AI in Education Wales: 5 Things Schools and Colleges Need to Know

Schools and colleges across Wales are using generative AI to support teaching, learning and administration. Welsh Government has published guidance to help settings do this safely and lawfully. Whether your setting is just starting to explore AI or already using it regularly, here is what education leaders in Wales need to understand now.

1. Is there Welsh Government guidance on AI in education, and where do you find it?

Yes, and it is Wales-specific. Welsh Government published guidance on generative AI in education in January 2025, hosted on the Hwb platform at hwb.gov.wales. It shares the opportunities of generative AI for schools and education settings and shares how to mitigate against the risks.

The guidance sits within the Education Digital Standards section of Hwb and covers how schools and settings should approach AI use in ways that are transparent, ethical and lawful. It addresses opportunities for learners, responsibilities for practitioners and the considerations settings must work through before adopting any AI tool.

The Welsh Government will continue to work with Ofcom and the ICO regard to regulation of AI technologies, alongside broader UK Government AI legislation.

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The two differ. Welsh education leaders should use the Hwb guidance as their primary reference, not guidance published for English schools.

Estyn’s thematic review, published in October 2025 following visits to 21 schools across Wales explored how artificial intelligence (AI), and generative AI (GenAI), in particular, is currently being implemented and its emerging impact in schools and pupil referral units (PRUs) across Wales.

The report concludes that, overall, many schools are still in the early stages of exploring AI. A coherent national approach is necessary to ensure the security of data and maximise the potential of AI to support teaching and learning, inclusion and effective leadership in schools and PRUs in Wales.  Three recommendations came out of this report: a need to develop national guidance on the use of AI in education, high quality professional learning on using AI, and an update to the DCF to include AI literacy.

2. What does the data protection requirement mean for Welsh schools?

Before committing to or using any generative AI product, schools should undertake a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and consult their Data Protection Officer to ensure compliance with all data protection principles.

A DPIA is the mechanism by which a school evaluates the suitability of a generative AI tool, identifies potential risks to learners and ensures a safe and secure learning environment. The guidance sets out that learners’ personal data must never be entered into generative AI tools, and that schools must be transparent about how any data used with AI services is processed and shared.

Estyn’s 2025 review found that too many schools exploring AI remain unclear on their statutory duties regarding the protection of personal data. Schools using AI tools through the Hwb platform — including Microsoft Copilot Chat and Adobe Express — benefit from national-level data processing agreements, but schools adopting tools outside Hwb need to complete their own DPIA before any deployment. The ICO’s AI and Data Protection Risk Toolkit is available to support schools and their DPOs through that process.

3. How can generative AI reduce teacher workload in Welsh schools?

This is where many schools are seeing the most immediate results. Estyn’s 2025 thematic review found that teachers across sectors consistently reported substantial workload reductions in lesson planning, resource creation, differentiation of learning materials and report writing. Teachers described how AI-generated scaffolds, worksheets and prompts allowed them to focus more on the quality and personalisation of their teaching.

Staff in special schools and pupil referral units highlighted particular benefits. AI-generated communication stories and bespoke literacy pathways improved engagement and inclusivity for pupils with complex additional learning needs.

The evidence from Welsh schools suggests the most productive AI applications are specific and bounded: drafting a lesson plan, generating a first version of a marking rubric, summarising meeting notes. Schools where AI use is proving most beneficial have embedded it within a clear understanding of effective pedagogy rather than using it as a general-purpose tool.

AI can substantially cut teacher workloads but schools need clearer guidance on how to use it safely.

4. What are the safeguarding risks of AI for learners, and whose responsibility are they?

Safeguarding is one of the most pressing concerns for Welsh education leaders considering AI adoption. Welsh Government guidance on Hwb flags that some generative AI systems may produce content that is offensive or harmful, or that reflects and amplifies the biases and stereotypes present in the data used to train them.

Critically, learners also need structured guidance on how to engage with AI responsibly — how to question what it produces, identify inaccuracies and understand its limitations. This is not a task that can be left to individual teachers to manage informally.

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5. How does AI fit with the Curriculum for Wales and the Digital Competence Framework?

The Digital Competence Framework (DCF), which supports learners aged 3 to 16 to develop the skills needed to use technology, confidently, creatively, and safely is currently being reviewed. The review will consider critical evaluation of AI-generated content, ethical considerations around AI use and progression in understanding AI at different stages of learning. A national professional learning is being developed and delivered through the Teaching Digital with Confidence programme to support schools in the effective use of AI.

What should Welsh education leaders do now?

Build confidence with emerging technologies, and deepen your understanding of AI. Start with the Welsh Government guidance on Hwb. Review which AI tools your setting is using and ensure your DPO has been consulted. Check that your safeguarding lead is part of the conversation.

Look out for further guidance. In response to Estyn’s recommendations in October 2025, the Welsh Government will work in collaboration with local authorities and key education stakeholders to develop a strategic framework that supports the safe, ethical, and effective use of GenAI.

Collaborate to maximise the opportunities brought and tackle the challenges posed by AI for education.

Join Policy Insight Wales for the inaugural AI in Education Wales Digital Conference on Tuesday 29 September 2026, drawing on Welsh Government guidance and the Estyn thematic review to address what AI adoption means in practice for schools and colleges across Wales. Explore practical guidance for the safe and effective implementation of AI  in your school. Book your place