'Huge step' for AI at school as tech firms supported to develop tools for teachers

Tech companies are being urged to create better artificial intelligence tools for reducing teachers' workloads, as ministers announced they would give AI models special access to the Department for Education's bank of resources.

- Richard Adams

Stephen Morgan, the education minister, said the move was "a huge step forward for AI in the classroom," with the government spending £3m to create a “content bank" of official assessments, curriculum guidance and teaching materials.

While many teachers say they already use AI to assist them, current AI tools are not trained on material specifically designed or approved for use in England's classrooms.

The new content bank will allow developers to train their AI models to generate "accurate, high-quality content" such as workbooks and lesson plans, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

A further £1m will be awarded to developers in a competition for the best ideas to use the DfE's database in reducing teacher workload. Each winner will build an AI tool to help teachers with feedback and marking tasks by March 2025.