Mark Orchison

Mark Orchison is the CEO of 9ine, a leading provider of technology, cyber and privacy services to schools. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Mark is a highly respected thought leader in the field of technology, cyber, privacy and safeguarding in K-12 education. He has a proven track record of helping organisations of all sizes to navigate the rapidly changing digital and regulatory landscape and capitalise on new opportunities. Mark’s vision has shaped the development of a revolutionary low cost consultancy-as-a-service software platform enabling schools to gain easy access to expertise in technology, cyber, privacy and safeguarding. Mark is also a regular speaker at industry events and an expert contributor to accreditation commissions on accreditation standards relating to privacy and cyber security.

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6 min read

Agentic AI in schools: A problem for another day?

Mark Orchison: Sep 4, 2026, 9:44:57 AM

There is a lot of discussion about agentic AI at the moment. The promise is easy to understand. Rather than using AI simply to respond to a prompt, an agent can be given a task, use tools, search information, follow a sequence of steps and produce...

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7 min read

AI and children’s rights: Why schools need governance, not just guidance

Mark Orchison: Sep 3, 2026, 8:38:01 AM

The recently published report, Artificial intelligence and children’s rights: A narrative review of the evidence, by Smera Jayadeva and Sonia...

Data Privacy Artificial Intelligence Safeguarding AI in Education AI Literacy in Schools

13 min read

The AI, Technology and Safeguarding Jigsaw Is Complete: The Academy Trust Handbook 2026 Requires Digital Risk Leadership

Mark Orchison: Jul 17, 2026, 10:29:53 AM

For several years, academy trusts have been responding to a growing collection of requirements covering safeguarding, online safety, data protection,...

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6 min read

DfE EdTech procurement guidance: the Department is joining the dots for schools

Mark Orchison: Jul 16, 2026, 11:23:26 AM

The Department for Education has on July 9th 2026 published specific guidance on procuring educational technology within its wider Data protection in...

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7 min read

KCSIE 2026 is confirmed: AI is now part of the safeguarding system

Mark Orchison: Jul 8, 2026, 10:57:21 AM

The finalised Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 guidance is published and comes into force on 1 September 2026. For schools, the most...

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7 min read

The coming AI churn in EdTech: Why schools need to look beyond the badge

Mark Orchison: Jun 5, 2026, 12:00:00 PM

AI is now being added to almost every part of the EdTech market.

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9 min read

When School Staff Build Their Own AI Apps: Innovation, Accountability and the Hidden Risk

Mark Orchison: Jun 5, 2026, 10:58:52 AM

There is a new form of technology adoption starting to appear in schools.

Data Privacy EdTech Artificial Intelligence Cyber security AI in Education AI Literacy in Schools

10 min read

Student Images, Deepfakes and the New Digital Safety Reality for Schools

Mark Orchison: Jun 3, 2026, 7:45:00 AM

In May 2025, we became aware of a deeply concerning emerging threat affecting schools: the use of publicly available student images to create...

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8 min read

This Month in School Technology: Vendor Risk, Cyber Resilience and the AI Governance Gap

Mark Orchison: Jun 2, 2026, 11:20:39 AM

Over the last month, several education technology stories have landed that, on the surface, look separate.

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7 min read

The Diamond Formation: Why Schools Need a Governance Structure for AI

Mark Orchison: May 19, 2026, 11:19:28 AM

Embedding AI into schools is not really about the technology. It is not even about the people leading the initiative. More often, success or failure...

AI in Education

3 min read

Leading AI Responsibly in Schools Means Making Governance Visible

Mark Orchison: Apr 2, 2026, 11:12:53 AM

AI is already in your school. Staff are experimenting with tools. Students are using them independently. New AI-powered platforms are appearing in...

EdTech Artificial Intelligence AI in Education AI Literacy in Schools

5 min read

AI in Education: 9ine presents ‘Turing Trials Walk-throughs!’

Mark Orchison: Oct 2, 2025, 3:39:02 PM

Introducing ‘Turing Trials Walk-throughs’, our weekly guide between now and the end of 2025, which takes a look at each of the Scenarios in Turing...

Technology Data Privacy EdTech Artificial Intelligence Cyber security AI in Education AI Literacy in Schools Turing Trials Card Game

5 min read

KCSIE 2025: What We Got Right (and What We Didn’t) About AI and Safeguarding

Mark Orchison: Jul 8, 2025, 12:22:10 PM

When we published our forecast on how KCSIE 2025 might address Artificial Intelligence, we speculated that the Department for Education was poised to...

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5 min read

Trojan AI in Schools: The Hidden Threat Inside Your EdTech Apps

Mark Orchison: Jul 1, 2025, 9:05:58 AM

School leaders today face an emerging “Trojan AI” problem in educational technology. In this context, Trojan AI refers to AI-powered features quietly...

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