AI Case Study: St Nicholas C of E Primary School and Nursery, Hertfordshire

Rachael Coultart qualified as a teacher in 1991 and have worked in Primary ever since. Passionate about Early Years education in particular, Rachael is always keen to explore new ways of using technology effectively in teaching and learning.

How much you are currently using AI in the classroom setting and what for (for example lesson plans), what may be holding you back if you aren’t using it regularly?

I've used very little generative Ai in the classroom, despite attending a number of conferences an workshops on the subject. I've dabbled with image creation so that I don't have to 'worry' about who to credit and I experimented with getting it to create a presentation to parents, but didn't use any of the content generated as it wasn't good enough. When I sought some ideas from ChatGPT for our pirate topic, nothing I hadn't already thought of was generated.  As for what is holding me back, I think it's a) that I haven't yet made the time to experiment with it more purposefully and b) that I'm still not sure about the ethics and morality of using is. 

How much you think ChatGPT is being used by your students to complete homework tasks, and if it is easy to tell where it been used inappropriately in assignment responses? 

 I'm not aware of it being used by Primary pupils yet, but when my 17 year old son uses it, I can tell when it's not his own words! 

As far you know, does your school yet have a clear policy on AI usage for A) teachers B) students

We are beginning to develop this in discussion with a range of stakeholders and I'm confident we will have one in place before half term, but it will not be a quick-fix or Ai generated and will need to constantly evolve.