Scottish Government AI Guidance for Schools

Appropriate Use: Generative AI

Be aware that these Generative AI tools contain functionality which allows the upload of pictures and files. It is the responsibility of the user not to upload content or enter prompts which may generate inappropriate or concerning text or imagery, or which contains any personal, sensitive or confidential information.

Please also refer to the Scottish Government’s AI Guidance for Schools when using any kind of AI tool within education.

Overview

Guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Scotland’s schools has been published for the first time.

The guidance aims to support those working in schools to use AI in a fair, safe and ethical way.

It provides information on the potential benefits of using AI and the issues to be mindful of, while giving examples of how AI can be used appropriately in the classroom.

The guidance has been developed jointly with the EIS teaching union and with input from local government, Education Scotland and others, in response to the growth in the use of AI across society.

Scottish Guidelines and Guardrails Cover

5 Core Principles

Safety and Privacy
AI use must ensure the safety and privacy of children and young people and staff by prioritising children’s rights, teacher judgement, ethical standards, and data protection.
Equity and Fairness
The use of AI must be underpinned by equity and fairness.
Curriculum Alignment
AI must support the aims of the Curriculum.
Human Connection
AI must foster human connection and inclusivity.
Supporting Teachers
AI must support teachers.

5 Core Principles in more detail

Click on the information icon next to each core principle.

Safety and Privacy

AI use must ensure the safety and privacy of children and young people and staff by prioritising children’s rights, teacher judgement, ethical standards, and data protection.

Teachers, children and young people, and education leaders must be supported to develop an appropriate understanding of how AI works, its impacts, and its risks. This is important in developing an understanding of its capabilities, biases, and limitations to ensure responsible use.
An ethical approach to AI, embedded within human-centred teaching and learning, is an approach designed to enhance learning experiences, foster human connection and support professional judgement.
Teachers are able to decide whether, when, and how to use AI in their classrooms. Where they decide to use AI, this must be done in line with overarching local authority infrastructure, guidance and permissions.
Local authorities have specific legal responsibilities under data protection law, which are detailed within Section 4 of this guidance. Notwithstanding this, as a general principle all AI users should understand how to protect data and safeguard pupils’ and teachers’ sensitive and/or personal information; this is critical to maintaining their safety, rights, and confidence in digital tools.
Schools and local authorities must update existing digital technology policies to reflect the ethical use of AI. This should be carried out in consultation with teacher trade unions, and other stakeholders, including children and young people and parents and carers. This is necessary to define and underpin the ethical, safe and professionally responsible use of AI in educational contexts

Equity and Fairness

The use of AI must be underpinned by equity and fairness.

The use of AI in schools must recognise and address the fact that children and young people’s access to digital learning tools, including AI, is variable and may be limited by a range of factors, including socio-economic disadvantage, geographical difference, and access to appropriate devices and connectivity.
Where AI is used, it should support a human-centred approach to teaching and learning which values the diversity of children and young people and enhances different ways of learning and differentiated pedagogical approaches.
When deployed effectively, some AI-enabled technologies have the potential to help overcome barriers to learning for some children and young people, including those with disabilities and additional support needs. The views of children and young people should always be sought and considered on the use of such technologies in their learning.
Where AI is used in school learning, including homework, schools should aim to ensure equitable outcomes for all children and young people. This includes ensuring that all children and young people have the means to participate equitably. Consideration should be given to ensuring that, where AI is used, pupils in Gaelic Medium Education (GME) have access to AI through the medium of Gaelic language.

Curriculum Alignment

AI must support the aims of the Curriculum

Scotland’s curriculum is designed to ensure that our children and young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills and understanding to participate in the workforce and society of the future. Learning about AI can support this goal, assisting our children and young people by harnessing its advantages while ensuring that it neither deskills pupils nor disadvantages them in their development.
Children and young people should learn about, understand and use AI, in appropriate contexts, as part of their entitlement to opportunities to develop skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work.
Whilst recognising the increasing importance of digital skills and learning, schools should seek an appropriate balance between digital and non-digital forms of learning that recognises the primacy of human-centred, relational and social experiences of learning.
As Scotland’s curriculum evolves through the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, learning about and using AI is expected to become more common and embedded across teaching and learning, requiring continuous evaluation of the role of AI in education.

Human Connection

AI must foster human connection and inclusivity.

AI must support and enhance, rather than replace, human-centred teaching and learning in schools. It must not make decisions on behalf of teachers or schools.
Educators and education leaders should be supported to ensure that the AI tools they utilise are accessible and support should be provided to ensure that the outputs resulting from the AI tools are unbiased and contribute to inclusive learning and teaching.
The integration of AI should support learning and is not intended to replace peer-to peer interaction or act as a substitute for teacher involvement.
AI applications used in education to assess the progress of children and young people, or for other assessment purposes, should be applied with teacher oversight and used as part of a holistic approach.

AI Must Support Teachers

AI must foster human connection and inclusivity.

Teachers, in line with their professional standards, local policies and wider statutory obligations, should be empowered to decide when and how to use AI tools to support learning and teaching, and adapt it to their specific classroom needs. They should also be aware of when AI has been integrated into existing digital products or platforms.
Teachers should be supported to access high-quality professional learning and support so that they can make informed decisions about whether when, and how, to integrate AI into their practice confidently, safely, and effectively.
Ongoing evaluation of AI tools, with teacher input, should be supported to explore potential benefits for teachers, such as freeing up more time for teachers to focus on direct engagement with pupils.
AI systems, like all digital tools, should not be adopted or used uncritically and teachers and children and young people should be empowered to critique and challenge the outputs. Where adopted, AI should support educational goals, not define or control them.
AI applications used in education, and the outputs thereof, must not be used to monitor or analyse teachers’ performance.

Roles and Responsibilities

Teachers
Remain the leaders of learning, exercising professional judgement to tailor AI use to their classroom needs. They are not passive users and have the right to decide if AI tools are appropriate for their practice.
Local Authorities
Act as data controllers with legal responsibilities under UK GDPR to ensure all AI applications meet data protection requirements. They must develop local policies that align with these national guidelines.
Children and Young People
Their voices are central, particularly following the incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots Law. They have the right to be informed, consulted, and to express their views on how AI affects their education.

Guidelines and Guardrails Document

Guidance and exemplification for schools and other education settings on the safe and ethical use of AI in education.

Click the link below to find out more information and to download the full guidelines and guardrails document.

Adobe Express for Education

Applications in Glow

Canva Education

Devices

FAQ

General

Glow Blogs

Glow Stories

Google Workspace

Machine Learning and AI within Glow

Microsoft 365

RM Unify

Safety and Security