What if the most important people in your school or college never set foot in a classroom?In this milestone 350th episode of the Edufuturists podcast, we sit down with Chris Loveday for a conversation years in the making - one that reframes who really drives an education organisation.Chris Loveday is Deputy Principal for Digital, Data and Funding at City of Portsmouth College, and the author of Operational Intelligence: The Power of Digital, Data and AI. His route into education leadership is anything but conventional - from leisure assistant on a school site, to running a 5,000-capacity music festival, to senior leadership in schools, sixth form and FE. That breadth is exactly what makes his thinking on systems, data and AI so distinctive.We cover:- Why "co-professionals" - the people who support learning beyond the classroom - are often the unsung backbone of education- The real value and untapped potential of Further Education in the UK- Why schools and colleges are "data rich but insight poor" and how to fix it- Using live data and AI to spot at-risk learners early and actually measure whether interventions work- Moving from "can we?" to "should we?" - guardrails, ethics and red-teaming AI in education- Building one of the UK's first student digital assistants - safely, at scale, for 5,000 students- Practical first steps: auditing legacy systems, writing a digital strategy, and getting an AI policy in place- Freeing humans up to be human by automating the mundaneWhether you're a teacher, school or college leader, EdTech professional, or someone working in operations, IT, data or finance, this episode will change how you think about the systems that hold education together and the people who run them.Chapters00:00 Highlights01:49 Welcome to Episode 35002:57 Meet Chris Loveday: an unconventional journey into education06:30 What is FE — and why it matters more than people realise11:29 Running a 5,000-capacity music festival13:23 Challenging convention and the power of rebel ideas16:28 Why he wrote Operational Intelligence — and why now18:44 Data rich, insight poor: the problem with education data23:30 Data with context: the story behind the numbers25:10 AI, natural language and at-risk early warning systems28:19 IT as a service: ego, vision and working in tandem38:25 From "can we?" to "should we?": ethics and guardrails42:14 Building one of the UK's first student digital assistants45:10 Solving the workforce crisis: freeing humans to be human49:55 Practical first steps you can take tomorrow53:07 Quickfire questionsThanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you.

Ben & Steve xFind out more about ChrisGet a copy of his latest book, Operational IntelligenceCheck out all about EdufuturistsWant to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work?Get in touchGrab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education book