Between the Lines home
Basket Free lessons
Free lessons

Knowledge hub › News › AI guidance

What the DfE and JCQ say about AI in schools

The DfE leaves most decisions about generative AI to schools, within rules on safety and data. JCQ sets firm rules for work that counts towards a qualification. As of October 2026 both documents are in the editions described here.

News · 3 minute read

Two documents set the rules for schools in England. The Department for Education’s guidance Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education was first published on 29 March 2023 and last updated on 12 August 2025. JCQ’s AI Use in Assessments: your role in protecting the integrity of qualifications was first published on 26 April 2023; the current edition is revision two, dated 30 April 2025.

What the DfE says

  • On students: “Evidence is still emerging on the benefits and risks of pupils and students using generative AI themselves.” Where schools allow it, the DfE expects safeguards such as close supervision and tools with filtering and monitoring.
  • On homework: “Schools and colleges may wish to review homework policies, and other types of unsupervised study to account for the availability of generative AI.”
  • On students’ work: “Schools and colleges must not allow or cause students’ original work to be used to train generative AI models unless they have permission, or an exception to copyright applies.”
  • On products: the DfE’s product safety standards for generative AI, updated on 19 January 2026, add standards on cognitive development, emotional and social development, mental health and manipulation. They are written for edtech suppliers, and schools can use them to judge a tool.
  • On personal data: the DfE’s data protection guidance tells schools to check with their data protection officer before putting students’ personal data into an AI tool.

What JCQ says

JCQ’s guidance covers non-examination assessment, coursework and other internal assessment. In exams, students must not be able to use AI tools at all.

It defines the offence: “AI misuse is where a student has used one or more AI tools but has not appropriately acknowledged this use and has submitted work for assessment when it is not their own.” Where a student has used an AI tool as a source, they must record its name and the date the content was generated, keep a non-editable copy, such as a screenshot, of what they asked and what it produced, and explain briefly how they used it. Teachers must not accept work that is not the student’s own, and where a centre allows AI tools to help mark work, an AI tool “cannot be the sole marker”. Sanctions for misuse go up to disqualification.

What it means for English departments

GCSE English Language and English Literature are assessed by exams, so JCQ’s rules on acknowledging AI use bite in one place: the spoken language endorsement (8700/C), which AQA lists as non-exam assessment. A presentation written by an AI tool and delivered by a student raises the same authentication question as any other assessed work, so plan and draft presentations in lessons where you can see the work develop.

For homework, mocks and practice essays, the DfE’s guidance applies: decide your department’s policy, and do not upload students’ essays to a tool that may use them for training without permission. More practical steps are in What the rules say about AI and student writing.

What happens next

As of 5 October 2026, no new edition of either document has been announced. JCQ’s page on artificial intelligence still links revision two of 30 April 2025, and the DfE’s guidance still carries its August 2025 date. JCQ has added a short summary for teachers, Preventing AI Misuse in Assessments, and a quick-guide poster for students, both marked as effective from September 2026.

Sources

Press / to search from any page, and Esc to close.