1. Why Schools Need An AI Policy
Artificial intelligence, the kind behind tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, is now in the hands of our students whether we plan for it or not. Many already use it for homework. Some teachers use it to prepare lessons. This is why all schools need an AI policy that helps students learn rather than helps them avoid learning.
Our teaching philosophy at New State Schools is teach first, then give digital access. AI does not change that order. A student should understand a thing before a machine helps them do it faster. Our AI policy is built on that belief.
2. Who This Applies To
This policy applies to all students, all teaching staff, and all non-teaching staff who handle student work or student data. It does not extend to parents helping with homework at home, because that is not a thing a school can sensibly enforce. We do, however, ask parents to help us by following the short note in Appendix A.
3. The Principles We Agree On
These are our principles.
- Understanding comes before tools. A student must be able to do the core thinking themselves. AI is allowed to assist, not to replace that thinking.
- Honesty is non-negotiable. Passing off AI work as your own is cheating, the same as copying from another student.
- AI is often wrong. We teach students to check it, not to trust it blindly.
- The youngest students need the most protection. The rules tighten as the children get younger.
- Teachers stay in charge. No AI tool replaces a teacher’s judgment about a child.
4. What Students May and May Not Do
Generally allowed (with a teacher’s knowledge)
- Using AI to explain a concept they did not understand in class.
- Using AI to generate practice questions to test themselves.
- Using AI to check their own work for errors after they have done it.
- Using AI to brainstorm ideas before they write in their own words.
Generally not allowed
- Submitting AI-written work as their own.
- Using AI during tests, exams, or any assessment, unless a teacher has specifically allowed it for that task.
- Using AI to complete an assignment whose whole point is to practise the skill themselves (for example, an essay meant to teach writing).
It depends on the subject and the task
Most real cases sit here. A Maths teacher and an English teacher may reasonably set different rules. But: each teacher states, for each assignment, whether AI may be used and how. If the teacher says nothing, the default is allowed for understanding but not for producing the final work.
To detect if a student has used AI or not, the simplest way is to have the student explain and answer questions on the work they have produced. This also serves to encourage and emphasise learning.
5. Academic Integrity
Using AI dishonestly is treated under our existing rules on cheating and plagiarism. A student who is unsure whether something counts as cheating should ask the teacher before submitting, not after.
6. Protecting Student Data and Privacy
This part matters and is easy to get wrong.
- Do not put a student’s personal information into a public AI tool. Names, addresses, exam scores, health information, photographs, or anything that identifies a child should not be typed into ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar, by staff or students. These tools may store what is typed into them.
- Teachers using AI to help prepare lessons or mark work should remove identifying details first, or use only the school’s approved tools.
- This follows the spirit of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, which treats children’s data as deserving special protection.
7. Special Protection for Younger Students
The younger the child, the tighter the rule.
- For the youngest classes, AI tools are used only by the teacher, for teaching, and not directly by the children.
- For middle classes, supervised use only.
- For senior classes, the fuller rules in section 4 apply.
No AI tool used in the school should expose any child to content that is unsafe, frightening, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate for their age. Any member of staff who sees such content through a tool must report it to the Proprietress at once.
8. Guidance for Teachers using AI
Teachers are encouraged to use AI to lighten the load, for example drafting lesson notes, generating examples, or making a first version of a worksheet. With these understandings:
- A teacher checks AI output before it reaches students. The AI drafts, the teacher decides.
- A teacher does not let AI make a judgment about a child’s progress, behaviour, or ability on its own.
- A teacher does not enter identifying student data into a public tool (see section 6).
The school will, offer training so staff feel confident rather than left behind.
9. When AI may be used in Assessment
By default, assessments are a student’s own unaided work. A teacher may, for a specific task, decide that using AI is part of the skill being taught, for example a senior project where the lesson is how to work with AI well. When that is so, the teacher states it clearly in writing for that task.
10. Review
This policy will be reviewed at least once a year because the technology changes quickly. Staff and, where appropriate, students and parents will be asked for input at each review.
Appendix A — A short note for parents
Dear Parent / Guardian,
Your child is growing up in a world where artificial intelligence is part of learning, and you may already have seen them use tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or others. We are writing because how you handle this at home matters as much as how we handle it at school.
Our position is simple. AI is allowed to help your child understand. It should not do the work for them. A child who watched a machine write their essay has not learned to write. A child who used a machine to explain a confusing idea, then wrote the essay themselves, has learned twice.
What we ask of you at home:
- Let AI help your child understand, not produce. If they are stuck on a maths problem, an AI tool explaining the method is fine. An AI tool solving the problem and your child copying it out is not.
- Notice the temptation. Homework is sometimes long and frustrating, and the pull to “just ask ChatGPT” is real. The struggle is often where the learning happens. We are not asking you to be a policeman, only to know this and gently steer.
- Be careful with your child’s information. Please do not put your child’s full name, school details, photographs, exam scores, or anything that identifies them into a public AI tool. These tools may store what is typed into them, and a child’s data deserves protection.
- Talk about what is true. AI tools often sound confident and are still wrong. If your child uses one, encourage them to check important facts elsewhere. Teaching this habit early is one of the most useful things you can do.
- For younger children, supervise. The younger the child, the more directly you should be involved when AI is in use.
If you are unsure whether a particular use of AI is okay, the simplest test is to ask: would this stop my child from learning the thing the homework is meant to teach? If yes, that is the line.
We are happy to talk this through with any parent who wants to. Please contact the Principal at the school.
Thank you for partnering with us on this. Children whose parents and teachers agree on the rule do best.
This template was prepared for New State Schools as a starting point. Other schools are welcome to adapt it.