AI and Education: What Schools Need to Decide Before AI Becomes Routine

This is not simply about whether schools use AI.
It is about how schools are actively shaping their use of AI to support learning, protect wellbeing, and ensure developmentally appropriate practice.

The real work now is not reacting to AI, but making deliberate decisions about boundaries, safety, timing, and what must remain deeply human in education.

This webinar will aim to address:

• What does age-appropriate AI use actually look like in school?

• Which skills and habits do students still need to develop without AI, and how do schools protect them?

• How should schools build effort, persistence and independent judgment into an AI-assisted learning environment?

• What systems should schools have in place to monitor student wellbeing when AI is part of the learning experience?

• What must remain deeply human in teaching, judgment, relationships and support?

About the Webinar

Hosted by Sally Webster, and featuring Dan Hart, Ishita Vig, Simon Torok and Matthew Esterman this session will explore how AI is already shaping students, learning and wellbeing, and what schools need to do next.

A key focus of this session will be on not just asking what AI can do, but examining what schools must actively design for.

This includes:

• how AI may be influencing student thinking, attention and independence

• where it may support learning, and where it may unintentionally weaken it

• how schools can intentionally build capability, not dependency

• where stronger safeguards, boundaries and expectations are needed

This is not a conversation about whether AI is good or bad.
It is a conversation about whether its use is informed, intentional, developmentally appropriate and safe.

Why This Matters Now

The real concerns for schools are practical and immediate:

• student safety

• privacy and data security

• age-appropriate use

• bias and misinformation

• over-reliance and dependency

• academic integrity

• the impact on critical thinking and effort

• uneven understanding across staff, students and families

• the risk of replacing human judgment where it matters most

Without clear direction, AI use becomes inconsistent, accidental and potentially unsafe.
With clear direction, it can be purposeful, supportive and educationally sound.

Key Questions This Session Will Address

This webinar will focus on the decisions schools need to make now:

• What should students be using AI for, and what should they still be learning to do independently?

• At what age, stage and level of maturity should different types of AI use be introduced?

• How can schools actively build effort, persistence and deep thinking in an AI-enabled environment?

• What risks exist for student wellbeing, confidence and independence, and how can they be mitigated?

• What systems need to be in place to protect privacy, safety and trust?

• What professional learning do staff need to respond confidently and consistently?

• What do families need to understand to support aligned messaging?

• What must remain deeply human in teaching, judgment, relationships and care?

What This Session Will Explore

• what age-appropriate, informed AI use looks like in practice

• how AI is shaping student learning habits and wellbeing

• how schools can actively protect critical thinking, effort and independence

• where AI can support learning, and where caution is required

• how to design clear, consistent systems for safe and effective use

• how privacy, security and trust should guide decision-making

• what educators and families need to understand to respond well

Who This Is For

This session is for school leaders, educators, wellbeing teams and families who recognise that AI is already shaping education — and want to move beyond awareness to clear, practical action.

For those asking not just what is happening, but what should we be doing about it now.