TL;DR

Nearly half (46%) of early years educators used AI in the last six months, against 33% in 2025, according to the annual survey by Tapestry, a childhood education platform. The survey asked about paperwork, and two-thirds say AI saves them time on it. But only 21% of those using it have received any AI training, and more than half have concerns about safeguarding and data protection.

Where it is being used

Among respondents, 66% said AI had saved them time on admin. Messages home to families were the most common task. Background research came second, then drafting risk assessments and setting policies. Some staff also use it to rewrite job adverts, update school websites and script nativity plays.

The gap behind the growth

Support has not kept pace. Just one in three has been given guidance on using AI for admin. Worries are widespread: 62% are concerned about accuracy and 53% about safeguarding and data protection, and 55% want more training so they can use it safely.

“AI adoption is currently outpacing the policies necessary for its safe use, and the growing demand for training remains unmet,” said Ben Case, Tapestry’s education advisor. Richard Waite, a digital safeguarding specialist, said settings should provide clear guidance and training, with professional judgement and security checks governing how AI is used.

The survey also covered staff supervision and Ofsted’s inspection focus on inclusion. Most respondents rated supervision as very or extremely important, but 41% said lack of time gets in the way, a reminder of the workload pressure driving AI uptake in the first place.

Looking forward

The findings echo the picture in schools. Sir Anthony Seldon’s report this week called AI’s arrival in English classrooms chaotic and asked for a national AI plan with school strategies checked by Ofsted. Early years settings handle especially sensitive information about very young children, so any staff entering those details into general-purpose chatbots without guidance would be a data protection risk as much as a quality one.

The published summary does not give the survey’s sample size, so the percentages are best read as a direction of travel. For nursery owners and managers, the practical step is the one respondents are asking for: a written policy on which tools may be used, what information must never go into them, and basic training for staff.