AI CSAM Report 2025-26

This academic year the scope of what I’m asked to talk about in schools has changed significantly. Most of the focus in primary, secondary and college settings has shifted to AI for things like risks and harms, and I think this is good because although AI can and is being used for some amazing things, sadly the risks continue to escalate significantly. The modus operandi of offenders is changing, anything from scams, coercion/manipulation, blackmail, deepfakes and so much more. This area is moving faster than anything we’ve seen before, this includes students using AI to create deepfake videos of teachers.

A couple of weeks ago the Internet Watch Foundation released their new AI CSAM statistics for 2025-26 showing that AI CSAM is growing significantly, that it is increasingly extreme, and that realistic full motion video content is now commonplace. For AI CSAM videos alone the IWF quote a rise of 26,385% over previous statistics, with 65% being Cat A, the very worst.

This is important for us all to understand, commonly these images/videos have been created from a completely innocent image online such as a portrait which is then re-purposed through an AI tool. In my work with the police this is something I see first-hand, a year ago an AI-generated illegal image was easy to spot, not anymore, and as I mention in the ‘for parents’ section below, privacy of information is an area which is growing and growing in importance not just for students, but for all of us.

Link: IWF CSAM Report 2025-26.

Digital Tools for Neurodiverse Learners

Definitely not my area of expertise, but these resources caught my attention and I thought they may be useful. Essentially they’re a set of resources/strategies to support pupils with additional needs such as ADHD, autism, auditory processing, dyscalculia and more.

Link: Digital tools to support neurodiverse learners.

AI Policy Toolkit

The number of schools using AI for different reasons is unsurprisingly increasing, but with new technology comes risk, so it is vitally important that there is a tailored policy which considers the school approach to the use of AI.

Putting a policy together is no easy task, but thankfully London Grid for Learning have some great information and resources available to help, which includes a ‘where to start’ infographic, a staff GenAI survey and an AI policy toolkit to ensure that safeguarding is central to your approach.

Link: LGfL AI Policy Toolkit.

Research – Betting on Boys: understanding gambling among adolescent boys.

This is an excellent piece of research from the US charity Common Sense Media, carried out with just over 1,000 boys ages 11-17, and given that most gambling starts off with the games that young people play it’s an important area for all of us to understand. 

The paper is quite large at 57 pages, but you will get most of the facts from the key findings at the beginning, for example:

• Thiry six percent of boys 11-17 have gambled in the past year.
• Online gaming is the most common context in which boys encounter gambling-like systems.
• Peer influence is strongly associated with whether boys gamble and how extensively they participate.

Link: Common Sense Research Report: Betting on Boys – understanding gambling among adolescent boys.

For Parents – Switched On to Privacy

Privacy of information online is an area which is growing and growing, but it can also feel overwhelming. The UK Information Commissioner has created a great new portal for parents and caregivers giving support and advice around online privacy with sections on explaining privacy to children, choosing privacy settings, advice on how to start a conversation, case studies and more. 

Link: Kids vs grown-ups: what we really share online. (this is the introduction blog post including a few short videos).
Link: Information Commissioner’s Office – Switched On to Privacy. (this is the portal).

For Parents – Roblox Kids and Roblox Select

Roblox have been making some big changes recently, and that now includes ‘age-gating’ so that children and young people get the experience according to their age. This means that there are now 3 types of Roblox accounts:

• Roblox Kids – for children 5-8 years.
• Roblox Select – for children 9-15 years.
• Roblox – for anyone 16+.

For any users that have not completed an age check, they will be put into the youngest users category and parents can update or correct a child’s age through a linked account. The link below will take you to a simplified breakdown of the different accounts.

Link: What are Roblox Kids and Roblox Select?