The UK Government has unveiled a £4m investment in a new generative AI initiative aimed at easing teacher workloads.
The project will aggregate government documents, including curriculum guidelines, lesson plans, and anonymised pupil assessments, to train AI systems.
The primary goal is to develop AI tools that assist teachers with marking, creating classroom materials, and managing routine administrative tasks. This will allow educators to concentrate more on direct student interaction and reduce their out-of-hours work.
Despite nearly half of teachers already using AI tools, a survey by TeacherTapp reveals that these systems are not yet tailored to the specific teaching documents used in England.
To address this, the initiative will offer a share of an additional £1m to AI companies that develop tools for feedback and marking.
This initiative marks the UK’s first government-approved content store designed to optimise educational material for AI development. It aims to build on the creation of safe, legally compliant, and evidence-based tools that meet the needs of teachers.
Chris Goodall, a teacher and Head of Digital Education in the Bourne Education Trust, said: “AI has been a hugely powerful tool for me and my colleagues at the Bourne Education Trust. It allows us to create engaging, personalised learning experiences for our students while also significantly reducing the time taken to create them.
“Personally, I’ve used AI to quickly generate scaffolded activities, adapt materials for students with special educational needs, and create more engaging lessons that are accessible to all. The time saved allows school staff to focus on what matters most, interacting with students and providing individualised feedback and support.”
Science secretary Peter Kyle said: “This is the first in a series of initiatives that will transform our use of public sector data. By responsibly utilising this information, we aim to cut waiting lists, reduce backlogs, and enhance outcomes for citizens across the nation.”
