Image source: Lauren Hurley, No 10 Downing Street, Open Government Licence v3.0
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the Government expects a big increase in the use of AI in schools as part of a modernisation of the education sector in England.
She was speaking the Bett Show yesterday, where she announced a raft of measures aimed at transforming the way that schools engage with technology at every stage.
This will include using AI to reduce teachers’ workload in order to help overcome the crisis in recruitment and retention.
“Each great moment of technological change throughout history came with fears for an unfamiliar future,” Phillipson said. “But I know AI can be a radical, modernising force for change, a force for good in the lives of working people and I am so excited for what it means for education.”
Safe tools framework
This was accompanied by an announcement by the Department for Education (DfE) that leading global tech firms have committed to making AI tools for education safer by design. Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Amazon Web Services are amongst the firms that have helped develop a set of expectations that AI tools should meet to be considered safe for classroom use.
They have agreed to a new AI Product Safety Expectations in Education framework, published by DfE, which sets out technical safeguards, including prioritising child centred design and enhanced filtering of harmful content. The department said it represents the most detailed set of safety expectations for AI in education anywhere in the world.
In addition, there will be a new package of training and guidance for teachers and leaders to help them to unlock the time-saving benefits of AI – so they can spend more time lessons for pupils. The resources will be developed by the Chiltern Learning Trust with the Chartered College of Teaching and are expected to be ready in the spring of this year.
These will be complemented by the work of a new EdTech Evidence Board. A pilot will be delivered by the Chartered College of Teaching to explore how to effectively build evidence of AI products that work well.
This is aimed at helping schools to feel confident that they are choosing products that work well for them and for their classrooms.
BCS perspective
The commitment to AI has won approval from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, but with a note of caution.
Its managing director for education and public benefit, Julia Adamson, said: “Teachers see the opportunity AI presents to transform their work and the lives of their students, from saving time on lesson plans, to personalising learning for each young person. But they need better training and guidance to grow in confidence with AI, to make sure it is used fairly and reduces disadvantage in the education system.”
Teachers will also be trained in the effective use of assistive technology to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
DfE said that evidence shows that using readily available, low cost technology – such as dictation tools or text to speech software – is a key part of high quality teaching for SEND pupils. But only 13% of teachers received training on accessibility features between 2021-23.
It cited a pilot of assistive technology training in mainstream schools that found benefits to users, teachers and the wider class. Over eight out of 10 of teachers and school staff surveyed said their students’ independence, confidence and engagement improved, with six out of 10 seeing improved attainment.
Better buying
Phillipson also told the conference about a new service to help schools save time and money in procuring technology.
Named Plan Technology for Your School, it has been designed to help them prioritise where to invest in tech, based on a personalised assessment of their needs. It is focused on essential technology that ensures they are compliant with digital standards as the foundation to begin harnessing the full potential of technology.
DfE is also further developing the DfE Connect service, bringing together services and information from the department into one place.
This is currently supporting leaders and administrators in mainstream pre-16 academies tackle their standard mandatory finance tasks and source funding information. The department said there are now plans to add more users and further features to help users navigate other support.
