48 h. ago How and why parents and teachers are introducing young children to AI

Guardian readers share the ways and reasons they are preparing their children and students for a future that may necessitate familiarity with generative artificial intelligenceSince the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, generative artificial intelligence has trickled down from adults in their offices to university students in campus libraries to teenagers in high school hallways. Now it’s reaching the youngest among us, and parents and teachers are grappling with the most responsible way to introduce their under-13s to a new technology that may fundamentally reshape the future. Though the terms of service for ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and other AI models specify that the tools are only meant for those over 13, parents and teachers are taking the matter of AI education into their own hands.Inspired by a story we published on parents who are teaching their children to use AI to set them up for success in school and at work, we asked Guardian readers how and why – or why not – others are...

Society

63 h. ago Record numbers of pupils apply to top state sixth forms for A

A record number of children are applying to join top state sixth forms after Labour introduced VAT on private schools, headteachers say.

Politics

3 d. ago Moment father who complained about teacher recruitment process in parents' WhatsApp group is arrested for 'harassment', led away by six police officers and interrogated for 11 HOURS

Police questioned a father on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications after he complained about a teacher recruitment process in a parents' WhatsApp group.

Events

3 d. ago 'Warped' teacher's sick campaign of sex abuse exposed after parent saw messages to daughter

Simon Clark was described as 'a sexual predator who preyed on young girls' by detectives who investigated the case which began with a parent concerned about their child

Events

4 d. ago Jelly Good Show! But enjoy frogspawn magic in its natural home

RSPCA experts have appealed to children, parents and teachers to resist the temptation to take frog and toad spawn home to watch it grow into adult amphibians.

Politics

6 d. ago Parents issued warning over putting towels around their kids' shoulders

Certified US swim coach Nikki Scarnati has issued a stern warning for parents to avoid wrapping a towel around their children's shoulders, and By The Dunes has come up with a cute and safe alternative.

Events

7 d. ago Parents issued warning on putting towels around their kids' shoulders

Certified US swim coach Nikki Scarnati has issued a stern warning for parents to avoid wrapping a towel around their children's shoulders, and By The Dunes has come up with a cute and safe alternative.

Events

9 d. ago After more than 250 punishments from teachers, his parents took on the school, and they found out the truth

A school has been ordered to apologise to a pupil and his parents and update its behaviour policy after a tribunal found it had discriminated against him. An Education Tribunal Wales hearing concluded that St Joseph's Catholic School in Port Talbot failed to reasonably support Kian Mills and discriminated against him in the way it applied its behaviour policy.

Society

9 d. ago Teachers are 'out of their depth' over secret emojis code: Warning over 'rife' toxic culture ravaging schools as sinister messages revealed in Netflix's Adolescence

Former deputy head Amit Kalley said a 'hell of a lot more' needs to be done to support parents and teachers after Netflix drama Adolescence sparked a national conversation.

Events

1 week ago Catholic infant school teacher suspended as parent exposes her as OnlyFans model

Elena Maraga, 29, says her wage as a teacher isn't 'sustainable', which forced her to consider other ways she can make more money - and she was 'curious' about OnlyFans

Society

1 week ago Catholic infants school teacher, 29, is suspended after pupil's parent spotted her in raunchy videos moonlighting as OnlyFans model

The school in Italy decided to suspend Elena Maraga this week, judging that her behaviour was not in line with the religious values of the institution.

Culture

1 week ago Catholic nursery teacher fired after parents recognised her in racy photo online

Elena Maraga, a Catholic nursery teacher, has been left devastated after her pupils' parents found her raunchy online snaps and reported her to the school - getting her suspended

Society

1 week ago Keir Starmer praised Adolescence. Now he needs to show he’s learned from it | Gaby Hinsliff

The government balked at protecting children from the perils of social media. TV has made the issues plain; now politics must do its jobIt’s the story every parent of teenagers I know has been watching horrified through their fingers. The Netflix drama Adolescence starts with armed police breaking down an ordinary front door to arrest a 13-year-old boy for murder, in front of his bewildered parents. Though initially it seems there must have been some terrible mistake, Jamie’s Instagram account soon yields clues that all the adults – police, parents and teachers alike – had initially blundered past, oblivious.Though talk of misogynistic “manosphere” influencers such as Andrew Tate hovers over the storyline, this isn’t really a story of radicalisation. What it skewers is the feeling of growing up very publicly in a world where sending nudes risks them instantly being shared round the class and everyone automatically films playground fights on their phones, and how that intensifies dan...

Politics

2 w. ago Adolescence filming secrets revealed from true story haunting actors to one

Adolescence is one of the most important TV dramas of our time, tapping into the deepest fears of parents and teachers across the UK. But what went into making the most talked about Netflix show of 2025 so far?

Culture

2 w. ago Islington school closures 'setting children up for failure' parents warn as teachers strike for two weeks

Parents have warned that their children are being ‘set up for failure’ if their schools are shut

Events

2 w. ago Social media platforms must be ‘brought to heel’, says UK schools leader

Headteachers’ conference to be told that rise in bullying, abuse and malicious use of deepfakes is being reportedSocial media operators must be “brought to heel” for the misery and disruption they are causing to the lives of students, teachers and parents, according to a senior school leader.Manny Botwe, the president of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), will tell the association’s annual conference that teachers are reporting increased bullying, abuse and the malicious use of “deepfakes” against pupils and staff through social media. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump administration briefing: education department to be halved as Trump walks back Canada tariffs

Education secretary Linda McMahon describes layoffs as ‘significant step towards restoring greatness’ – key US politics stories from Tuesday at a glanceThe US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce, the department has announced. The layoffs of 1,300 people were announced by the department on Tuesday and described by the education secretary, Linda McMahon, as a “significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system”.In a post on X, McMahon said: “Today’s [reduction in force] reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago US education department to lay off 1,300 people as Trump vows to close agency

Firings announced Tuesday as administration decried as ‘detached from how Americans live’The US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce. The layoffs of 1,300 people were announced by the department on Tuesday and described by the education secretary, Linda McMahon, as a “significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system”.In a post on X, McMahon said: “Today’s [reduction in force] reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago 'Unrealistic expectations, abuse and online hate campaigns': The parents who make teachers' lives hell

"I felt very low and dreaded opening my emails"

Society

4 w. ago Parents and teachers: how are you introducing AI to younger children?

We’d like to hear from parents and teachers who’re introducing AI to younger children and find out how they’re instructing them how to use itAcross the world since the release of ChatGPT, we have seen younger and younger people make use of artificial intelligence chatbots and image generators for their schoolwork and their lives at home. First, students in universities adopted AI, then teenagers in secondary schools, often with their parents unaware of it. Now, we’d like to know how the youngest among us are learning about AI.AI companies typically prohibit children under 13 from using their products in terms of service agreements. Some parents and teachers, however, are introducing ChatGPT and other AI to their children and their students in the hopes that an early familiarity with the technology will prepare them to succeed in the future. Continue reading...

Society