The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education
Leadership Toolkit
Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education
Module 1: What is generative AI and how does it work?
Module 2: Using and evaluating generative AI
Module 3: Developing the safe use of AI in education
Module 4: Potential use cases of generative AI in education
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
2
About this workbook
Welcome to the workbook. This workbook is part of ‘The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education’ online resources.
This workbook has been produced in PowerPoint format. Work through the slides in sequence to complete the activities.
The leadership toolkit could be completed individually by someone with suitable responsibilities. However, working through it with a team of leaders, governors and IT staff with relevant responsibilities from your school, college or trust, will give you a chance to discuss and plan together. We recommend that each section could be approached in a series of meetings perhaps as part of an AI working group.
����
Any examples of AI use and specific tools referenced within these resources are for context only and do not imply endorsement or recommendation of any particular tool or approach from the Department for Education.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
3
Objectives for the toolkit
This toolkit is designed to support you as a leader to implement AI safely and securely. The questions you complete can contribute to an audit and support strategic planning. The audit questions you complete could form part of a presentation back to colleagues. This can help you to plan strategically to introduce AI safely and effectively.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
4
Leadership toolkit sections
The leadership toolkit contains the following sections:
1. Introduction�
2. Audit�
3. What to consider when planning for the safe use of AI
3.1 Safety
3.2 Opportunities
3.3 Embedding AI in your digital strategy
3.4 Department for Education guidance�
4. Planning for implementation
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
5
“Learn fast but act more slowly. Do not feel pressured to buy into an AI. Do not feel pressured to select an AI tool until you are ready. It's really important that you learn enough about artificial intelligence first so that you can decide what purpose you want the AI to serve you and then design the way that you interact with AI strategically.”
6
Leadership toolkit video 1: Introduction
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
7
Click here to watch:
Click here to read the transcript of:
What is your vision for EdTech and AI?
A vision statement can be very powerful, and it can be useful to consult a wide range of stakeholders in forming your vision statement. We recommend you consider honing your vision statement once you have completed the toolkit, setting out your goals for AI use and identifying the AI tools your setting will approve so that you can be clear on the benefits you expect to achieve and how you can do this safely.
You may wish to return to this vision having completed the leadership toolkit and consulted with the wider community to hone your vision.
You can record your current AI vision statement below, if you have one:
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
8
Leadership toolkit video 2: Audit
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
9
Audit and planning questions
Between the videos you will find 10 audit pages containing questions.
At this point we recommend you go through and answer the questions related to where you are now and then add actions after watching each video. An audit can help you to reflect on your current position and then create a plan based on what you've learnt in the toolkit. You will find the audit questions on the following slides:
Slide 12 - Audit page 1 - Safety
Slide 13 - Audit page 2 - Safety, safeguarding and risk assessments
Slide 17 - Audit page 3 - Opportunities and personalised learning with AI
Slide 18 - Audit page 4 - Pastoral support
Slide 24 - Audit page 5 - Making use of the teacher toolkit
Slide 25 - Audit page 6 - Embedding AI in your digital strategy
Slide 26 - Audit page 7 - Embedding AI in your digital strategy
Slide 27 - Audit page 8 - CPD and governance
Slide 30 - Audit page 9 - Department for Education Guidance
Slide 32 - Audit page 10 - Final reflection questions
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
10
Leadership toolkit video 3.1: Safety
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
11
This video contains seven subsections – the start time for each section can be found below:�
00:00 - 3.1.0 Introduction
01:29 - 3.1.1 Limitations of AI systems
02:35 - 3.1.2 Data and Intellectual property considerations
08:15 - 3.1.3 Safeguarding
16:30 - 3.1.4 Selecting tools safely
20:04 - 3.1.5 Enterprise tools
22:45 - 3.1.6 Curriculum and skills to support safe use
Click here to watch:
Audit page 1 - Safety
12
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
Do you and your staff have an understanding of the difference between data protection and intellectual property and is this made clear in your school / college guidance for staff and students/pupils? | [Under UK GDPR, data protection requires consent or another lawful basis to process personal information, while intellectual property law requires permission from the rights holder, such as a pupil/student in the case of academic work or the publisher of a resource, before using original work such as student creations or copyrighted learning resources.] | [A useful video can be found here as mentioned in the video: Protecting children’s privacy when using Artificial Intelligence.] |
Does your organisation have the correct permission in place for the way that you’re using pupil / student data under UK GDPR? | [Your Data Protection Officer should be able to help you with this. Consider changes brought about by generative AI use] | |
Do you have the necessary permissions regarding intellectual property in place if you are using student / pupil work in AI systems? | [In all cases it is important that the use of any intellectual property is consented to by the copyright owner, and in the case of students under 18, parental or guardian permission would need to be sought on behalf of the pupil or student.] | |
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
Audit page 2 - Safety, safeguarding and risk assessments
13
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
What steps are you taking to ensure that AI tools used in your school or college comply with data protection laws, including UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act and respecting Intellectual property while maintaining transparency? | | |
What processes do you have in place to handle AI-related safeguarding incidents, and are staff confident in their ability to respond effectively? Do they know they must follow Keeping Children Safe in Education and the school or college safeguarding procedures? | [It is recommended that leaders engage with Module 3 of the teacher toolkit to understand the risks in more detail.] | [Link as mentioned in the video: JISC Guidance on learner use.] |
How are you engaging parents and carers in discussions about AI risks and online safety to ensure a whole-school / college approach? | | |
Have you conducted a risk assessment on AI products being used in your school(s)/college? | [This is a key priority if not already in place, ensuring that any approved tools meet product safety requirements and have guardrails in place.] | |
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
Assessing suitable AI tools for your setting
You may wish to use the template below to support you to assess AI tools for your setting.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
14
Define the problem before selecting AI tools
Ensure compliance
Among other things, you will want to consider the following:
Evaluate effectiveness and evidence
Curriculum implications
You may wish to use the template below to support thinking about curriculum implications
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
15
Where are the opportunities for integrating learning about AI into the curriculum or adapting current units?
