Teachers will receive mandatory training on using assistive artificial intelligence (AI) technology to support children with special educational needs and disabilities, the education secretary announced today.
In a speech outlining what the government has dubbed an “AI revolution”, Bridget Phillipson said the sessions will form part of national training for all new teachers from 2025, as a way to increase participation, confidence and engagement in school children.
The education secretary also revealed that Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Abode will jointly commit to making AI tools for education safer by design, via a detailed set of safety expectations.
Speaking at the BETT Show, Phillipson said her “vision for the future” was a “system in which each and every child gets a top class education, backed by evidence based tech and nurtured by inspiring teachers”.
“A system in which teachers are set free by AI and other technologies, less marking, less planning, less form filling.
“A system in which their drive, their energy, their passion, is fully focused on delivering change for children.”
AI ‘won’t be enough on its own’
Last week, the Department for Education (DfE) revealed the 16 winners of a £1 million DfE grant to develop AI tools to support marking and generating feedback. Each firm received on average £50,000 with some receiving up to £91,000.
According to the Department for Education (DFE), only 13 per cent of teachers received training on accessibility features between 2021 and 2023.
It comes after a trial by the National Foundation for Educational Research for the Education Endowment Foundation found teachers who use ChatGPT alongside a guide on using it effectively can reduce lesson planning time by 31 per cent.
Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), welcomed the potential benefits of AI in the classroom, but said more needed to be done on teacher’s pay.
“We agree with the secretary of state that AI can help to reduce teacher workloads and that this should in turn help to address the recruitment and retention crisis – but this will not be enough on its own.
“As things stand many schools and colleges face the prospect of having to make further cuts to their budgets next year – something which may also make it difficult to invest in new technology.”
1. Training for all new teachers from 2025
The DfE said “all new teachers will be trained on the effective use of assistive technology to support children with special educational needs and disabilities”.
Phillipson told the conference the training sessions – which have been designed by the DfE – would “become part of national training for all new teachers in 2025”.
She said that for many children, education technology “isn’t just nice to have”, but “fundamental” to children’s learning.
“It’s not about finding superficial shortcuts at the expense of genuine learning. It’s about using tech in ways that really work for children.”
2. Microsoft and Google back AI safety policy
The DfE has announced a new “AI Product Safety Expectations in Education framework” – backed by Microsoft, Google, Adobe and Amazon Web Services.
The framework sets out technical safeguards, including on child-centred design and enhanced filtering of harmful content.
In addition, a new package of training and guidance for teachers will be developed by the Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching to help them with the new tools, anticipated to be ready by this spring.
The DfE will also update its policy position on AI, giving schools and colleges clarity on how to use it in the classroom.
3. New attendance data summaries available
The education secretary also announced every secondary school, academy trust and local authority in the country can now view, download and share a new attendance data summary.
One in five children are persistently absent from school, she said, and wants the data help “turn the tide of absences”. The government started collecting daily attendance data directly from school registers in 2022.
“Our absence epidemic signals a crisis of belonging,” said Phillipson. “Far too many children feel that they simply don’t belong in school. So it goes back to that precious relationship between teachers and students.”
4. School tech purchase platform
A new service, “Plan Technology for Your School”, will help schools prioritise where to invest in tech to help reduce the digital divide between pupils.
It will focus on essential technology that ensures schools are compliant with digital standards.
Last year, researchers at the University of Liverpool, Loughborough University, and the digital inclusion charity the Good Things Foundation found half of UK families with children lacked the online skills or access to devices, data and broadband required to participate in today’s digital society.
5. A new ‘Ed Tech Evidence Board’
A new “Edtech Evidence Board” will be delivered by the Chartered College of Teaching to explore how teachers can effectively choose AI products that work well for them and their classrooms.
A revised Conservative policy, it’s not known how much this will cost government, nor were details shared.
But according to a tender document previously issued, we can expect the evidence board to be made up of a “project team to facilitate the running of an edtech evidence board of experts”, who will “quality assure evidence of edtech product efficacy against set criteria”.
The plan would help schools and colleges know which products are “grounded in evidence”.
6. ‘More users and further features’ on DfE Connect
While streamlining marking and feedback for teachers using AI is key, the DfE has created an “evolving digital service” to help school departments navigate finance tasks.
DfE Connect, which is already up and running for pre-16 academies, is a “a one stop shop for leaders and administrators” to manage finance tasks and funding information.
The DfE said that, “in the future we’ll be adding more users and further features to help service users navigate other support on offer that helps them achieve better value for money across their school budgets”.
Schools Week understands the service will eventually be rolled out to all state schools.
