Practical Uses That Actually Help in School 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is starting to appear more often in education. For many early years and primary teachers, the key question isn’t whether AI is impressive, but whether it is useful. 

When used carefully, AI can reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks and support planning, allowing literacy leads and class teachers to focus more on children, teaching and assessment. 

This isn’t about replacing professional judgement. It’s about freeing up time. 

 

Supporting Everyday Planning 

Planning in EYFS and KS1 often needs frequent adjustment. Children’s needs change quickly, and lessons rarely stay exactly as planned. 

AI tools can help by producing first drafts of: 

• phonics or early reading activities 
• shared writing ideas 
• sentence starters and writing prompts 
• guided reading questions 
• simple comprehension or vocabulary tasks 

These drafts are not ready to use as they are. Instead, they give teachers something to work from, rather than starting with a blank page. 

For literacy leads, this is particularly useful when: 

• supporting teachers who are new to a year group 
• planning across several classes 
• responding quickly to assessment outcomes 

The teacher still decides what works. AI just speeds up the starting point. 

 

Supporting Adaptation Without Creating Extra Work 

Adaptation is essential in EYFS and KS1, but it can be very time‑consuming. 

AI can help literacy leads and teachers: 

• simplify tasks for children who need more support 
• slightly extend activities for children who are ready to move on 
• adapt the same resource rather than creating several new ones 

For example, a writing prompt can be: 

• shortened and supported with oral rehearsal prompts 
• adapted with sentence stems 
• extended with extra challenges 

This makes adapting tasks and activities manageable, especially when children’s confidence and skills are developing at different rates. 

 

Helping With Reports, Documents and Communication 

A large part of many literacy leads’ time is spent on writing that is not teaching. 

AI can support the drafting of: 

• subject action plans 
• curriculum summaries 
• staff guidance documents 
• parent letters or newsletters 

These drafts should always be checked and edited, but starting with a clear structure can save a significant amount of time. 

For parent communication, AI can help produce: 

• clearer explanations of phonics or reading approaches 
• consistent language across newsletters 
• straightforward summaries that are easy for families to understand 

This can improve communication without increasing workload. 

 

Supporting Intervention Planning 

AI can also help when planning targeted support. 

By looking at simple pupil information, AI tools can help: 

• highlight common gaps in phonics or early writing 
• show patterns across a class or cohort 
• suggest starting points for intervention activities 

AI can then help generate intervention outlines, such as: 

• short daily activities 
• small‑group focus ideas 
• practice tasks linked to specific needs 

Teachers still decide: 

• which children need support 
• what approach is appropriate 
• how progress is checked 

AI supports organisation and planning, not professional judgement. 

 

Where Teachers Still Make the Decisions 

There are clear limits to where AI should be used. 

AI should not: 

• decide a child’s attainment or level 
• replace teacher assessment or observation 
• choose next steps without teacher involvement 

Teachers understand: 

• how children behave in the classroom 
• what motivates or worries individual pupils 
• when a child is capable but hesitant, or confident but insecure 

That professional knowledge remains essential. 

Keeping Standards High 

To use AI well in EYFS and KS1, literacy leads should: 

• check that all material fits the EYFS framework or National Curriculum 
• make sure language and tasks are appropriate for age and stage 
• adapt content so it matches how children actually learn in school 

AI works best when it: 

• reduces repetitive work 
• supports preparation 
• allows teachers to spend more time teaching and observing 

 

A Realistic Way to Use AI in Early Literacy 

AI is not something teachers need to be experts in. 

Used sensibly, it can: 

• speed up planning 
• reduce paperwork 
• support differentiation 
• improve consistency 

What it should never do is replace the careful, thoughtful work teachers already do every day. 

AI can help with the admin and preparation. 

Teachers remain responsible for the teaching, assessment and relationships that shape children’s learning.