UK Government unveils AI-powered plan to modernise education and support teachers
The UK Government has unveiled a new plan to integrate artificial intelligence into schools across the country to reduce teacher workloads and enhance students' educational experience.
According to the announcement, the initiative will provide schools access to AI technologies to assist teachers with various tasks, including marking homework, planning lessons, and managing administrative duties.
The plan is part of a broader effort to modernise education and ensure that teachers have the resources to deliver quality instruction.
“AI has the potential to transform education by taking over repetitive tasks, allowing teachers to dedicate more time to teaching and supporting students,” said Minister for Early Education Stephen Morgan in a post on X (formally Twitter).
The Role of AI in Education
A key element of the initiative is the development of a new content store, backed by £3 million, which will be a first-of-its-kind approach to processing government data for AI. This content store will pool government documents, including curriculum guidance, lesson plans, and anonymised pupil assessments. AI companies will use these resources to train their tools, enabling the generation of accurate, high-quality content, such as tailored lesson plans and workbooks, that can be reliably used in schools.
The initiative also includes a partnership with the Open University, which is sharing learning resources as part of the project. This collaboration is expected to enrich the content store and provide AI models with the targeted data needed to improve accuracy.
Department for Education tests, published today, show that providing generative AI models with such data can increase accuracy to 92%, up from 67% when no targeted data was provided.
Morgan highlighted the significance of this investment, noting, “We are determined to break down the barriers to opportunity to ensure every child can get the best possible education – and that includes access to the best tech innovations for all.
“Artificial Intelligence, when made safe and reliable, represents an exciting opportunity to give our schools' leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life.”
Easing the Administrative Burden on Teachers
One of the initiative's primary goals is to reduce the administrative burden on teachers, who often spend significant time on tasks such as marking and lesson planning. The government believes that by automating these processes, AI can free up time for teachers to focus on more critical aspects of their work, such as student engagement and personalised instruction.
Science Secretary Peter Kyle commented on the initiative, stating:
“We know teachers work tirelessly to go above and beyond for their students. By making AI work for them, this project aims to ease admin burdens and help them deliver creative and inspiring lessons every day while reducing time pressures they face.”
The content store targets technology companies specialising in education to help them build tools that will assist teachers in marking work, creating teaching materials, and managing routine school administration.
Teaching standards, guidelines, and lesson plans will form a new optimised content store that will train generative AI to make it more reliable for teachers in England.
Ensuring Trustworthy AI
A central component of the government's plan is ensuring that the AI tools used in schools are trustworthy and secure. The initiative will involve rigorous testing and oversight to ensure that the AI systems are reliable and respect teachers' and students' privacy and autonomy.
“This is the first of many projects that will transform how we see and use public sector data,” said Kyle.
“We will put the information we hold to work, using it in a safe and responsible way to reduce waiting lists, cut backlogs, and improve outcomes for citizens across the country.”
The government has pledged to work closely with educators, technology experts, and other stakeholders to develop AI tools that are transparent and accountable.
Preparing Students for a Technology-Driven Future
The government also sees the plan as a way to prepare students for a future where AI and other advanced technologies will play a central role. By familiarising students with AI tools in the classroom, they want to equip them with the skills and knowledge they will need to thrive in a technology-driven world.
As Morgan noted, “Today’s world-leading announcement marks a huge step forward for AI in the classroom. This investment will allow us to safely harness the power of tech to make it work for our hard-working teachers, easing the pressures and workload burdens we know are facing the profession and freeing up time, allowing them to focus on face-to-face teaching.”
