What’s the worst age to be when it comes to AI?
That’s the provocation at the heart of our latest Five-Minute CPD Drop, created in collaboration with the Good Future Foundation. In this video, Alex explores what artificial intelligence means in the primary classroom — drawing on the insights of a teacher focus group held here in the UK.
Key themes from teachers
Our focus group of primary teachers raised three big issues:
- Overreliance vs creativity
Teachers want to ensure AI augments rather than replaces children’s imagination, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
- Safeguarding & ethics
Concerns were raised about online safety and the risk of AI-generated content being inappropriate for younger children.
- Practical classroom guidance
Educators called for clear, age-appropriate activities to help pupils explore AI in supervised settings.
Why age matters
It’s tempting to think of children as “digital natives” – but familiarity with devices doesn’t equal digital fluency. As Alex explains, AI requires emotional maturity, critical literacy, and guided decision-making. Tanya Byrell’s swimming model offers a useful analogy:
- Protection – supporting pupils at the shallow end
- Coaching – structured, guided practice
- Independence – gradually increasing freedom as they learn to “swim” safely
This scaffolding mirrors UNESCO’s AI competency framework, which stresses that AI isn’t just another tool – it directly impacts human agency, raising unique issues of bias, fairness, privacy, and accountability.
The teacher’s role
Both UNESCO and our focus group agree: the goal isn’t to replace human teachers with AI, but to empower them as guides, mentors, and safeguards. Children don’t need shielding from AI, but nor should they be left to navigate it alone. The challenge is structured exposure, guided reflection, and ethical awareness — helping young learners become wise, resilient digital citizens.
Classroom activities to try
In the video, Alex shares fun and practical ways to bring these issues to life:
- AI and Me – Pupils map out where AI touches their daily routines, sparking discussions around who’s really in control.
- Train the Model – Using simple instructions, children “program” a pretend AI, learning how algorithms guide outcomes.
- Design Your AI Helper – Upper Key Stage 2 pupils imagine their own AI classroom assistant, exploring ethical design choices.
These activities not only build awareness but also encourage creativity and critical thinking.
Going further
The Good Future Foundation’s AI Quality Mark (Bronze, Silver, Gold) is a useful framework for recognising safe, responsible AI use in schools. Watch the video above to hear more from Alex, and try out the activities with your pupils.
Have your say & claim your certificate
What did you think of this session? How will it impact your classroom practice? Let us know after each session and receive your digital badge and certificate of completion: Complete the short form.
Supporting resources, certification and evaluation:
You can download the supporting activity for this session on this link:
https://community.stem.org.uk/viewdocument/responsible-ai-teaching-activity-2?CommunityKey=0f32484b-dc5a-4266-8526-01a09365a63a&tab=librarydocuments