S1-S6 Class teachers and parents: talking to a chatbot — five observable signals, a three-step response, a one-page five-column referral flow and a 30-minute class-teacher lesson

• StageS1-S6
• SubjectClass teachers and parents
• Learning strandreflection on the application of AI
• Official documentsBlueprint for Digital Education Development in Primary and Secondary Schools · AI Literacy Learning Framework for Primary and Secondary Schools · EDBCM No. 156/2026
• Session timea 30-minute class-teacher lesson (can be split into two sessions of 30 minutes, 60 in total)

Telling "used a lot" apart from "used instead of people": five observable signals, a three-step response in a fixed order, a one-page five-column referral flow, a 30-minute class-teacher lesson and a page for parents.

• AudienceTeachers Parents
• ThemeResponsible AI use

• Equipmenttwo editable Word documents (the five signals, the three-step response, the one-page five-column referral flow and the lesson run sheet; and the one page for parents); the flow page copies on its own
• Version1.0
• Last updated2026-11-07

A pupil who uses it a lot is not the same as a pupil who uses it instead of people. What has to be told apart is whether the things they used to bring to someone have all moved to it. Five observable signals, a three-step response in a fixed order, and a one-page five-column referral flow — and the first step is not an explanation, it is listening.

What this solves

When a colleague meets this in a corridor, a classroom or a counselling room, the gap is rarely noticing. It is one of four things:

• Treating “uses it a lot” as the problem. Using it a lot is a quantity. The problem is substitution — the things a pupil used to bring to family, friends or a teacher now go only to it. Run the two together and a colleague becomes alarmed before seeing clearly, and the pupil can feel they have become the problem.
• Explaining first. “It isn’t a real person”, “it’s only a program” — all true, and as a first sentence what the pupil hears is that what they said does not matter. They stop talking, and the colleague loses the chance.
• Turning a limit into a reproach. “You shouldn’t rely on it so much” sounds like a judgement of a person rather than a statement about a tool. A limit is about three things the tool does, not about the pupil’s character.
• Not knowing when to refer. Wanting to help, and fearing to make a small thing big, so nothing moves until the situation is no longer only a conversation about school. Four categories need same-day referral; written as one column, the decision can be made on the spot.

This resource puts five things together: five observable signals (time, substitution, concealment, mood swings, withdrawal), a three-step response (listen without judging, state the limits, refer), a one-page five-column referral flow, a 30-minute class-teacher lesson (splittable into two sessions totalling 60 minutes), and a page for parents (three sentences and three things not to do). The attachments are two editable Word documents.

Three statements to read first:

1. The five signals, the three-step response, the five-column flow and the lesson plan are this resource’s suggestion, not an Education Bureau requirement. A school may adjust them — or keep them as they are, provided it writes down who makes the judgement in column four.
2. The five signals are not a scale. They are not scored, not levelled, not ranked, and must not be written as a screening tool or a questionnaire. They do one job: they let a colleague describe observed behaviour clearly, so that the counselling team or the school social worker can judge it through the school’s arrangements. A score in any cell means the page has stopped being what it is for.
3. This page makes no diagnosis. It uses no diagnostic names, and describes observable behaviour only. If a pupil may have an emotional or mental-health need, refer through the school’s existing arrangements; this page does not replace any professional assessment.

This page records associations it has observed, not causes. Some pupils use these tools heavily with nothing else going on; some pupils use them heavily under pressure. Both happening at once does not mean either one caused the other. The page does not claim that using AI causes emotional difficulty, and does not claim that not using it prevents any.

Three further things the page deliberately does not do: promise confidentiality (it states the exceptions instead); name any organisation, telephone number or service hours that has not been verified — only the categories (counselling team, school social worker, outside support services); and describe any specific tool, platform or sequence of steps.

Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils can:

1. Explain the difference between “uses it a lot” and “uses it instead of people”, with an example of each.
2. Name the five observable signals, and say that a signal is an observation — not a label and not a score.
3. Give the three-step response in its fixed order: listen without judging, state the limits, refer.
4. Name the four categories that need same-day referral, and who receives them in school.
5. Explain why “I won’t promise not to tell anyone” is said, and what the exceptions are.

The lesson is written around the three learning strands of AI literacy and addresses reflection on the application of AI and human-machine communication and collaboration; the three strands are the basic operation of AI, human-machine communication and collaboration, and reflection on the application of AI. It sits between empathy and critical thinking: empathy is listening first, and critical thinking is refusing to treat “uses it a lot” and “has a problem” as the same finding.

Teaching steps

The attachments are two Word documents: the five signals, the three-step response, the one-page five-column referral flow and the lesson run sheet, and the one page for parents. The flow page copies on its own and can be pinned up in the counselling room or the staff room. The lesson runs in the four segments below.

