Navigating AI with confidence: How AI in Education supports schools to meet Ofsted’s expectations

Ofsted’s 2024-25 Annual Report marks a turning point. For the first time, AI has its own dedicated chapter - a clear signal that artificial intelligence is no longer a peripheral issue but a mainstream factor shaping teaching, learning and safeguarding across the sector. Schools are already using AI, pupils are already relying on it and inspectors are now being trained to understand it. The message is unmistakable: AI is here, its influence is growing, and schools need a coherent, safe and strategic approach.

At AI in Education, this aligns entirely with our mission. The findings in Ofsted’s report reaffirm why our AiEd Certified Framework is essential to helping schools move from reactive adoption to confident, evidence-informed implementation.

1. Ofsted’s overarching message: AI brings opportunity - and risk

Ofsted acknowledges that AI has the potential to enhance access, personalise learning, reduce workload and support inclusion. Inspectors have already seen teachers using AI to adapt texts to different reading levels, generate podcasts for young carers and create accessible materials for learners with SEND.

But Ofsted is equally clear that risks remain. Inspectors are concerned about:

- Governance and ethical use, including bias and lack of human oversight

- Impact, particularly the need for leaders to ensure AI complements the curriculum and does not undermine learning

- Quality and accuracy of AI outputs, especially in FE settings

- Safeguarding, although only a small minority of inspectors have seen unsafe practice

Crucially, Ofsted stresses that it does not inspect AI tools directly. Instead, inspectors look at whether leaders have made “sensible decisions”, understood the risks and ensured that AI is in the best interests of children and learners.

This is precisely the leadership challenge AiEd Certified framework was created to address.

2. Schools lack national clarity - but inspectors will expect informed decisions

Ofsted reports that AI adoption is rising fast: teacher use has grown from 11% in 2023 to 50% in 2024. Yet only 28% of leaders have made, or are making, any changes to prepare their schools for AI. This gap between usage and governance is now visible to inspectors.

Leaders told Ofsted they feel overwhelmed by the pace of AI development and concerned about over-hyped commercial solutions. Some MATs and FE colleges have already started building their own controlled AI tools to maintain high academic standards and protect pupil data.

The direction of travel is clear: schools must understand AI well enough to govern it.

3. How AI in Education supports schools to meet Ofsted’s expectations

Clear governance and ethical use

Ofsted highlights governance as the single biggest concern raised by inspectors. AI in Education directly addresses this through the AiEd Certified Framework, which guides schools through safe, ethical and responsible adoption at Explorer, Practitioner and Innovator levels.

Our work ensures that schools can demonstrate the leadership Ofsted expects - robust oversight, human-in-the-loop decision-making and well-informed risk management.

Ensuring AI enhances, not undermines, learning

Ofsted warns that over-reliance on AI could harm foundational skills such as writing, critical thinking and independent problem-solving.

Our framework encourages teachers to:

- Use AI to support high-quality teaching rather than replace it

- Embed AI in pedagogy in ways that promote metacognition and deeper learning

- Model effective, critical and ethical AI use to pupils

We remind schools to create strategies that ensure AI improves learning outcomes rather than shortcuts them.

Inclusion and personalisation

Ofsted provides powerful examples of AI enhancing inclusion - from generating podcasts for young carers to adapting resources for BSL users and pupils with different reading levels.

AiEd Certified amplifies this potential by reminding schools to:

- Evaluate AI tools for SEND appropriateness

- Develop inclusive AI strategies

- Train staff and teaching assistants in safe, ethical classroom adoption

This aligns directly with our commitment to equity as a core principle.

Building workforce and pupil readiness

Ofsted notes that AI skills are becoming essential for employability, especially in FE. Our framework suggests that schools should embark on:

- Teacher and leader CPD

- Pupil digital leader pathways

- Model curricula for AI literacy

- Join our pupil panel

Together, these ensure schools can demonstrate forward-thinking preparation for an AI-enabled future.

The conclusion Ofsted points toward - strategic leadership is now essential

Ofsted’s chapter closes with a warning: used well, AI can be “a huge benefit”. Used poorly, it risks deepening inequalities.

This is why AiEd exists.

Our AiEd Certified Framework offers the system-wide clarity, evidence base and structured progression schools need. It transforms uncertainty into confidence, risk into opportunity and isolated experimentation into whole-school strategy.

With Ofsted now formally recognising AI’s impact, the need for a trusted, independent framework designed by schools for schools has never been clearer.

‍

‍