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Introduction
The past 18 months have brought significant changes to how teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. Forward-thinking schools should already be using cloud computing, enabling access to schoolwork both in the classroom and remotely. If your school hasn't embraced this, it's time to catch up. In 2025, 21st century platforms like Google Workspace for Education are readily available and completely free, offering schools modern tools to enhance teaching and learning.
The fact that many UK based schools still don’t have such platforms in place is going to hold them back somewhat if they want children to have access to some of the fantastic free AI tools that are available.
If you’re using one of the many online platforms designed to teach timetables or enhance reading skills, chances are you’re already benefiting from indirect access to AI - where an AI system works in the background, adapting content to meet the learner’s needs. However, it’s direct access to AI that truly transforms the learning experience. This means the user actively engages with the AI - asking it questions, generating images, and even building their own AI models.
This blog/podcast will explain why you should engage with AI, offering insights and tips on how to utilise it with your children now, and what potential it holds for the future. So, if you're thinking "Why should I bother, it's just a gimmick," listen on and find out why you should.
Have you got the provision in place to begin with?
What do I mean by provision? Well, in this case I mean the IT kit, PC’s, laptops, Chromebooks and tablets that children will be using. The provision will also include the infrastructure that is required for access to the internet such as WI-FI and broadband connection.
Equally important is a cloud based learning platform that will allow children to not only access work stored in the cloud but also gives them the means to login and access the many free AI sites that are now available. It’s simple, if you are not currently using any form of cloud access for children you are going to find it extremely difficult to access the many AI platforms available online. It’s not impossible, but so much more difficult that you may decide to drop the whole idea.
Google Workspace for Education is possibly the only resource you will ever need. It has everything at hand to create, set and mark work via Google Classroom and gives children a “one stop shop” to all their projects and lessons. Importantly, it gives them access to Google AI tools and a “Login With Google” that allows easy access to other AI sites. It is also totally FREE.
Why is it Important for Children to Use AI in Primary School?
When COVID struck and schools were suddenly thrust into the world of "home learning" in March 2020, many state schools were caught off guard. Despite having links to a "VLE" (Virtual Learning Environment) on their websites, few had ever truly integrated it into their teaching. It was more of a cosmetic addition, a way to "keep up with the Joneses." The idea of children accessing work from home was practically alien.
Another missed opportunity came when many state schools hastily abandoned the cloud-based platforms rolled out for free by the Department for Education (DfE) during the lockdown. They turned them off, never to be used again.
Now AI has arrived and this, again, has caught schools of guard. Educators don’t want their children to lag behind other schools and educators are left wondering how to get access to this exciting resource. But all the schools who swiftly “side stepped” cloud based learning are going to find it difficult to access AI because cloudbased learning systems almost go hand in hand with AI. If your children are not used to working from a browser and accessing work from the cloud and you don’t have the provision in place to allow them to do this then you are going to struggle with cloud based AI systems. Even logging into them will seem like a mountain to climb.
If you are left thinking about the solution to this issue then it might be worth your while to read this blog and listen to the associated podcast. Always Moving Up, But Never Moving Forward - 8 weeks to move your schools IT Provision to the next level
AI in Primary Schools: A New Frontier in Education
So let's assume you have everything in place to allow children to work with, experiment with and access AI. What are the benefits?
I think the first thing you need to realise is that primary school children will be using AI in a very different way that you and I, as adults, would use it. But, by introducing AI to younger people, we can equip children with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate and thrive in an AI-driven future. Early exposure to AI concepts can help children develop essential skills like computational thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability.
Moreover, and of even greater significance, this approach opens doors for children to engage in activities and learning experiences that were previously thought to be beyond their reach just a year ago. This transformative impact is not limited to a select group; it empowers all students, regardless of their individual abilities or learning styles, to produce work of exceptional quality. This newfound potential not only boosts their academic performance but also fosters a sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy, which can have a lasting positive impact on their educational journey and beyond.
Getting primary school children started with AI early on helps them learn which AI tools to use later for things like research, making images, creating music and putting articles together. This early introduction gives them a basic understanding of what AI can do and how it can be used.
