Five minutes on Friday – 4th September 2026

Welcome to this week’s Five Minutes on Friday digest! As the new academic year gets underway, staying ahead of statutory safeguarding expectations, updated recruitment guidelines, and parental digital safety tools is essential.Grab a quick coffee and take five minutes to get fully up to speed with what you need to know for Friday, 4th September 2026.

📑 1. Statutory Guidance: KCSIE 2026 Now In Effect

As of 1st September 2026, the Department for Education’s updated statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026, has officially come into force across all schools and colleges in England.

Leadership teams and Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) must ensure their school policies, staff briefing materials, and induction workflows reflect the new requirements:

  • Removal of Annex A: Schools can no longer rely on shortened safeguarding summaries for non-teaching or support staff. All members of staff, regardless of their role, are now required to read Part One: Safeguarding Information for All Staff in full.
  • Generative AI & Deepfakes: The guidance explicitly expands online safety definitions to address emerging generative AI risks, including deepfakes, AI-generated nude or semi-nude imagery, and interactive AI chatbots.
  • Annual Filtering & Monitoring Review: Schools must conduct and formally record an annual review of their digital filtering and monitoring effectiveness, led by the SLT and supported by IT leads.

🏛️ 2. Martyn’s Law: What Schools Need to Know

Under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (widely known as Martyn’s Law), all UK schools and colleges fall into the Standard Tier. This requires education settings to have clear, practical, and documented public protection procedures in place:

  • Core Response Plans: Schools must maintain documented procedures for Lockdown, Evacuation, Invacuation, and Communication during critical incidents.
  • No Costly Infrastructure Required: Standard Tier obligations focus strictly on staff preparedness and response workflows—not expensive hardware or physical alterations.

How ICT in Schools Can Help

Navigating digital emergency procedures, mass alert systems, and communication channels shouldn’t be overwhelming.

The ICT in Schools Team can support your school in auditing current communication channels, configuring rapid-response alert systems on staff devices, and ensuring your technical infrastructure supports fast, reliable lockdown and invacuation procedures.

📞 Get in Touch: If you would like guidance or a review of your tech solutions for Martyn’s Law compliance, please contact the ICT in Schools helpdesk or speak directly to your designated technician!

📱 3. Online Safety Hub Weekly Highlight: Creating a Family Tech Agreement

In this week’s feature from the South Tyneside Online Safety Hub, we are highlighting the benefits of creating a family tech agreement.

A family tech agreement is a set of rules and expectations regarding online behavior and device use for all family members.

  • Digital Wellness: Digital wellness experts recommend tech agreements as a way to plan and outline expectations, fostering communication between parents and children about the risks and responsibilities of online activities.
  • Positive Boundaries: When rules are broken, the family tech agreement serves as a clear reference for consequences, fostering learning opportunities for children and encouraging positive online behaviors.

👉 Access the Resource: Creating a family tech agreement on South Tyneside Online Safety Hub

🍂 Save the Date: AppleRTC Autumn Conference 2026

We are thrilled to announce that the AppleRTC Autumn Conference will be hosted live at The Word, South Shields on Wednesday, 22nd October 2026!

This whole-day event will focus on two of the most critical topics in EdTech today: AI & Accessibility.

Event Schedule:

  • Morning Session (9:30 – 12:30): Designed specifically for the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
  • Lunch (12:30 – 13:00): Lunch is included for all attendees!
  • Afternoon Session (13:00 – 15:30): Open to Teaching Staff and SLT.

Location: The Word, Market Place, South Shields

Date & Time: Wednesday, 22nd October 2026 | 9:30 – 15:30

Keep an eye on your inbox—booking details and full workshop agendas will be released soon!

Thank you for reading this week’s edition of Five Minutes on Friday! Stay tuned for more EdTech news, practical classroom tools, and leadership advice in next week’s issue.

Have a great start to the term and a restful weekend!

Phillippa Chippendale

ICT in Schools Team

The Prompt: (Issue 8)

Your AI Newsletter

Issue 8

Please share this newsletter with colleagues in your setting!

Welcome to Issue 8 of your weekly briefing on all things AI. As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the educational landscape, our mission is to ensure South Tyneside schools stay ahead of the curve.

Whether you are an AI novice or an AI expert, this is your weekly home for the tools and digital principles defining the future of education. Each week, we’ll deliver essential updates curated to reduce teacher workload and enhance learning across our South Tyneside community as safely as possible.

🛠️ AI Champions Work Group

Haven’t nominated an AI Champion for your school yet? Click the link below to access our nomination form:

👉 CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE (Please use the form link to submit)

  • Next Meeting: Wednesday 11th November 2026, 16:00–17:30
  • Venue: The Word
  • Contact: Julia Small to book a place at: [email protected]

Item 1: AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: Guidance for Parents and Carers

CEOP and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) have released a vital new guide to help parents navigate the safeguarding risks of AI. The resource explains how AI can be misused to manipulate images of children and equips families with practical steps to reduce risks—such as reviewing privacy settings, auditing social media, and starting age-appropriate conversations about digital consent.

Access the full online guidance: Click Here to Access Online Guidance

There is also updated guidance for professionals, developed in collaboration with the IWF, providing essential information for all professionals working with children and young people on understanding and responding to AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Download PDF Guides

Click on the images below to open and download the PDF versions.

Item 2: Create Your Own Games and Apps Using Gemini

Ever wanted to create a custom game for your classroom, but didn’t know how to code? We’ve launched a brand new website showcasing how you can build interactive web games using Google’s Gemini—just by having a conversation!

From matching capitals to Year 2 vocabulary and Year 6 maths explorers, you can play our AI-generated games and even see the exact prompts we used to make them.

🚀 Click here to visit the AI Games Lab and start building!

Item 3: Netflix’s Queen Of Chess On What Schools Are Getting Wrong About AI

What can the greatest female chess grandmaster in history teach us about the future of AI in the classroom?

In a compelling new piece by Dan Fitzpatrick, Queen of Chess star Judit Polgár draws a striking parallel between the anxiety educators face today and the massive disruption the chess world experienced thirty years ago. Long before ChatGPT, chess was the first profession reshaped by AI, leaving players wrestling with the same fears of obsolescence teachers feel now. Having lived through this shift firsthand, Polgár offers a powerful warning and unique insights into what schools are getting wrong.

Click Here to Access The Article

Item 4: Question of the Week

🏝️ How are you using AI this summer, that is not school related?

We want to hear from you! Let us know how you are playing or planning with AI over the summer break.

Have a Great Summer Holiday! ☀️

Thank you for your incredible support and engagement with The Prompt this term. Have a restful, safe, and wonderful summer holiday, and we will see you next term!

Contact Us: If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Steve Robert at [email protected].