Use of generative AI in Open Badge applications

The use of any generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is completely banned.

The purpose of Open Badges is to recognise genuine learning, reflection and improvement. This means the evidence you submit when you apply for one must be yours alone. You must not use any AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Grammarly’s AI features or similar platforms) to prepare, draft or improve applications for Open Badges. We will remove badges if we have reasonable grounds to suspect the submitted evidence is not entirely your own work.

This does not mean you cannot use AI tools to support your learning in other ways, and we fully support its use as a learning aid. However, it must not play any part in how you prepare or write work you submit for assessment.

What this means for you

All evidence you submit for a badge must be entirely your own work. It must reflect your personal experiences, learning and reflections in your own words. This means not using AI for any part of your badge application, including but not limited to the examples below.

• Planning what you are going to write
  Do not use AI to help you think about how you will answer the questions. Reflecting on what you have learned and how you will use this to improve your practice is an essential part of reflective learning. Asking AI to do this for you means you are not engaging with what the badge is asking you to do.
  
• Drafting, writing or rephrasing
  Do not use AI to write, rewrite, or polish your sentences for clarity or language improvement. If you do, the evidence you submit will not authentically show your knowledge and understanding of the learning activity.
  
• Spelling and grammar
  Do not use AI-powered tools (beyond a basic, non-AI spell-checker) to correct or improve your text. This can sometimes change the meaning of your original words and sentences.
  
• Structuring or thinking
  Do not use AI to organise your thoughts, identify gaps or suggest content. Being able to do this yourself without help from AI is an important part of the reflective writing process.
  
• Suggesting additions or changes
  Do not use AI to review what you have written against the criteria for the badge. While this may seem like a good idea, AI is unaware of the context of the service you work in and your own strengths and weaknesses. It can lead you to focus on irrelevant or trivial points. You should always ask a real person you work with (for example, a manager, supervisor, mentor or tutor) to review your work instead.

Previously we allowed limited use of AI for support with spelling, grammar and structure where this was declared. However, the ‘Declaring your use of AI’ and ‘Acceptable uses of AI’ sections of our previous rules are now void and do not apply to applications submitted after 14 November 2025.

If you feel you need help

We understand people sometimes feel under pressure to achieve badges and it can be tempting to turn to AI to make this easier. If you are in this situation, please be assured our badges are voluntary and you are under no obligation to apply for them. But if you do wish to apply, and you are worried about writing your evidence, we have designed our badges in a way that helps people of all abilities.

We do not assess spelling, punctuation or grammar when reviewing your application. This means your application will never be returned to you because of a typo or a grammatical error. Our assessors are only interested in making sure the work you submit meets the badge criteria. So long as your reflections are clear enough for us to understand, that is all that is required.

You are also welcome to submit your evidence in a variety of formats like audio or video if you prefer these to writing. You just need to provide a link to your evidence in the ‘alternative format’ option on our application form. All badges support this.

If you ever get stuck and need help to prepare your evidence for a badge, we allow and encourage you to speak to your manager, supervisor, mentor, tutor or a more experienced colleague. They should be able to check over what you have written or offer advice on what to write based on their knowledge both of your practice and of the service you work in.

Consequences of using AI

Submitting work that is AI-supported or not entirely your own harms the integrity of our efforts to recognise genuine learning and may also breach the Code of Practice for Social Service Workers.

• Violation of trust
  Submitting AI-assisted work as your own violates the trust placed in you by the SSSC, your colleagues and the individuals who rely on you. This could contravene Code 2.1, which requires social service workers to ‘be truthful, open, honest and trustworthy’.
  
• Lack of genuine professional development
  The purpose of a badge is to engage in a learning process. Using AI to generate evidence means you may fail to meet Code 5.6, which emphasises the importance of maintaining ‘continuous professional learning to improve my knowledge and skills’.
  
• Misrepresentation of abilities
  Presenting AI-generated or AI-polished work as your own misrepresents your capabilities and knowledge, potentially putting at risk the quality of care you can provide. This may go against Code 5.1, which requires meeting ‘relevant standards of practice and work in a lawful, safe and effective way’.

Any badge application suspected to contain AI-generated content can be permanently revoked and serious or repeated violations can lead to a complaint being made about you to the SSSC Fitness to Practise department.

For more information

These rules are in place to protect the reputation of our badges and make sure people who invest time and effort into achieving them are not disadvantaged by others who do not.

We are constantly reviewing these rules based on emerging technologies and how AI is being used in social services. In the future, we hope to offer our own AI solutions to safely help people with their applications for badges.

If you have any questions about our position on the use of AI or what constitutes use of AI, please get in touch with us at digitallearning@sssc.uk.com