Start Point: AI and Ethical Use in Schools

Start meaningful conversations about AI use in schools without needing all the answers. This free editable download offers sample reflection questions across key areas of school life, plus prompts to help you think more widely about the ethical use of AI in education.

It’s designed for headteachers, SLT, trust leaders and any school leaders starting to explore how AI might support or impact their setting.

Use it to begin strategic thinking, shape SLT discussions or evaluate where AI fits into your wider school planning. You can also upgrade to the full toolkit if you're ready to go deeper.

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Start Point: AI and Ethical Use in Schools

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CONTENTS

WHO IT'S FOR

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What’s in this AI reflection toolkit for schools?

☑️ 7 editable AI Use and Ethics Toolkits

Each toolkit helps you reflect on the risks, benefits and responsibilities of using AI across different areas of school life.

Each themed toolkit is broken down into strands containing a single idea around AI use. Each strand includes: a clear reflective question, possible benefits, potential risks and cautions, and questions to discuss with staff. There is space to record your current stance and any actions you wish to take forward.

The seven toolkits cover:

Teaching and Learning
Assessment and Feedback
Leadership and Management
SEND and Inclusion
Administration and Operations
Parental Engagement and Communication
Ethical Use

☑️ Implementation and Next Steps Planning Document

This supports you to consider broad implications (e.g. Is it the right time for us to set out a clear internal stance or position on AI use?) It also helps you capture what’s already happening, list priority areas to trial, and assign ownership for reviewing AI use in school.

☑️ AI Guidance for Schools (PDF)

This concise PDF gives a plainspoken overview of how to use the toolkit, including framing, DfE context, and tips for strategic reflection. It also walks you through some general ideas about what AI actually is (and isn't) and considerations for any form of use in school. A standard and print-friendly version are included.

Who can use this toolkit to support safe AI use in schools?

This toolkit is designed for school leaders with responsibility for exploring or overseeing the use of AI in education, including headteachers, SLT, trust leaders, DSLs, digital leads, SENDCos and governors. It’s particularly relevant for those reviewing digital safety, leading on workload reduction, planning AI strategy or supporting ethical, safe and responsible use of AI tools across the school.

Headteachers and senior leaders can also use this pack to support wider staff reflection, build confident leadership practice and make informed decisions about when and how AI might be used in line with current DfE expectations.

What questions can this AI toolkit help school leaders reflect on?

What’s the point of reflecting on AI use in schools
What do we mean by ‘AI’ and how is it showing up in education?
What is a large language model (LLM) and why does it matter in schools?
What risks are associated with hallucination, bias or data misuse when using AI tools?
What is the DfE’s position on AI in schools and what does the June 2025 guidance include?
What kinds of AI use are currently being trialled or used by staff in our setting?
How do the Honeyguide toolkits support professional reflection and discussion?
How can we record our current stance and identify meaningful next steps?
How can we involve the right people across school to explore AI use responsibly?
What questions should leaders be asking before taking action on AI?
How do we plan for safe, responsible and professional AI use without rushing to implement?
How can we create space for staff to reflect on AI use safely and professionally?

Looking to explore AI and digital leadership more widely?

If you're ready to take your thinking beyond reflection, these Honeyguide resources can help:

Leadership and Management Audit
Supports school leaders to evaluate strategic oversight, responsiveness and governance, including how emerging technologies like AI align with wider leadership responsibilities.

Meeting Digital and Technology Standards in Schools and Colleges Audit
Helps you assess your school’s position against the DfE’s digital and technology standards, including infrastructure, security and staff confidence with digital tools.

School Website Compliance Bundle
A practical set of checklists and templates to help you review and update your school website in line with statutory requirements and public transparency expectations.

Take leadership further...

AI Use and Ethics in Schools Toolkit Pack

Designed for heads, SLT, trust leaders and anyone interested in exploring effective use of AI in schools, this editable toolkit supports ethical use of AI in education by helping your school explore the risks, responsibilities and values that should guide staff use of AI tools. Use it to identify opportunities for AI to reduce workload, reflect on AI risks in schools and shape a clear, responsible and purposeful way forward for your setting.

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