What resources are available
Guidance: The National Centre for Computing Education has produced curriculum resources and CPD relevant to this. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has developed ‘Experience AI’ resources to help teach about AI. You may wish to explore these or other resources suitable for your context.
Implement
Leadership toolkit video 3.2: Opportunities
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
16
Audit page 3 - Opportunities and personalised learning with AI
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
17
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
How can AI be used to provide personalised support for SEND and EAL learners in your context? | [Have you considered how AI can adapt resources rapidly or provide accessible tools for particular needs safely? Remember to always keep a human in the loop] | |
What are the key differences between AI-driven tools and non-AI digital tools for supporting students with SEND, and how can educators ensure the right tool is chosen for supporting in individual contexts? | [Some of the best accessible tools may not always use AI, for example a simple tool that removes distractions from a web page can be very effective or one that reads words on the screen. Some tools however make use or AI, such as a voice recording tool that transcribes and then re-writes and organises ideas that can be valuable for some learners.] | |
How can teachers, lecturers and support staff integrate AI tools into their practice while ensuring compliance with data protection guidelines and ethical considerations? | [It is important to follow the guidance in the teacher toolkit and the DfE’s product safety expectations around data protection and intellectual property.] | |
Audit page 4 - Pastoral support
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
18
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
What opportunities do AI tools offer for improving the way we make pastoral decisions at a strategic level? | [How might AI help us to better understand trends in student behaviour, attendance, or wellbeing across our setting? Are we fully aware of the risks involved when using apps or online tools that claim to support student mental health? Have we checked whether any mental health-focused AI tools we’re considering are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA)?] | |
Reducing workload with AI - teaching staff
You may wish to use the template below to support thinking about reducing workload for teaching staff.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
19
What opportunities are there to reduce teacher workload with AI safely and securely?
[Guidance: think about which AI tools including those that use a large language model you may be able to provide safely to staff as part of your education suite of digital tools to enable this. Remember: you should use a tool that won’t learn on the data entered and that meets product safety expectations, and the organisation should have control over the tool - this often referred to as an ‘enterprise’ tool. Think about what would need to be in place to develop this further? Key guidance on reducing workload is in the EEF report: “ChatGPT in lesson preparation – Teacher Choices trial” - it should be noted that the guidance can also be applied to other uses of technology]
Where are the opportunities for development?
What actions can I take to get there?
Reducing workload with AI - leadership
You may wish to use the template below to support thinking about reducing workload for leadership.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
20
What opportunities are there to reduce leadership workload with AI safely and securely?
[Guidance: think about which AI tools including those that use a large language model you may be able to provide safely to staff as part of your education suite of digital tools to enable this. Remember: you should use a tool that won’t learn on the data entered and that meets product safety expectations, and the organisation should have control over the tool - this often referred to as an ‘enterprise’ tool.]
Where are the opportunities for development?
What actions can I take to get there?
Reducing workload with AI - support staff
You may wish to use the template below to support thinking about reducing workload for support staff.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
21
What opportunities are there to reduce teacher workload with AI safely and securely?
[Guidance: think about which AI tools including those that use a large language model you may be able to provide safely to staff as part of your education suite of digital tools to enable this. Remember: you should use a tool that won’t learn on the data entered and that meets product safety expectations, and the organisation should have control over the tool - this often referred to as an ‘enterprise’ tool.]
Where are the opportunities for development?
What actions can I take to get there?
