AI is becoming part of the everyday experience for children and young people. Tools that respond instantly, adapt to their language and feel increasingly conversational are shaping how they access information, think and interact. These interactions often go far beyond the classroom.
In my role as Head of Data and Insight at Supporting Education Group, I focus on helping educators and system leaders understand both the benefits and the risks of AI, and to respond with intention rather than urgency.
I draw on data, behavioural psychology and cognitive science, with a strong emphasis on accessibility and inclusive design. My work starts from a simple belief: technology should meet people where they are and support curiosity, wellbeing and participation. It should never create new barriers or cognitive overload.
AI isn’t just software. It is an interaction. And when interactions feel instant, personal and always available, they shape behaviour, attention and expectations, whether we intend them to or not.
From a developmental and cognitive perspective, children build emotional wellbeing through attuned relationships, shared focus and consistent co‑regulation. AI can encourage exploration and creativity, but it can also disrupt these processes when the line between information, reassurance and emotional support becomes unclear.
Schools are already asking important questions:
- How does constant access to AI affect attention and emotional regulation?
- When does support turn into dependency?
- What should educators be looking for when it comes to trust, safety, and healthy use?
- How does AI fit within existing online‑safety guidance?
Educators are navigating these issues in real time, often without a shared framework or common language.
Responsible innovation is not about slowing progress. It is about being thoughtful. If we do not consider wellbeing, ethics and boundaries early, we end up reacting later.
At SEG, my aim is to help education settings build digital resilience. This involves establishing healthy habits, clear expectations and thoughtful, age‑appropriate use of technology. I consider AI alongside safeguarding, pastoral care and wellbeing rather than as a separate topic.
Human‑centred and ethically grounded AI begins with safety, transparency and psychological realism. If these things are not designed in from the start, responsibility becomes an add‑on. That is when systems fail people.
The most useful work in this space is not driven by hype. It comes from helping educators understand both opportunity and risk through evidence, ethics and an understanding of how children think, learn and relate to the world. Cognitive AI, which adapts to behaviour or simulates reasoning, makes this even more important because its influence can be subtle, relational and continuous.
As AI develops, our responsibility is to stay grounded, not fearful and not naive. We need to stay intentional, informed and aligned with human development.
In February, I was joined by Fiona Jarmin, Head of Safeguarding at GLF Schools, and Thrive’s Viv Trask-Hall for a webinar, AI and wellbeing: what schools are noticing and why it matters.