Beyond the Bett Floor: What School Leaders Are Really Talking About

Following Bett 2026, Nviron brought together school leaders, technology professionals and education partners for Beyond the Bett Floor, an event designed to move the conversation beyond the exhibition halls and focus on the challenges and opportunities schools are facing today.

We were joined by a fantastic panel of speakers and contributors, including Isobelle Panton, Commercial Lead at The Overlap; Richard Rawcliffe, former VP of Dell Public Sector and Education Trustee; Andy Carty, Education Account Director at Nviron; Iain Wilson, Head of Technology at ACS Schools; and Aaron Saxton, CEO of the Dame Robina Shah Foundation.

Bringing together perspectives from education, technology, leadership and governance created exactly the kind of discussion we hoped for. Practical, honest and grounded in the realities schools are navigating every day.

Rather than focusing on the latest product launches or headline announcements from Bett, the discussion centred on what school leaders are actually dealing with. Cyber resilience. AI governance. Budget pressures. Digital strategy. Operational priorities. The challenge of delivering more with limited resources.

Cyber security remained a major theme throughout the event. Not just in terms of technical controls, but around governance, accountability and the growing expectation that schools can demonstrate resilience to staff, governors, parents and regulators.

AI was another topic that generated significant discussion. The conversation has moved on noticeably over the last twelve months. The question is no longer whether AI will have a role in education. Schools are now exploring how to adopt it responsibly, establish sensible guardrails and ensure staff and students use it effectively and safely.

Budget pressure also featured heavily throughout the afternoon. School leaders continue to face difficult decisions around investment priorities, making it more important than ever that technology delivers genuine value rather than simply adding complexity.

Perhaps the most valuable part of the event was the opportunity for peers to share experiences openly. Some of the best insights came not from the presentations themselves, but from the conversations between attendees who are facing many of the same challenges and learning from one another.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the discussion.

The education sector continues to navigate significant change, but one thing remains clear. The most effective technology strategies start with people, priorities and outcomes, not products.

We're already looking forward to continuing those conversations throughout the year.