AI for Schools
Practical AI readiness, safety and implementation support for UK schools
Teachers are using AI for planning, marking feedback, resource creation, differentiation and parent communications. Pupils are using it for homework, search, social media and coursework – many without any guidance from school.
Stack Integral helps schools take a safe, practical and proportionate approach: from staff training and policy implementation to SEND-aware resource support and pupil AI literacy.
The goal is not to push AI into every corner of school life. It is to help school leaders, teachers and governors decide what is useful, what carries risk, and what needs clear human oversight – so that when an inspector asks, or a parent queries, or a governor challenges, you have a clear and defensible answer.
STAFF USE. PUPIL GUIDANCE. POLICY READINESS.
The Gap Your School Needs To Close
The DfE’s School and College Voice survey (December 2025) found that 82% of primary teachers and 78% of secondary teachers had used generative AI in their role. Yet only 28% of primary and 43% of secondary teachers said pupils had received any guidance on using it safely and effectively.
That is not a technology problem. It is a leadership and governance challenge.
The policy and inspection landscape has moved significantly:
Ofsted’s June 2025 guidance confirms inspectors can ask how leaders ensure AI use serves the best interests of children and learners – including AI used at home for homework.
KCSIE 2025 has been updated to explicitly address AI as part of the safeguarding framework, requiring leaders to ensure filtering, monitoring and safeguarding policies account for generative AI tools.
The DfE’s Generative AI in Education guidance (June 2025) sets out clear expectations for schools around data protection, risk assessment and staff training.
The Becky Francis Curriculum and Assessment Review (final report, February 2026) places digital skills and AI literacy at the centre of future curriculum planning – including a new qualification in data science and AI for 16–18 year-olds.
Staff use is moving quickly. Pupil understanding is uneven. The policy landscape has moved. Most schools are still catching up.
Source: Department for Education, School and College Voice, December 2025.
View the sources and guidance referenced on this page: Sources and References
governance questions
The Questions Your School Needs To Be Able To Answer
Most schools do not need a big AI transformation project. They need practical answers to the questions that are already arriving: from inspectors, governors, parents and staff.
- What are teachers and support staff already using AI for – and is any of it putting pupil data at risk?
- What information must never be entered into a public or consumer AI tool?
- How does your current AI use sit alongside KCSIE 2025 and your UK GDPR obligations?
- If an Ofsted inspector asked how your school ensures AI use is in pupils’ best interests, what would you say?
- How should pupils be taught about privacy, misinformation, bias, deepfakes and academic integrity in an AI world?
- How can AI support planning and differentiation without undermining teacher or SENCO professional judgement?
- What governance structures does your governing body need to provide appropriate oversight?
These are not theoretical questions. They are already being asked – by inspectors, by governors, by parents and by staff.
How we help
School AI Support Options
ai readiness & safety snapshot
A structured first step for school leaders and governors. Covers current AI use across your setting, policy and safeguarding gaps, inspection readiness and prioritised next steps. Aligned with the DfE audit framework and Ofsted’s expectation that leaders can demonstrate sensible decision-making around AI.
ai policy into practice
DfE guidance is clear that schools need AI policies. But turning policy wording into something staff actually follow – and governors can account for – is a different challenge. This support takes your existing policy (or helps you build one) and turns it into practical staff guidance, approved-use lists, pupil expectations, reporting routes and a governor oversight framework.
inclusive resource support
Careful, structured support for using AI to adapt resources, scaffold tasks and support pupils with a range of needs. Designed to keep teacher and SENCO professional judgement at the centre – AI supports the process; it does not replace the expertise.
Safe and practical AI
training for staff
The DfE published four free training modules in June 2025, developed with the Chiltern Learning Trust and Chartered College of Teaching, covering AI awareness, safe use and practical applications for school staff. These are a useful starting point and schools are encouraged to use them. What they do not do is contextualise AI to your specific setting, your existing policies, your particular pupil needs or your safeguarding arrangements. That is what this training provides. Grounded in the DfE’s June 2025 guidance and Module 3’s emphasis on safe use as non-negotiable regardless of staff experience, it takes awareness into practice: helping staff understand which tools carry real data risks in your context, what must never be entered into a public AI tool in your school, and where professional judgement must stay central. Written for teachers and support staff, not technologists.
ai literacy for learners
The Becky Francis Curriculum and Assessment Review places digital skills and AI literacy at the heart of future curriculum planning. Schools do not need to wait for national curriculum change to begin preparing pupils. These age-appropriate sessions cover how AI works, privacy, misinformation, bias, deepfakes, academic integrity and responsible use – helping pupils become informed and critical users rather than passive ones.
