Digital Safety, Ethics & Sustainability
Artificial Intelligence is increasingly present in educational tools. Its use across schools in Scottish Borders Council must enhance learning while protecting pupils, staff and the integrity of national qualifications.
AI supports professional practice. It does not replace human judgement, expertise or responsibility.
Safeguarding, Data Protection and Professional Responsibility
Academic Integrity and Ethical Use
Safeguarding, Data Protection and Professional Responsibility
AI systems process information externally and may retain prompts.
- Personal or sensitive information must never be entered into AI systems.
- Approved platforms should be used wherever possible.
- Digital tools should be risk assessed before classroom use.
- Staff remain responsible for all content shared with learners.
All AI-generated materials must be reviewed, edited and validated before use. Safeguarding responsibilities remain unchanged when AI tools are used.
Academic Integrity and Ethical Us
AI must not undermine authentic learner work or professional standards. Clear boundaries must be set around when AI use is permitted. Pupils must understand the difference between using AI to support learning and using it to complete work inappropriately.
Authenticity and Plagiarism
- Work submitted for assessment must reflect a learner’s own understanding.
- AI-generated content must not be presented as original pupil work.
- Expectations around transparency should be made explicit.
Accuracy and Bias
AI systems can generate inaccurate, incomplete or biased responses.
They may:
- Reflect bias from training data
- Provide outdated information
- Produce plausible but incorrect answers
Staff and pupils should verify important information using reliable sources. AI output should be treated as a starting point for further thinking, not as an unquestioned authority.
Qualifications Scotland Guidance
AI use must align with national assessment expectations set by Qualifications Scotland.
This includes:
- Protecting the authenticity of coursework and externally assessed components
- Ensuring appropriate supervision where required
- Following published guidance on acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in assessments
- Preventing malpractice or undisclosed AI assistance
AI may support revision and understanding, but it must not replace independent demonstration of knowledge in assessment contexts.
Staff should refer directly to the published guidance from Qualifications Scotland on generative AI in assessments: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in assessments – Qualifications Scotland
Supporting Documents
- The Use of GenAI tools in SQA assessments — practitioner information and exemplification
- Generative AI in assessment: academic session 2025–26
- Authenticating learners’ work – good practice advice for centre staff
Ethical use requires honesty, transparency and fairness in all applications.
Sustainability
AI systems require significant computing power and energy.
Schools should promote thoughtful and proportionate use of AI tools. This includes:
- Using AI only when it adds clear value
- Avoiding unnecessary or repetitive generation
- Encouraging efficient digital habits
- Protecting deep reading, writing and discussion
- Avoiding over-reliance on AI for thinking tasks
Sustainable use means balancing innovation with responsibility. Users should ensure that AI supports learning without creating dependency or unnecessary environmental impact.
