The curriculum
The computing curriculum hasn't been updated since 2014 - and AI isn't in it
The national computing curriculum was introduced in 2014. At the time, it was a genuine step forward - replacing ICT lessons with something more substantive, teaching children how computers work rather than just how to use them.
But 2014 was before ChatGPT. Before generative AI. Before AI became a technology children encounter daily - in the apps they use, the content they consume, and the tools they're already experimenting with at home.
The curriculum makes no mention of artificial intelligence. Not in computing. Not in PSHE. Not anywhere. There is no statutory requirement for schools to teach children what AI is, how it works, or what it means for their futures.
A reformed curriculum is coming - the government confirmed plans in November 2025 to introduce AI content from KS2 onwards. But the target implementation date is 2028. Every child currently in primary school will have moved on before it arrives.
The teachers
Teachers are brilliant. But they were never trained to teach this.
Primary teachers are generalists. They teach across every subject, adapt constantly, and do an extraordinary job in classrooms every day. But keeping up with the fastest-moving technology in human history was never asked of them - and the system hasn't given them the tools to do it.
A 2024 survey by the National Centre for Computing Education found that 40% of primary teachers rate their confidence in teaching computing as low or very low. That's the baseline - before AI is added to the picture.
The DfE has released free teacher training materials on AI basics, but using them requires time, confidence, and curriculum space that most primary schools don't have to spare. Expecting teachers to solve the AI literacy gap on top of everything else isn't realistic. It's not their responsibility. It never was.
The children
Children aren't waiting for the curriculum to catch up
While policy moves slowly, children are not standing still. Generative AI tools are freely available, compelling, and increasingly woven into the platforms young people already use. Research published in 2024 found that nearly 70% of pupils were regularly using AI tools - with no structured guidance on how to use them critically or safely.
Primary age children are using these tools too - to help with homework, to answer questions, to create content. The question facing school leaders isn't whether their pupils will encounter AI. They already have. The question is whether those children have any framework for understanding what it is, how it works, and when not to trust it.
Without that foundation, children are navigating a technology that can mislead, manipulate, and generate entirely false information - with nothing to help them tell the difference.
of secondary pupils were using generative AI tools by end of 2024 - up from just 14% in 2023.
Ofcom Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report, 2024
of 8-17 year olds have used an AI chatbot - rising to more than half among 12-17 year olds.
Ofcom Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report, 2024
state secondary schools have teachers actively teaching pupils what AI is and how it works. In primary schools, the figure is almost certainly lower.
Tony Blair Institute, 2024