management and Emergency Response is available now on iAM Academy. Find out more details about the course here: https://hubs.li/Q04yzYnf0

05/10/2026

Imagine thinking that you can no longer do the job you’ve loved for years, through no fault of your own.

You’ve barely slept. You lose your train of thought halfway through a lesson. That’s the sort of thing that knocks your confidence in your abilities. But even worse: you’re worried that if you ask for help, your colleagues will think less of you.

For some school staff experiencing perimenopause or menopause, this is how work can feel.

Would someone in your school feel safe saying, “I’m struggling!?

Menopause is a natural part of life, and it should be normal to talk about. Symptoms typically last between seven and nine years - that’s a long time to struggle in silence.

As October is Menopause Awareness Month, our experts have written a useful blog which explores what staff might be going through and how your school can help.

The blog includes useful flipcards and a link to a FREE Menopause Awareness course, which you can take without downloading.

Small, practical changes can make all the difference for many people.

Take five minutes and read it today.

https://bit.ly/4e7VBXz

02/10/2026

“It’s fake, I swear! But everyone keeps sharing it, saying it’s me!”

A distraught pupil tells you that a sexual AI deepfake of them is being passed around. They’re frightened, embarrassed, and worried they’ll somehow get the blame.

Would every member of staff in your school know what to do next?

The updated RSHE guidance brings misogyny, incel culture, AI deepfakes and consent into sharper focus. But putting it into practice takes more than just updating lesson plans.

Staff don’t need to know every online trend or memorise every vast term in the ‘incel’ lexicon. But they do need to recognise a concern, take it seriously and know how to help.

Our latest blog looks at what the changes mean for your school, with practical steps for staff, leaders, and governors. It also asks a question worth discussing with your team: do your pupils trust that they’ll actually be supported if they speak up?

Read the blog today: https://hubs.li/Q04yW_xL0

01/10/2026

Who else understands your compliance spreadsheet? 📊

If only one person understands your compliance spreadsheet, you don’t have a reliable system; you’ve got a single point of failure.

We all know who the spreadsheet “hero” is. They’re the one who built the tracker, colour-coordinated the columns and can find the right tab in seconds. So what happens if they’re off sick, or leave?

Even a brilliantly designed spreadsheet can’t chase overdue tasks, send reminders or escalate an outstanding action. Share that sheet between several people, and you may soon have different versions containing different information.

That doesn’t mean spreadsheets are completely dead. Andy argues that they’re accessible, widely understood and a useful starting point for schools without an established system. Does Luke agree?

In this episode of Demystifying Compliance, the expert pair debate:

🔹 Whether spreadsheets still belong in modern compliance systems
🔹 Why multiple versions undermine trust in your data
🔹 How automation removes the need for manual chasing
🔹 Where spreadsheets remain useful
🔹 Why your compliance system shouldn’t rely on “heroes”

Do Luke and Andy reach an agreement? Watch the video to find out!

👉 Watch the episode: https://bit.ly/4rEbmeF

01/10/2026

An explicit video of a pupil starts circulating around the school.

It looks like them. It even sounds like them. But it isn’t. Someone has taken an innocent image and used an AI deepfaking tool to create this upsetting, illegal media.

Even though the content is fake, the harm it causes isn’t.

Introducing AI Deepfakes in Schools, the hard-hitting new course from iAM Academy.

AI can now create disturbingly convincing images, videos, and audio, including indecent or illegal material. Pupils, staff, and the school itself can all become targets.

This course helps school staff understand:

- What deepfakes are
- How synthetic media can affect victims
- What to do when an incident occurs

When someone has been targeted by a deepfake, proving it isn’t real is only part of the response. Their welfare, dignity, and safety must come first.

AI Deepfakes in Schools is now available on iAM Academy. Find out more about the course here: https://hubs.li/Q04yzXTR0

30/09/2026

Getting ready for a governors’ meeting shouldn’t mean a treasure hunt for compliance records. 🔍

For Jane Taylor at New Hall Primary School, it meant downloading documents, digging through folders and updating spreadsheets by hand.

Now, with iAM Compliant, Jane can check the dashboard for a quick overview and pull more detailed reports to share with governors.

As she puts it:

“It’s a lot easier to manage and oversee. The dashboard provides a quick overview, and the reports provide more detail. This has proved useful in sharing with governors. There’s no longer a need to manually update systems and spreadsheets.”

From premises checks to utility meter readings, read how New Hall Primary brought its records together and made everyday admin easier.

👉 Read New Hall Primary’s story: https://hubs.li/Q04yBd2-0

29/09/2026

The DfE School Estate Management Standards (SEMS) return window is now officially open.

Our CEO, Luke, describes SEMS as the highway code, not a speed camera. It’s a framework that helps responsible bodies set a clear baseline, rather than an audit designed to catch anyone out.

The return window is open until 23rd November, and all schools must complete their submissions by then.

Here are the core facts trust leaders and school operation teams need to keep in mind:
☑️ It’s a light-touch self-assessment: Completed at responsible body level, it takes around 60 to 90 minutes and includes multiple-choice questions, with no requirement to upload supporting evidence.
☑️ Level 1 is your starting point: There are no financial penalties or funding cuts for sitting at Level 1. The return simply holds up an accurate mirror to your estate processes as they sit today.
☑️ It supports long-term strategy: Completing the return helps identify operational gaps as DfE capital funding transitions towards data-led allocation by 2028. Staying compliant shouldn't feel like a mad scramble for paperwork. It’s much easier when your daily routines naturally create the proof you need.

Explore the Demystifying Compliance Hub: https://hubs.li/Q04ypN3d0

Leaders

29/09/2026

BOSS BATTLE INCOMING!

Health bar: fairly full.
Anti-anxiety potion: running low.
Revision strategy: show up and hope for the best?

That last one could be a problem.

Revision isn’t about staring at the same page until the words stop looking real. Like any decent game, it takes clear quests, regular practice, the right power-ups and some sensible stamina management.

Our new course, ‘How do I Revise Effectively?’ turns effective revision into something much easier to understand. It covers active recall, spaced repetition, focused study sessions, avoiding distractions and keeping your stats topped up with food, water, movement and sleep.

Press play to start levelling up your revision.

It’s part of the iAM Lifeskills Collection, created to answer all those things you’ve always wanted to know but never quite got around to asking.

From changing a baby’s nappy and fact-checking misinformation to understanding gaslighting and adding soft skills to a CV, these quick courses explore the practical questions that don’t always fit neatly onto the school timetable, helping learners feel better prepared for life beyond the classroom.

Explore the rest of the iAM Lifeskills Collection on YouTube. They’re all completely free and a great way to see what you can expect from iAM Academy while learning something new in just a couple of minutes!

https://hubs.li/Q04wKN_60

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