Embracing Generative AI in schools

Author: Victoria Woodfield

AI has the power to transform education and support teacher workload by reducing some of the administrative tasks.   

From research and engagement with the education sector generative AI could be used for:

• creating educational resources
• lesson and curriculum planning
• tailored feedback and revision activities
• administrative tasks
• supporting personalised learning

In making this opportunity a reality, schools need to continue to explore this technology safely to encourage innovation and maximise the benefits for education.  The Government policy paper ‘Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education’ provides further points on this.

As schools increasingly explore the potential of generative AI (Gen AI) to enhance education, they face several significant challenges, not least that the content produced by generative AI can be:

• inaccurate
• inappropriate or unsafe
• biased
• taken out of context
• taken without permission (intellectual property infringement)
• out of date or unreliable
• low quality

Key challenges for staff facing use of Gen AI:

• Policy Development: Schools need to develop and update policies to reflect the use of AI. They need to understand AI and its limitations, the risks and challenges alongside the opportunities and benefits.  This includes ensuring that AI tools are used ethically and responsibly, with clear guidelines on their application in educational settings.
• Staff Education: Educating staff about the effective use of AI and its ethical implications is essential. Teachers and administrators must understand how to integrate AI into their teaching practices while maintaining high standards of safeguarding and data privacy.  
• Prompt engineering: Staff need to use prompting techniques that increase the accuracy of outputs and mitigate the risk of hallucinations.
• Open and transparent: Be open with stakeholders and identify where and how tools are used.  Abiding by legal responsibilities relating to data protection and intellectual property law must not be ignored.

Understanding and addressing these issues is crucial to harnessing AI's benefits while safeguarding students and staff.

The Artificial Intelligence Playbook for the UK Government sets out 10 principles which should be upheld when using AI.

How Capita Entrust can help 

To support schools in addressing these challenges, our Digital Education and Strategy Services team offer comprehensive guidance on the effective use of AI in education, including:

• Policy development: We assist schools in developing and updating policies to reflect the use of AI, ensuring ethical and responsible practices.
• Staff education: We provide training for staff on the effective use of AI and its ethical implications, helping them integrate AI into their teaching practices.

With the right support and guidance, AI can be a valuable tool in reducing teacher workload while maintaining the highest standards of safeguarding and data privacy. Together, we can navigate the challenges and unlock the potential of AI in education.

We continue to offer online safety support and guidance for teacher training and awareness.  Our online safety training for staff includes discussing issues related to student-facing use of AI and the exploitative risks posed to young people through content created by generative AI tools.

If you believe that implementing AI in your school could be beneficial, we encourage you to reach out to us for support and training. Our team is dedicated to helping schools navigate the complexities of AI, ensuring that it is used effectively and responsibly to enhance education. 

Contact us today information@entrust-ed.co.uk to learn more about how we can assist you in integrating AI into your educational practices.