Having a clear understanding of what AI is, how it can benefit education, and its risks and limitations is fundamental to meaningful adoption. Leadership teams, teachers, support staff and students must all start with digital literacy; with access and experience of using technology in their daily school life. From here, they will recognise the need to develop skills in using AI to problem solve, whilst being aware of the potential pitfalls around trustworthiness, misuse, bias and conflicting political or business interests. Schools and colleges must move to providing structured and timetabled opportunities for individuals to learn how to effectively interact with AI, to have realistic expectations of output and ultimately demonstrate an approach which is both critical and collaborative.

Moving forward with a coherent approach to AI requires institution-wide, unified policies which are comprehensively communicated to stakeholders. Starting with basic online safeguarding, leadership teams and governors must aim to provide clear and feasible AI policies which address issues around data privacy, security, intellectual property, bias, plagiarism and exploitation. Equity in access, use and representation should be pervasive across all documents and strategic plans. Teachers, support staff and students should demonstrate safe, inclusive and effective practice in planning and activities, taking a mindful approach and feeding into iterative policy updates as technology continues to develop.

School-wide infrastructure and educational technology systems are a prerequisite for using AI for meaningful change, and integrated data systems are required to use AI strategically. There is a fast growing and constantly evolving market for AI tools around curriculum planning, administration, resource creation, assessment and feedback, and so time must be invested in selecting, implementing and monitoring impact. AI tools must be chosen for targeted reasons, with input from those who will use and be affected by the change. Commercial decisions on purchasing must consider the need for user training and ongoing support in implementation, with monitoring strategies in place.

AI does not replace teachers or support staff, instead it should be used to augment teaching and learning. This starts with supporting learning design, including lesson and curriculum planning, and other administrative tasks. It can progress to the creation of resources and learner interaction with these to promote engagement, accessibility and inclusion. This interaction must maintain a social approach, with teachers, support staff and learners taking the lead, and AI acting as a co-facilitator or collaborator through meaningful stages of learning. AI marking and feedback can provide immediate opportunities for improvement and guidance for next steps, with the teacher supporting a learner who understands when human interaction is beneficial.

Learning about AI together is key to success. Schools should take a collaborative approach both between staff and students, and externally with community, government, exam board and academics to maximise the benefits of AI implementation. Collaboration can take the form of sharing experiences and best practice, working with community activities and leading or participating in research projects to generate evidence of impact. Collaboration should become culturally embedded, led by example(leadership team), with teachers and students given autonomy to innovate.