Leadership toolkit video 3.3: Embedding AI in your digital strategy
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
22
Click here to watch: Leadership toolkit video 3.3: Embedding AI in your digital strategy
Click here to read the transcript of: Leadership toolkit video 3.3: Embedding AI in your digital strategy
Teacher toolkit
The teacher toolkit contains 4 modules and in the module 1 workbook (PowerPoint presentation) there is an outline that lets teachers and support staff personalise the sections that they will complete. This could be used more widely to differentiate the CPD.
Module 1: Understanding AI in education
Module 2: Interacting with generative AI in education
Module 3: Developing the safe use of generative AI in education
Module 4: Use cases of generative AI in education
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
Module 4: Use cases of generative AI in education
23
Audit page 5 - Making use of the teacher toolkit
24
CPD | Assessing staff skills | Priorities for CPD | Additional opportunities |
How will you integrate the teacher toolkit into your CPD programme? | What do staff already know? Have you assessed this? | Consider how you will integrate the four modules into your CPD sessions and embed and sustain the messages. Based on your knowledge of staff skills and issues are there any sections of videos that are more urgent than others? | How can you extend your knowledge and experience through other available CPD programmes? Who will attend this and how will it influence your strategy? |
Module 4: Use cases of generative AI in education
Audit page 6 - Embedding AI in your digital strategy
25
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
How will you effectively choose AI tools? | [Having considered which tools align with pedagogical and wider school or college priorities, have you evaluated them for safety? Consider how they deal with the prompts or information entered into them.] | |
How will your staff use AI and other digital tools in teaching and learning? | [What is the link to improving learning outcomes for pupils/students? How effective are they at doing this? Is there any evidence or can you see examples from a similar school or college that are using it successfully?] | |
How could an EdTech framework support your thinking about AI use? | [Is there an EdTech framework that could help frame thinking for staff around the use of EdTech or AI tools?] | |
How could AI support business, operations and support staff in your setting? | [Consider how AI can support the work of the wider teams within your school or college.] | |
Module 4: Use cases of generative AI in education
Audit page 7 - Embedding AI in your digital strategy
26
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
Do you have a plan for infrastructure and cyber security that is reviewed annually? | [Use the DfE “Digital and Technology standards to support this, consider using the DfE “Plan technology for your school” service.] | |
Are you meeting the filtering and monitoring standards, and compliant with Keeping Children Safe in Education? | [Keeping Children Safe in Education paragraphs 140-151 are particularly relevant here.] | |
Module 4: Use cases of generative AI in education
Audit page 8 - CPD and governance
27
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
How will you develop and deliver CPD programmes looking at the safe and effective use? | [Are all staff aware of the risks? Are all staff aware of good practices and which tools can and can’t be used? The teacher toolkit can help you with this training.] | |
How are you assessing the safety of AI products? (key document: Generative AI: product safety expectations from the DfE) | [You may not be using AI tools yet, but if you are it’s important to review if the tools used are enterprise / meet product safety expectations and evaluate safety of all tools, creating a list of approved tools. Consider blocking other freely available / consumer tools on your network.] | |
Is there a clear structure of roles, responsibilities and governance of EdTech and AI? | | |
What is your current progress against the digital and technology standards (key tool: DfE “Plan technology for your school” service. | [You may need to speak to your IT lead or team to establish this or ask them to complete a report for you.] | |
Module 4: Use cases of generative AI in education
Key question: where can EdTech and AI be used to enhance learning?
In addition to the DfE guidance, the Education Endowment Foundation has produced the report: “Using digital technology to improve learning”. You may wish to explore this with your teaching and learning lead alongside Module 4 of the teacher toolkit.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
28
What is your current use of EdTech and AI?
Where are the opportunities for development?
[Guidance: you may wish to consider this against the four strands of the EEF guidance, which include considering how technology will improve learning before introducing it, improving the quality of explanations and modelling, improving the impact of pupil practice and supporting assessment and feedback. It should be noted that this guidance is for digital technologies in education; uses of AI are more emergent and assessing safety and effectiveness is paramount when integrating it into your digital strategy.]
What actions can I take to get there?
