Practical Guidance for Schools and Teaching Staff
Developed by the 5Rights Foundation, The Children & AI Design Code sets out a process to identify, evaluate, and mitigate the known risks of AI to children and prepare for the known unknowns. It requires those who build and deploy AI systems to consider the foreseeable risks to children by design and default.
While the Code is designed for developers and AI system providers, there are several practical takeaways for schools:
1. Risk Awareness and Due Diligence
- Schools using AI tools (e.g. for assessments, behaviour tracking, or personalised learning) should evaluate how these tools align with the Code’s principles.
- Amend their schools AI policy accordingly including an obligation to check the tool for compliance with the policy.
- Evaluate data protection risks arising from the AI within the system: Data sharing, data exports, privacy information, how well data inputs are kept safe from being shared widely or mixed with global data.
- Ask vendors whether their AI systems have been assessed for child-specific impacts, and whether they follow standards such as the Children & AI Design Code.
2. Child-Centred Design Criteria
Schools should ensure the technology they use meets these core criteria:
- Developmentally appropriate – tools must cater to different ages and cognitive abilities.
- Safe and fair – avoid systems that cause distress, bias, or harm.
- Reliable and accountable – systems should function as intended and have clear lines of responsibility.
- Transparent and offer redress – students and staff should understand how systems work, and there must be clear ways to challenge outcomes.
3. Monitoring AI use in Education
- Implement ongoing evaluation and auditing of AI systems in schools.
- Teachers should observe and report unintended effects (e.g. reinforcement of stereotypes or unhelpful behaviour nudging).
4. Stakeholder Engagement
- Include students and parents in discussions about the use of AI in education.
- Ensure diverse voices are heard, especially from children with additional needs.
5. Supporting Teachers
- Provide training to help staff understand the implications of AI use on student privacy, learning outcomes, and wellbeing.
- Encourage critical engagement with AI tools rather than blind adoption.
The Children & AI Design Code is a pioneering, practical tool designed to ensure that AI serves the best interests of children. For schools and educators, it offers a roadmap for safe, equitable, and transparent use of AI in education settings.
The key message is clear: AI should enhance, not compromise, children's rights and development.