Who is this for
Headteacher, deputy, SLT, MAT leader, DSL, Governor, Trust Leaders or digital lead who:
Has AI on the agenda but hasn't yet had the capacity to act on it
Has staff using AI in inconsistent ways with no shared framework in place
Has students using tools like ChatGPT with nothing to guide them
Is fielding questions from governors or parents and wants a considered answer ready
Wants to get ahead of Ofsted scrutiny rather than react to it
Is responsible for safeguarding and knows AI is now part of that conversation
Start with an AI Readiness & Safety Snapshort
If your school does not yet have a clear picture of where it stands, this is the right first step.
The AI Readiness and Safety Snapshot is a structured review designed for senior leaders and governors. It gives you an honest, jargon-free picture of your school’s current position: what is already happening, where the risks sit, what your obligations require, and what the most sensible next step is for your setting.
It is aligned with the DfE’s own audit approach for generative AI in education, and with Ofsted’s expectation that leaders can demonstrate they have ‘made sensible decisions’ about AI use.
The snapshot covers:
A clear picture of current AI use across your setting – by staff and potentially by pupils.
Identification of gaps in your current policy, safeguarding arrangements and data practices against KCSIE 2025 and DfE guidance.
A plain-language summary of what an Ofsted inspector might ask, and how prepared your team currently is to respond.
Recommendations for staff and pupil guidance, based on your specific setting and context.
A prioritised set of next steps you can take to the next leadership or governor meeting.
It is not a compliance audit. It does not assume every school is in the same position. It is a practical and proportionate first step for leaders who want clarity before committing to wider training or structural change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: We already have an AI policy. Is that not enough?
A policy is a useful starting point, but it only helps if staff know what it means in practice.
Schools still need clear guidance on what staff can use AI for, what information must never be entered into tools, how pupils should be guided, and what happens if AI use creates a safeguarding, data protection or assessment concern.
That is the practical gap this support helps with.
Question 2: Is this relevant to Ofsted?
Yes, but it should not be treated as an “Ofsted product” or a guarantee of inspection outcomes.
Ofsted has said it does not inspect AI as a stand-alone area and does not directly evaluate the use of any AI tool. However, inspectors can consider the impact that AI use has on children and learners, including how schools respond to AI use by staff, pupils, parents or others.
That means the sensible focus is not “using AI for Ofsted”. It is making sure AI is being handled safely, proportionately and responsibly across areas schools already need to manage, such as safeguarding, online safety, assessment, staff practice, pupil behaviour and leadership oversight.
Question 3: We don't have much budget right now. Is it still worth discussing?
Yes.
The starting point does not need to be a large project. Many schools begin with a short AI Readiness and Safety Snapshot to understand what is already happening, where the risks sit, and what the next sensible step should be.
That may lead to staff CPD, policy implementation, pupil AI literacy or no immediate further work.
Question 4: Will this take up a lot of staff time?
No. The starting point is designed to be light-touch.
The AI Readiness and Safety Snapshot usually involves a short leadership conversation, a simple review of existing guidance or policies, and a practical summary of risks, gaps and recommended next steps.
If further support is needed, staff training or policy work can be planned around existing INSET days, staff meetings, twilight sessions or leadership priorities.
The aim is to give schools clarity without creating unnecessary workload.
Question 5: Can this wait?
It can, but AI use is already happening through staff tools, pupil behaviour, homework, search, apps and online content.
Waiting may be fine if your school already has clear guidance, trained staff and pupil expectations in place.
If not, the risk is that AI use develops informally before leaders have set clear boundaries.
Question 6: Is this legal, safeguarding or data protection advice?
No. This is practical implementation and training support.
Schools should continue to work with their DPO, DSL, SENCO, governors, trustees and relevant statutory guidance.
Question 7: Can AI support SEND?
AI may support resource adaptation, scaffolding, simplification and drafting under professional oversight.
It should not diagnose needs, decide provision, replace SENCO expertise or independently produce statutory documentation.
Question 8: Will pupil AI literacy encourage pupils to use AI more?
No. The pupil AI literacy work is not about promoting unsupervised AI use.
It is about helping pupils understand privacy, misinformation, bias, plagiarism, academic honesty and responsible behaviour. The aim is safer judgement, not more AI use.
Start with a clear picture
Most school leaders know that AI is already part of their setting. What they often do not yet have is a clear, honest picture of where it is happening, what the risks are and what the most sensible next step is.
That is what the AI Readiness and Safety Snapshot provides: a practical, grounded review that gives you something useful to take to your next governor meeting, your next leadership discussion, and – if it comes to it – your next Ofsted inspection.
There is no assumption that every school needs the same support. The Snapshot identifies the most sensible next step for your setting.
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