Use of AI

Overview

Assistant SENDCo offers optional AI writing assistance to help teachers draft parts of SEN Support Plans. AI features are powered by OpenAI and are designed with pupil privacy as the top priority. This page explains exactly what the AI does, what data it sees, and what safeguards are in place.

AI is optional

Consent

AI is off by default. Before AI does anything, you actively turn it on from a permissions card shown after you log in, which explains what is sent, how names and identifying details are removed first, and who processes it. You must tick a confirmation and choose to enable it before any data is sent — an explicit, opt-in choice.

AI starts switched off at the beginning of every session, so each time you log in you turn it back on from that permissions card and confirm — you opt in every session. This is a deliberate safeguard so AI is never left running unnoticed on a shared school computer. Your agreement is recorded against your account (not just this browser). AI is opt-in for each member of staff individually; you can turn it off at any time in Settings, and a school can turn it off for everyone.

What the AI does

The AI assists with drafting text. It can:

• Suggest SMART outcomes based on your assessment notes
• Suggest provisions and strategies aligned to stated outcomes
• Match provisions to EHCP Section F recommendations
• Generate provision ideas from a description of need (standalone tool, also available inline while you work)
• Suggest how to continue an unmet target into the next cycle
• Suggest long-term and short-term targets, setting support, and home support strategies (EYFS plans)

In addition, a deterministic quality engine runs entirely on your device to check your plan against built-in structural checks drawn from the SEND Code of Practice, Ofsted, and EEF guidance. This includes checking whether outcomes are SMART, whether provisions specify frequency and responsible staff, and whether your plan maintains a coherent “golden thread” across Assess, Plan, Do, and Review. The quality engine produces a score, inline nudges, and guided fix actions — all without AI and without sending any data.

The AI does not make decisions. Every suggestion must be reviewed and accepted or rejected by the teacher before it is saved.

What data is sent to the AI

Only anonymised text fragments are sent. A full plan is never transmitted. The specific text depends on the feature being used, but is limited to:

• Assessment descriptions (anonymised) when suggesting outcomes
• Outcome statements (anonymised) when suggesting provisions
• EHCP Section F text (anonymised) when matching provisions
• A brief description of need (anonymised) when generating provision ideas
• Generic Provision Library entries (school-level resources, no pupil data)

The plan quality engine (scoring, inline nudges, and fix actions) runs entirely on your device and sends no data anywhere.

What is never sent to the AI

How anonymisation works

Before any text reaches the AI, it passes through a five-layer anonymisation pipeline:

1. Name replacement — the pupil's name and all name parts are replaced with [PUPIL]
2. PII scrubbing — postcodes, emails, phone numbers, dates, diagnoses, and staff names are detected and replaced with placeholder tokens
3. Common name detection — approximately 250 common UK first names are checked and replaced, catching references to siblings or other children
4. Full name pattern detection — any two consecutive capitalised words are treated as a potential name and replaced (with a whitelist for SEND terminology)
5. Context stripping — the pupil name field is explicitly removed from the data sent to the API

Output safety filtering

AI responses are checked before being shown to you. The filter blocks content containing profanity, violence, discriminatory language, medical advice, or anything inappropriate for an educational context. If a response is filtered, you see a generic message and the incident is logged for review.

AI provider

AI features use OpenAI(model: gpt-4.1-nano) via their API. Under OpenAI's API terms:

• Data sent via the API is not used to train AI models
• API data is retained for up to 30 days for safety monitoring, then permanently deleted
• A Data Processing Agreement is in place between Progress 55 Ltd and OpenAI
• Because OpenAI processes this text in the United States, the transfer is protected by Standard Contractual Clauses with the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, supported by a completed Transfer Risk Assessment. OpenAI is not certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework; this transfer relies on those clauses, in addition to the anonymisation described above.

Limitations

AI suggestions are generated by a language model and have inherent limitations:

• Inaccuracy — suggestions may contain factual errors, unsuitable strategies, or targets that do not match the pupil's needs
• Bias — language models can reflect biases present in their training data, which may result in stereotyped or culturally insensitive suggestions
• Not a replacement for professional judgement — AI suggestions are starting points only and must be reviewed, edited, or rejected by the teacher

You are responsible for reviewing all AI-generated content before it is saved to a support plan. Do not accept suggestions without checking they are appropriate for the individual pupil.

Questions

If you have questions about how AI is used in Assistant SENDCo, contact us at george@progress55.co.uk