What AI Can Be Used for in Primary Schools
If you are now wondering what AI can be used for in primary school education then it might be worth reading the recent comments I received from schools which have been overwhelmingly positive. Some have said:
“All students can achieve no matter what level they are.”
“Children work at their own pace, but can be very creative.”
“I just wanted to say how fantastic today's computing lesson was. It was a pleasure to hear the children's songs. Thank you for sharing your expertise with our children.”
For me it’s the creative side of AI that really shines at primary school level and it’s this use of generative AI that has allowed children to unlock some amazing creative potential letting them do way more than we used to think possible.
I recently re-ran a 7 week lesson with year 6 covered e-commerce. We looked at the history, why online shopping has been so successful, what makes a good online store and the benefits (along with the bad points). Children ended up creating a small startup business in which they have to create a business plan and then build their own online store complete with products.
In previous years children have had to find stock images to represent the products they are selling on line. This year though, we used AI totally throughout the lesson and children used AI image generators to create all the items they plan to sell on their site. It was a total game changer.
If children could visualise the product and put it into words, then AI would create it and what an outstanding job it did. From home page headers to fictitious shop fronts in a shopping mall, to the products they were planning on selling. AI did the lot, taking this lesson up ten levels. We even use AI to generate the portfolio for the business and create the logos and business cards.
This is where AI really shines when children are being creative and producing an end product. It’s this sort of lesson that gets children talking, collaborating, sharing ideas and to some extent competing. More importantly it also allows some of the under achieving children to almost work at an equal level and surprisingly, it is some of these children that produced some of the best work.
The “In’s” and “Out’s” of AI
There is little doubt that AI, if introduced correctly, can be a very powerful tool for children's creative skills. But, as children get a little older and move into year 6 (11 years old) I think it’s extremely important to explain how all of this AI technology bolts together and works.
Now is the perfect time to introduce children to tools like Google’s Teachable Machine and Google’s AI Studio. With that in mind, I developed a series of lessons designed to help young learners gain a deeper understanding of how AI works, how it learns, and what its future might look like. Since these lessons are tailored for children, I focused on making them exciting and engaging—while also staying purposeful by explaining key concepts like large language models (LLMs) and the vast amounts of data AI needs to operate effectively.
In these lessons, children discovered that AI isn’t human -it's a form of computer technology capable of learning and making decisions. They learned that AI uses special algorithms to generate responses that seem human-like. We explained how AI learns from vast amounts of data, yet it's still prone to making mistakes. We also introduced the concept of Machine Learning (ML) confidence, giving students the opportunity to discuss why this concept matters.
We look at bias and how AI needs to be fair, making sure the information AI learns from is fair and includes everyone. Children learn that AI has many benefits, it also poses risks. It can be used to create deep fakes or cyber attacks. It is important to use AI responsibly and develop regulations to prevent misuse and ensure safety.
It is at this point that we allow children's imaginations to run wild and children are happy to talk about the science fiction side of AI and the Terminator scenario. Many children compared some of the points raised to movies they have watched or computer games played. Having previously used Google's Teachable Machine and Google's AI studio they can easily relate their real life use of AI to the science fiction side.
Summing it all up
One thing that everyone has to realise, in and out of education, is AI is going nowhere. It's here to stay. The questions, and there are many raised in this article, is how much of it are you going to allow children to access in your school and how will you manage that access?
I’m not just speaking as an academic writing a piece for a magazine, I’ve been there in front of dozens of children actually delivering these lessons and I’ve seen first hand the difference AI can make, particularly to under achieving children. I know what works and what doesn't and how to keep lessons interesting on a subject that could easily get bogged down in technical jargon.
My view is simple, AI is here and it’s only going to get better. The age of the “bot” is approaching and that may well give children a personalised teaching assistant. I know one thing for sure, AI, at the moment, will never replace a classroom teacher, but introducing AI to children at an early stage can really bring lessons to life and the dawn of a new creative age for children no matter what background.
John Goodier
Aldwyn Primary - The Learning Zone