Integrating Playful AI Literacy Learning Activities in Schools through Third-sector and Public-sector Organisations

Summary

In collaboration with third/public-sector actors, we ran public events engaging schoolchildren and their teachers in playful AI and media learning activities we have co-designed for young people. The events allowed the team to explore the transferability of the activities to programmes third/public-sector organisations run to support schools, and to gain insight on how to best integrate the into third/public-sector initiatives that aim to contribute to meeting the UK’s AI educational ambitions and explore how they may be further integrated into school curriculums. The project promoted uptake of RAi UK funded outputs for enhancing AI and Media literacy and is a continuation of a project ‘Misinformation/Disinformation and Generative AI’, funded through RAi UK’s Skills Programme.

Collaborating with The International Centre for Life, Arts Council England Libraries, schoolteachers, and schoolchildren in the Northeast of England.

Activities and Achievements

Between January and March 2026, the project team worked with four central libraries (Newcastle City Library, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Library, Darlington Central Library, and Gateshead Central Library) and two local libraries (Kenton Library and South Bank Library). In collaboration with library staff, with roles ranging from Digital Engagement Officers to School Engagement Officers, we identified the learning activities that would suit the children and schools that they work with and made the adaptations needed to deploy them in the library spaces. Adaptations included offering the activities to lower age groups (8-16 year olds), combining learning activities and contextualising some of the activities to the area.

We worked with 109 school aged children (57% boys, 43% girls, 8-16 years old) across the sessions (5 school classes year
6-year 7, 3 homes education groups). We also ran an AI literacy session for children and their Guardians and Carers as part of Gateshead Central Library’s Saturday code club. For each session, we ran post-session evaluation focus groups with the children to ascertain knowledge gained and interviews school teachers (n=5) accompanying the children to gain feedback on the learning activities and explore with them the transferability of the activities to the classroom. We also conducted focus groups with the library staff to further explore libraries’ role in AI literacy. In addition, we developed the rai.training website to now host the learning activities we have developed and enable their adaptation by teachers and third-sector workers.

Impact

Pre-liminary insights from the research include:

• Children consistently demonstrated gaining knowledge regarding how AI works, how to responsibly use AI and AI and bias.
• Teachers place a value on libraries’ role in school children’s learning- point to how the children more openly talk about their AI usage outside of the classroom setting. Teachers identified synergies between the AI literacy activities and the wider activities they have in the school to address bias and misogyny.
• Teachers identified the need for AI literacy activities to correspond to the wider societal challenges they are facing in the area where they are located. For example, one of the teachers pointed to growing racism in the community and accordingly the need to teach
  the children about AI and bias.
• Library staff expressed a lack of confidence in delivering AI literacy activities themselves citing that currently the training they receive is focused on how to use AI as part of their workflows rather than their community facing services. This lack of confidence was echoed by some school teachers who requested for our availability to deliver AI literacy activities for the school staff.
• Library staff viewed addressing AI literacy as part of their responsibility towards the public but also the need to balance this with the responsibility to safeguard community members using AI on their premises.
• The research identified that while there is emerging council guidance for library staff on use of AI themselves to complete work tasks, but without guidance on AI use by community members in the library and within community services library staff lack confidence in integrating AI literacy into their provision. This is further compounded by library firewalls being centrally managed by the council.
• Both teachers and library staff described being in a situation where they feel the pressure to respond to the AI turn given children, parents and community members are requesting support with using AI and/or are inquiring about AI. However, at the same time hesitant to respond as they await guidance whether it be policies on AI use or the upcoming curriculum change.