Session one: 30 minutes, four segments

Four things the lesson does not do: it does not ask pupils to describe their own use; it does not ask anyone to admit to relying on a tool; it holds no show of hands; and it records no names, classes or notes in any pupil’s record.

Split into two sessions, 60 minutes in total

• Session one (30 minutes): the opening case (5 min) + the five signals (10 min) + the order of the three steps and the practice (10 min) + close with one sentence to take away (5 min).
• Session two (30 minutes): role practice of the three-step response (15 min, rotating in pairs) + the one-page flow and the four categories (10 min) + close and the school contact (5 min).

A week between the two sessions is fine. Session two opens by re-reading the order of the three steps for two minutes, because the order is the one thing this lesson requires pupils to remember.

The three-step response, order fixed

The order is not reordered, merged or skipped. Each step has its own job, and moving any one of them forward undoes the other two.

Three notes:

• Why listening comes first. A limit stated before listening is heard as a rejection; a referral made before listening means the pupil does not speak next time. Listening is not agreeing, and it is not inaction — it is what gives the other two steps something to work with.
• Why the limits are three sentences, not a speech. They are about the tool, not the person. A pupil can accept “it won’t remember you”; “you shouldn’t talk to it” is much harder to accept. Three sentences and stop, because a fourth turns into an evaluation.
• Why the exception has to be stated. Not promising confidentiality is what gets a pupil in front of someone who can actually help. Say it concretely: “If you talk about hurting yourself, about being bullied, about someone asking you to do something, or about money or photos, I will speak to the counselling team, and I will tell you what I said.” That is more honest than “I won’t tell anyone”, and more useful.

Five signals: observable behaviour, not a level

Each signal has a column of observable behaviour and a column of what it does not mean. The right-hand column matters as much: without it, the left-hand one becomes a judgement.

Three rules for using the table:

• Write what was seen, not what is suspected. “Still using it late at night for three nights running” is an observation; “there must be something wrong with him” is not.
• No counting, no scoring, no ranking. The five signals are not a five-point scale; three of them does not mean “severe”. The number does not change the judgement in column four, which asks one question only: is this one of the four categories?
• One person observing is not one person judging. A class teacher can observe; the counselling team or the school social worker judges.

The one-page five-column referral flow

The page is worked left to right, the five columns filled in order, and no column is skipped. Column four answers “yes” or “no”, not a score.

Two lines at the foot of the flow must stay:

This flow is not a diagnosis and not a screening tool; column four is judged by the counselling team or the school social worker through the school’s arrangements.

The record carries the time, the action and the handover only. It does not copy what the pupil said, and it holds nothing beyond the minimum needed to act.

The page for parents: three sentences and three things not to do

The parent page prints single-sided; it can be handed out at a parent meeting, or given by the class teacher after a conversation. It has three sentences that can be said and three things best not done — six items, no more and no fewer.

Three sentences that can be said:

1. “Whatever you told it, you can tell me if you want to. And if you don’t want to, I’m still here.” — leave the door open without demanding an account.
2. “It doesn’t get tired, and it won’t remember you. When you’ve finished talking, it won’t be thinking about you.” — this is about the tool, not about your child.
3. “If there’s danger — if you want to hurt yourself, if someone is bullying you, if someone is asking you to do something, or if money or photos come into it — tell me straight away and I will tell the school. I won’t promise to keep it to myself.” — state the exception; do not promise confidentiality.

Three things best not done:

1. Do not go through the conversation history like an investigation. If you want to look, say in advance when you would (for safety), rather than looking at any time. Looking at any time buys you a more hidden place next time.
2. Do not take the device away as a punishment. It is the fastest step, and the fastest way to make sure your child says nothing next time.
3. Do not label. Not “you’re not normal”, not “you’re addicted”, not “there’s something wrong with you”. Talk about the behaviour, not the person.

The parent page closes with: these are three sentences that can be said, not three that must be said; on a day when they will not come out, sitting with your child for a while is also enough.

Answer key and marking notes

The lesson is not marked and has no levels. What follows are the acceptable answers for the three-step response, the five signals and the four categories, for the class teacher’s use in the lesson and the briefing.

Sorting the four descriptions:

1. “Still using it after eleven every night, and falling asleep in class the next day.” → time.
2. “Used to go to a classmate when unhappy; now goes only to it.” → substitution.
3. “Closes the screen when a family member comes near, and says nothing when asked.” → concealment.
4. “Uses it a lot, but friends, family and activities are all as they were, with no other signal.” → none of the five. This is the key item: the answer is “nothing to act on yet”, not “keep watching until it becomes a problem”. Using it a lot is not in itself the problem.

