AI action plan for schools: progress or misplaced priorities?

Kirsty Treherne, Education Lead at iAM Compliant and former headteacher, questions whether the UK government’s recent AI action plan reflects the most urgent needs in schools. She explores the potential benefits of AI in education, alongside the risks and regulatory concerns, and argues that investment should first focus on addressing funding shortfalls, staff shortages, and SEND provision.

Last month, the government announced its AI action plan, including a £1m investment in 16 private edtech companies to develop AI tools for schools. With nearly half of teachers already using AI to help manage their workload, this investment aims to take things further.

The government claims AI will guarantee "every child and young person, regardless of their background, can achieve at school" while allowing teachers to "focus on what they do best: teaching."

While AI offers exciting possibilities, this article explores whether it is the most urgent priority for schools facing critical funding shortages. A BBC report warns that by 2025, school costs are set to outstrip funding, potentially leaving many institutions in financial distress despite investment from October’s budget. The additional funding for SEND students equates to just 1% more per pupil in 2025 - an amount many teachers say falls far short of what is needed.

Moreover, AI investment in education comes with no guarantees. Research shows that 80% of AI projects fail, and even when they succeed, integrating AI into schools presents significant risks and uncertainties. The pressing question remains: are the government’s funding priorities truly addressing the most urgent challenges in education? AI could bring significant benefits, but it won’t solve staff shortages, inadequate funding for SEND support, or the growing strain on school infrastructure.

In this article, we’ll examine the ongoing funding crisis in schools and how AI can be both a powerful tool and a potential risk if not implemented with careful regulation and foresight.

Potential benefits of AI in schools

There’s no doubt that AI has a lot of potential in education, enhancing students’ learning and improving teachers’ processes. Even before the coming investment, we’ve seen how these tools are enhancing a whole host of areas. One of the most promising applications of AI is in formative assessment and feedback. Research has shown that high-quality feedback significantly boosts student performance, but teachers often struggle with the time-consuming nature of marking. These tools can cut the time spent on formative assessment by up to 50%, allowing teachers to spend more time teaching and engaging with students directly.

Aside from marking, platforms such as Canva Magic Studio, Claude and MagicSchool allow teachers to quickly create interactive lessons and instructional materials. We’ve seen AI successfully used for lesson and curriculum planning, administrative tasks, and creation of lesson activities. AI can also be used to create more inclusive lessons, with tools like text-to-speech software, speech recognition, and visual recognition helping students with special educational needs access previously inaccessible material.

Additionally, AI’s ability to personalize learning helps keep students engaged by tailoring content to their individual learning needs and progress. However, this doesn’t mean teachers should rely on it to create entire lessons from start to finish. Instead, we’ve learned that it can be used to support and speed up the everyday processes that keep many teachers working far beyond the hours they’re paid for. By automating time-consuming tasks, teachers can dedicate more time to classroom instruction and student support. It’s just important to always maintain teacher oversight and judgment.

The issues surrounding AI in education and the need for regulation

However, whilst AI offers a lot of promise, we cannot ignore its risks. The government itself acknowledges that there is “limited evidence on AI’s use in education on learners’ development, the relationship of AI use and educational outcomes, and the safety implications of children”. They urge schools to take great care to consider “possible impacts on learning, the importance of the teacher-learner relationship, and the risks of bias and misinformation.” This raises serious concerns, as children are, in effect, becoming test subjects for technology whose long-term effects on young, developing minds remain largely unknown.

Indeed, the impact on children’s learning and development is a growing cause for concern. One teacher, interviewed by the New York Times, described students becoming overly reliant on AI for brainstorming and writing, warning that they are "losing the ability to think critically and to overcome frustration with tasks that don’t come easily." There is also of course the issue of academic misconduct. AI makes it far easier for students to cheat by generating essays or solving complex problems, and one study by Forbes found that 90% of students are already using ChatGPT to help them complete homework assignments. For this reason, it’s integral that schools implement software to detect plagiarism and strategies to preserve students’ problem-solving skills.

Another troubling idea is the potential reduction in human interaction. If AI tools gradually replace traditional teaching methods, there is certainly a risk that teacher-student relationships could suffer. Social and emotional learning is a vital part of education, and over-reliance on AI could hinder students’ interpersonal development. This being said, there is also the argument that AI, in taking administrative tasks off teachers’ hands, frees them up to spend more time engaging with students. The key is for teachers to see it as a way to enhance their teaching, rather than replace traditional methods, using AI responsibly while recognizing its limitations.

Funding issues and the more pressing challenges schools face

As promising as AI may be, we must ask ourselves whether it is the most urgent investment schools need right now. The reality is that schools are facing a funding crisis that threatens their ability to provide even the most basic educational services. Research from the School Cuts coalition shows that 76% of primary schools and 94% of secondary schools will not be able to afford their costs next year. The Institute for Fiscal Studies warns that school costs will outpace funding by 2025-26, leaving many institutions struggling to cover staff pay rises and essential support for children with special educational needs.

The government has proposed a 2.8% increase in school funding for 2025-26, but with costs expected to rise by 3.6%, schools will be left facing an impossible budget gap. This will force many schools to make further cuts, which will inevitably impact teacher retention, classroom resources, and student support services. Already, one in seven schools are operating in deficit, the highest rate in over a decade. Without immediate intervention, this situation will only worsen.

The government has called on schools to make “efficiencies,” but as National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede points out, “most schools have no capacity to make savings without cutting educational provision.” If funding does not keep up with rising costs, we risk larger class sizes, reduced staff numbers, and fewer resources for students - all of which have a direct and detrimental impact on learning.
In this context, the decision to invest in AI rather than addressing chronic funding shortfalls raises serious concerns. AI may have the potential to transform education in the future, but right now, teachers are crying out for more funding to cover basic needs. Schools need investment in staff, SEND support, and classroom resources far more urgently than experimental AI projects. If we are to truly improve education, we must make sure that AI investment does not come at the expense of the fundamental support that schools and students desperately need today.

In summary

AI undoubtedly has the potential to improve education in various ways, making learning more personalized and reducing administrative burdens for teachers. However, it is not a cure-all solution; schools are facing a financial crisis, with many struggling to afford even basic necessities. Investing in AI while schools are forced to cut staff and resources raises serious questions about priorities. If we truly want to improve education, we must direct funding where it is needed most - supporting teachers, students, and the fundamental infrastructure of our schools. AI may be part of the future, but right now, schools need solutions that address their most immediate and pressing challenges.