Artificial Intelligence (AI) in schools: guidelines and guardrails

EIS Guardrails Foreword

The release of Chat GPT in November 2022 placed the issue of generative AI in education front and centre for teachers. Immediate concerns about how to confidently authenticate coursework were followed by more fundamental questions about the impact of AI use on children and young people’s learning and wellbeing, and the impact of AI on teachers’ professional role.

Since 2022, AI has advanced rapidly, with generative AI apps now integrated into mainstream platforms and devices. Until now, teachers and schools have largely had to work out AI for themselves. This has presented considerable risk and has also limited the scope for teachers and learners to engage with AI responsibly and with consistency. A rising tide of online misinformation, disinformation and ‘deepfakes’ has brought such risk intosharp focus.

The following guidance is, therefore, timely. The guardrails arise from a joint commitment made by the Scottish Government and the EIS at the International Summit of the Teaching Profession in Reykjavik in 2025. The guardrails are premised on the view that education in Scotland is, and must always be, a human enterprise based on social relationships, where the utmost value is placed on our children, young people and the adults and communities who care for them. Furthermore, the guardrails firmly assert that the presence of AI must not, in any way, diminish human-centred education; it must only strengthen it.

Scotland’s teachers are highly trained professionals skilled in ethical practice, relational approaches and in exercising their professional judgement. They are not passive users of technology. As a trade union and a professional association, the EIS is clear that technology must support, and not replace teacher professionalism, and representative teacher voice must be at the heart of decisions around the design, ethical procurement and appropriate use of AI in education.

Whilst this guidance is aimed at teachers and education leaders, children and young people are at its heart. Scotland’s teachers are committed to helping learners thrive by cultivating their creativity, their curiosity and their critical thinking, and to protecting them from harm. Our system is also committed to equity and to tackling the damaging impacts of inequality on our learners. These guardrails make clear that, where used, AI must reinforce, rather than erode our equitable approach to teaching and learning in Scotland.

We commend these guardrails to you in the interests of enabling quality education for equity, equality, democracy and peace, including through the use of appropriate digital tools.