Ordering the three steps: the correct order is listen without judging → state the limits → refer. Acceptable explanations include: listening is what gives the later steps a subject; the limits are about the tool rather than the person; a referral needs a basis, which is why it comes last — but that does not delay the four categories, because a “yes” in column four means referral the same day.

The four same-day categories: self-harm, being bullied, being groomed, money or images. Anything outside the four is judged by the counselling team or the school social worker through the school’s arrangements; this page adds no fifth category and does not turn the four into a severity scale.

Checklist (the class teacher runs through it once before copying and using):

• □ The five signals are time, substitution, concealment, mood swings and withdrawal, each with both an observable-behaviour column and a “not the same as” column.
• □ Nothing turns the five signals into a score, a level, a scale or a screening tool.
• □ No diagnostic name appears anywhere.
• □ The three steps read listen without judging, state the limits, refer — not reordered, skipped or merged.
• □ Step two carries all three sentences: it does not get tired, it will not remember you, it mostly agrees with you.
• □ All four same-day categories are present — self-harm, being bullied, being groomed, money or images — with referral to the counselling team or the school social worker.
• □ Nothing promises confidentiality, and the exceptions are stated.
• □ The page records observed associations only, and never claims that using AI causes emotional difficulty.
• □ The five columns run observation, listening, limits, the four-category judgement, and who receives what is kept; column four answers yes or no only.
• □ No organisation name, telephone number or service hours appears — only the categories.
• □ No named tool, platform or sequence of steps appears.
• □ The fictional case is marked fictional, with no real school, person or class.
• □ The parent page has three sentences and three things not to do, six items in all, nothing added or removed.
• □ The lesson is one 30-minute session in four segments, splittable into two sessions of 30 minutes totalling 60.

The test: listen, then say three things about the tool, then hand the four categories on the same day. None of the three steps is difficult; the order is what is difficult — and once the order slips, the pupil does not speak next time.

Files

Talking to a chatbot: five signals, a three-step response, a one-page five-column referral flow and the lesson run sheet (editable Word document)

Six sections, each usable on its own: the five header facts (stage, subject, learning strand, official documents, lesson time), three things to read before starting, the five observable signals in two columns (no scoring), the three-step response as a three-column table in fixed order, the one-page five-column referral flow (copies on its own, to pin up in the counselling room or staff room), the 30-minute lesson in four segments with the 60-minute two-session split, and a one-page checklist. A school fills in the posts for the counselling team and the school social worker; the document has no field for a pupil’s name, class or number, and no space to copy what a pupil said.

One page for parents: three sentences and three things not to do (editable Word document)

Single-sided, for a parent meeting or to hand over after a conversation. Three sentences that can be said and three things best not done, six in all, closing with “on a day when they will not come out, sitting with your child for a while is also enough”. No space for describing an incident, no name field and no reply slip.

Both documents carry a version record line in the footer.

Official documents

Every resource in this library is written to the AI Literacy Learning Framework for Primary and Secondary Schools and falls within the policy scope of the Blueprint for Digital Education Development in Primary and Secondary Schools.

This resource maps to:

• Blueprint for Digital Education Development in Primary and Secondary Schools (three-fold leaflet, p.2): requires digital and AI education to be planned in the School Development Plan, with the arrangements explained to teachers, pupils and parents; writing down who takes over, and when, is part of explaining those arrangements.
• Supplement I: AI Literacy Learning Framework for Primary and Secondary Schools (p.1-4): sets out the three learning strands; this resource addresses reflection on the application of AI and human-machine communication and collaboration.
• EDBCM No. 156/2026 (as published): sets out the values and attitudes schools should attend to in using AI, including attention to student wellbeing, empathy and critical thinking; listening before judging, and the four same-day categories, are one way of meeting that in school — but the five signals, the order of the three steps, the five-column format and the lesson plan are this resource’s suggestion, not an Education Bureau requirement.

Learning strand: reflection on the application of AI

Official documents page: https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/applicable-to-primary-secondary/it-in-edu/debp.html

This page is an independent Beets teaching resource, not an official EDB document. The name, the five signals, the three-step response, the five-column flow and the lesson plan are this resource’s suggestion; a school may adjust them, and none of it should be presented as an Education Bureau requirement. The five signals are not a scale and not a screening tool, and this page makes no diagnosis and uses no diagnostic names; if a pupil may have an emotional or mental-health need, refer through the school’s existing arrangements. The page records observed associations only and claims no cause; it does not promise confidentiality and states the exceptions; and it names no organisation, telephone number or service hours.

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