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Teachers across England can now use artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline administrative burdens, including marking and drafting communications to parents, according to new government guidance.
The Department for Education (DfE) aims for the technology to “help automate routine tasks,” thereby allowing educators to dedicate more “quality face-to-face time” with pupils.
Training materials, exclusively seen by the BBC, instruct teachers to use AI for “low-stakes” marking, such as quizzes and homework, and for generating “routine” letters, like those informing parents about a head lice outbreak.
A critical caveat accompanies this permission: teachers must always be transparent about their AI use and rigorously check its output for accuracy, as AI can produce “made-up quotes, facts [and] information.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson hailed the guidance as a means to “cut workloads,” enabling teachers to focus on “inspiring teaching and personalised support.” This move follows previous DfE support for AI use in education, marking the first time formal training materials and explicit guidelines have been issued.
However, the guidance has met with both enthusiasm and caution from educational bodies. Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), welcomed the potential to ease heavy staff workloads, which could aid recruitment and retention. Yet, he highlighted “big issues,” including the significant financial pressures on schools to invest in the necessary AI infrastructure.
Julia Adamson of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, called it an “important step forward” but requested further clarity on how teachers should ethically disclose AI use to parents without creating “additional pressures.” Secondary school leader Emma Darcy underscored a “moral responsibility” for teachers to engage with AI given pupils’ existing use, but cautioned about risks like data breaches and potential marking errors.
The DfE’s guidance also mandates clear school policies on AI use for both staff and students, advocating for manual checks as the primary method to detect AI-assisted cheating.
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