Is AI marking of children's writing safe?

Is it safe to use AI to mark a child's writing?

Using AI to mark children's writing is safe when the tool is purpose-built for it and four questions have clear answers: what a child's writing is used for, who can see it, how long it is kept, and whether a teacher stays in control of the feedback. A general-purpose chatbot does not answer those questions; a tool designed for primary classrooms should.

Howay was designed around children's data from the start. Student writing is processed for one purpose — returning curriculum-aligned feedback to the teacher who uploaded it — and a teacher reviews and can edit that feedback before a child or parent ever sees it.

How Howay protects student writing

• Purpose-limited. Writing is processed solely to generate educational feedback, and is not used to identify individuals.
• UK GDPR. Howay operates under UK GDPR, and reflects EU GDPR and the UAE Personal Data Protection Law for teachers in those regions.
• Secured in storage and transit. Data is held on secure cloud infrastructure with encrypted transmission and restricted internal access.
• Kept only as needed. Data is retained only for as long as necessary to provide the service.
• Deletable on request. Schools may request deletion of student data at any time, and correction of anything inaccurate.

The full detail lives in our privacy policy.

Who can see a child's work

Common questions

Is it safe to use AI to mark children's writing?

It can be, provided the tool is designed for it. The questions that matter are what a child's writing is used for, who can see it, how long it is kept, and whether a teacher stays in charge of the feedback. Howay was built around those questions: student writing is processed only to return feedback to the teacher who uploaded it, it is stored on secure cloud infrastructure with encrypted transmission and restricted access, and a teacher reviews everything before it reaches a child or parent.

Is Howay GDPR compliant?

Howay operates under UK GDPR, and also reflects EU GDPR and the UAE Personal Data Protection Law for teachers in those regions. Student writing is processed for a single, clearly defined purpose — generating curriculum-aligned feedback — and is not used to identify individuals. Schools and teachers can request correction or deletion of personal data.

What is a child's writing used for?

Submitted writing is processed solely to generate educational feedback for the teacher who uploaded it. It is not used to identify individuals. Howay does not produce a numeric grade; it surfaces the curriculum standards a child has reached, with strengths and next steps, and the teacher decides what is shared.

Do children need their own accounts?

No. Howay is designed for use under the supervision of a teacher, and children do not create independent accounts. Student work is submitted by an authorised teacher, school, or parent — Howay does not knowingly collect personal information directly from children without appropriate authority.

Can a school have its data deleted?

Yes. Data is retained only for as long as necessary to provide the service, and schools may request deletion of student data at any time. Teachers and schools also have the right to ask for inaccurate data to be corrected.

Does the AI replace the teacher's judgement?

No. Every piece of feedback is editable by the teacher before it reaches a child or parent. Howay does the first pass — reading the work and drafting curriculum-aligned feedback — and the teacher validates, edits, or overrides it. The professional judgement stays with the teacher.