Exploring the Cornerstone Leadership Team Gen AI Research Study

As conversations around generative AI in education continue to grow, it can be difficult for teachers and leaders to know where to start, what is appropriate and how to ensure that professional judgement remains central.

To support this, the Cornerstone Leadership Team has published a Gen AI Research Study that brings together practical examples, reflections and guiding principles from within a real primary school context. This post aims to raise awareness of the report, highlight some of its strengths and encourage colleagues to explore it in more depth.

A strong emphasis on human expertise

One of the most notable strengths of the study is its consistent focus on the human-in-the-loop. Throughout the document, AI is positioned clearly as a tool to support professional thinking, not something that replaces it.

Teachers and leaders are repeatedly described as the experts:

• making final decisions
• critically evaluating outputs
• adapting suggestions to suit pupils, context and values

This emphasis helps reinforce an important message for schools exploring AI: decision-making always sits with the human, and professional judgement is never outsourced to technology.

Practical and relatable primary school contexts

Another strength of the study is how rooted it is in realistic, relatable scenarios. The examples reflect the kinds of tasks and challenges primary teachers and leaders encounter every day, making it easier to imagine how similar approaches could be adapted elsewhere.

These contexts are not presented as fixed ‘templates to copy’, but as starting points. This makes them particularly useful for schools that are at an early stage of considering how AI might support:

• planning and workload
• professional reflection
• leadership and strategic thinking

Because the scenarios are grounded in authentic practice, they can be repurposed and scaled across different schools, settings and phases.

Supporting thoughtful and critical use of AI

Rather than promoting AI as a quick-fix solution, the study models an approach that is:

• cautious
• reflective
• ethically aware

It encourages users to question outputs, refine prompts and consider limitations. This uncritical evaluation of the process is an important feature, particularly in primary education where safeguarding, equity and curriculum integrity are essential considerations.

Who might find this useful?

This research study is particularly relevant for:

• primary teachers curious about first steps with AI
• subject leaders and senior leaders shaping school-wide approaches
• schools looking for grounded examples rather than abstract policy

You may also find it helpful to share the report with colleagues in your own school, especially as a way to spark discussion or provide concrete examples of how AI might support teaching and learning in a controlled and responsible way.

Read the full report

👉 https://cornerstoneprimary.hants.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Cornerstone-Leadership-Team-Gen-AI-Research-Study.pdf

The full document provides more detailed examples, reflections and contextual guidance and is well worth exploring in its entirety. Cornerstone has also organised an online AI Primary TeachMeet to allow educators to ‘come together and explore practical, impactful ways artificial intelligence can be used to support teaching, learning and school administration’.  

Further details can be found here - https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/11d71738-67a5-43b2-a3e6-40658508504e@c2a966d7-367a-452a-ae14-ca7ee174de65