The UK government has recently announced its latest project that will incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to help teachers in marking assignments and planning lessons. This initiative is said to ease administrative burdens and help teachers deliver creative and inspiring lessons every day, whilst reducing the time pressures they face. The project, which is funded by a £4 million government investment, will pool government documents such as curriculum guidance, lesson plans, and anonymised pupil assessments. These documents will then be used by AI companies to train their tools, so they generate accurate, high-quality content such as tailored, creative lesson plans and workbooks. The target audience is technology companies specialising in education, which will build tools that help teachers mark assignments and plan lessons while also assisting with routine school admin.
The content store is also backed by a £3m investment and includes a partnership with the Open University for sharing learning resources. The aim of this venture is to ensure that every child can get the best possible education by offering access to the best tech innovations. To encourage AI companies to make use of the datastore, the government will award a share of an additional £1m to those who bring forward the best ideas to put the data into practice in a way that reduces teacher workload. Each winner will build an AI tool to help teachers specifically with feedback and marking, with applications opening on 9th September.
According to a survey from TeacherTapp, almost half of teachers are already using AI to help with their work, but current AI tools are not specifically trained on the documents setting out how teaching should work in England. This is where the content store comes in as it offers easy access to high quality, evidence-based, and legally compliant education materials, developed with input from educators. It supports effective teaching practices and fosters collaboration and innovation.
Chris Goodall, a teacher and head of digital education in the Bourne Education Trust, first used AI when he was teaching business in November 2022. He now supports teachers across over 26 primary, secondary and specialist schools in the Trust to enhance their lessons and cut down the time they need to spend on admin by using AI. Goodall believes that AI, when implemented responsibly and ethically, can support and empower teachers to create more dynamic, personalised learning experiences for students.
In conclusion, this initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to transform how we see and use public sector data. By putting the information they hold to work and using it safely, they aim to reduce waiting lists, cut backlogs, and improve outcomes for citizens across the country.
