AI Guidance

The Department for Education has launched a package of measures to transform how schools use AI, including the first ever AI guidance setting out how schools can safely and effectively use AI to transform the classroom experience for students.

A recent survey showed 43% of teachers rate their AI confidence at just 3/10, with over 60% asking for help applying AI to planning and support tasks. Nearly all teachers wanted safety guidance and additional training.

Developed in partnership with education experts from the Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching, it sets out clear principles for AI use, with education standards and child safety at the fore. It makes clear that AI should be used to ensure learning remains teacher-led and that teachers should verify accuracy and protect personal data.

An additional £1 million of Contracts for Innovation funding will accelerate development of pioneering AI tools to help with marking and generating detailed, tailored feedback for individual students. Building on the successful AI Tools for Education programme announced last August, this investment will take the tools from the design stage into teachers’ hands.

Government investment in future testing and research is vital as staff need reliable sources of evaluation – supported with evidence – on the benefits, limitations and risks of AI tools and their potential uses.

As part of this innovation drive, schools and colleges are being invited to become ‘test beds’ for evaluating promising EdTech products, creating an evidence base for technologies that genuinely improve both teaching quality and pupil outcomes.