Rosemead Prep Head says we should embrace AI in education

Rosemead Prep Head Graeme McCafferty says world leaders need a brave approach to artificial intelligence, which offers huge potential value in education settings

A London Head has encouraged leaders and educators to be brave in their approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education and embrace the opportunities it may bring for learning. Speaking about AI, Graeme McCafferty, head at Rosemead Prep in Dulwich, south London, says: “World leaders need to pave the way for educators to embrace Artificial Intelligence in education to unlock personalised learning, enhance teaching efficiency, and bridge educational gaps for a brighter future.

“AI has the potential to become a very powerful tool in education, and it has already started to transform various aspects of what we do at Rosemead. Leaders need to allow teachers and students to fail and embrace the failure as a learning experience. There are so many ways in which AI can be used in schools and we are right at the beginning of this exciting journey,” adds Graeme McCafferty. “Think about the innovations that can increase productivity in schools, such as automated administrative tasks, data analysis and insights, lesson planning and brainstorming ideas for new content, using AI to inform assessment tracking to identify when children may be falling behind, early intervention for neurodiverse children, the list is endless.”

His comments follow on from the recent government-led meeting at Bletchley Park of world leaders – including US vice president Kamala Harris and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen – at the UK’s first AI Safety Summit. The prime minister has also laid out plans to bring AI to classrooms around the country to help improve education and boost efficiency.

Rosemead, which is part of the St Dunstan’s College Community of Schools, has already been using AI to enhance the education experience. “We have started to use AI platforms to personalise learning and target gaps in children’s knowledge. We have already seen the benefits of using AI to increase pupil progress and allow children to work at their own pace,” says Graeme Rafferty.

“I often say to teachers, think back 30 years and everyone was worried about computers being introduced into schools,” he adds. “Even as recently as 10 years ago schools were beginning to think about 1:1 devices, gamification in lessons and mobile devices. All these changes are now commonplace and taken for granted. Embrace AI as this is the next wave of innovation, and I am sure it will be commonplace in schools very soon.”

Rosemead Preparatory School & Nursery rosemeadprep.org.uk

Further reading: Online and legal – why children need digital education