[Guidance: can an EdTech framework support me in evaluating the use of edtech and AI, might these frameworks be used to introduce and frame use of edtech and AI with staff? Always consider your context. ]
Leadership toolkit video 3.4: Department for Education guidance
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
29
Click here to read the transcript of:
Leadership toolkit video 3.4: Department for Education guidance
Audit page 9 - Department for Education Guidance
30
Aspect | Where are you now? | What actions to do you need to take? |
Do your policies and strategies align with the DfE guidance? | [You will most likely wish to integrate AI into existing policies such as your safeguarding and data protection policies, and you may wish to create an AI policy. It’s also important to consider how these policies are communicated with staff.] | |
Does your online safety teaching follow best practice? | [The DfE guidance “Teaching online safety in schools” is relevant here. You may also wish to speak to relevant subject leads to see how the curriculum could be developed to cover AI, including considering resources from the National Centre for Computing Education.] | |
What use cases have you identified for your AI in your setting? | [You could use the relevant use cases in the teacher toolkit Module 4. You should consider EdTech and AI tools in relation to the school or college’s development planning and wider pedagogical developments.] | |
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
Leadership toolkit video 4: Planning for implementation
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
31
Audit page 10 - Final reflection questions
32
Key question | Where are you now? | Further notes and next steps |
What is your school/college's stance on AI? | Does your approach acknowledge AI's potential to enhance teaching and learning, personalised learning and administrative processes? Does it encourage responsible AI use while recognising the need for accountability? | [You may particularly want to consider your school or college’s approach to academic integrity.] |
Are your existing online safety and safeguarding policies up to date? | You may want to consider interweaving AI into existing safeguarding policies and procedures or create a standalone AI policy. Review and update these to address AI-related terminology and potential harms, such as deep fakes and student-generated images, and establish clear reporting mechanisms for any safeguarding or wellbeing concerns linked to AI. | |
What training and support will staff receive? | Does your school have sufficient training to make sure staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to confidently integrate AI into their professional practice? | |
What is the context of your setting in terms of digital equity and literacy? | Does everyone have access to the same hardware or tool? Can all users access them in the same way with the same degree of competence? | |
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
Has your vision for EdTech and AI changed?
A vision statement can be very powerful and it can be useful to consult a wide range of stakeholders in forming your vision statement. We recommend you consider honing your vision statement once you have completed the toolkit, setting out your goals for AI use and identifying the AI tools your setting will approve so that you can be clear on the benefits you expect to achieve and how you can do this safely.
If you recorded your vision statement at the start of this toolkit, you may want to consider if this has changed having completed the course.
Below you can record your updated vision statement for AI if you wish:
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
33
Planning for implementation
The EEF’s implementation guidance and resources help educators choose and embed evidence-informed approaches that align with their improvement goals.
Based on the latest evidence, the guidance focuses on three key elements:
Read the guidance before using the following templates to support your implementation planning.
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
34
Implementation - explore stage
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
35
Stage | Planning notes on how this might look, remember to keep your plans flexible and adaptable |
1. Explore | Assess needs and setting Assess the approach Guidance on what this stage may look like: Begin by identifying the specific needs within your setting that AI might help address, such as reducing teacher workload or supporting data analysis, drawing on data such as staff and student perspectives. Critically assess current practices, including digital infrastructure and staff confidence, and explore how AI tools might feasibly enhance or transform these areas. Engage with DfE guidance and consider both the opportunities and limitations of AI before selecting any tools. Early involvement of stakeholders such as teachers, technical leads and data protection officers is key to building shared understanding and ownership. |
Implementation - prepare stage
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
36
Stage | Planning notes on how this might look, remember to keep your plans flexible and adaptable |
2. Prepare | Plan and design Practically prepare Guidance on what this stage may look like: Once a direction is agreed, co-develop a clear implementation plan that outlines what AI tools will be used, how they align with your digital strategy, and how safety, safeguarding, and data protection will be assured. Ensure your plan includes the key components of safe AI use, and communicate the rationale, expectations, and boundaries of AI use with all staff. Work collaboratively across roles to identify training needs, adjust relevant policies, and plan professional development so everyone understands both the benefits and the risks by making use of the teacher toolkit. Clarify approved tools and reinforce the importance of using only those that meet your compliance standards. |
Implementation - deliver stage
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
37
Stage | Planning notes on how this might look, remember to keep your plans flexible and adaptable |
3. Deliver | Support and encourage Monitor and improve Guidance on what this stage may look like: Launch your AI initiative with structured support providing training and guidance on how to use the tools safely and effectively. Monitor initial implementation closely, including how tools are being used in practice, and encourage reflective feedback to identify emerging challenges or misunderstandings. Use monitoring and data, such as filtering reports or feedback logs, to ensure tools are having the desired impact without compromising safety. Make it clear that implementation of AI use is iterative, learning from mistakes and making adjustments is part of the process. |
Implementation - sustain stage
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
38
Stage | Planning notes on how this might look, remember to keep your plans flexible and adaptable |
4. Sustain | Maintain the effort Review and act Guidance on what this stage may look like: Embed AI into your ongoing digital strategy by integrating its use into professional development, curriculum planning, and regular safeguarding reviews. Regularly revisit policies, audit use, and update your list of approved tools to keep pace with technological developments and safety expectations. Maintain open communication with staff, students, and parents to keep the whole school / college community informed and confident. Celebrate successes, share good practice, and continuously reflect on impact to ensure your use of AI remains safe, ethical, and aligned with educational priorities. |
Acknowledgements
Content developed by:
Contributions from:
39
The Safe and Effective Use of AI in Education: Leadership Toolkit
Department for Education���© Crown copyright 2025