Dr Cat Scutt MBE, Deputy Chief Executive, Chartered College of Teaching, UK In Spring 2019, the Chartered College of Teaching published a special issue of Impact focused on EdTech, funded by the Department for Education (DfE). In the six years since then, EdTech use in schools has changed almost beyond recognition: firstly, due to the […]
HANNAH OWEN, CLASS TEACHER, RIVERSIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL; PHD RESEARCHER, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, UK My first experience of using artificial intelligence (AI) almost crept up on me. I was aware of some of the AI tools available, particularly ChatGPT, but had yet to try them out. Yet one morning, as I was preparing a spelling activity for […]
HELEN POET, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, NFER, UK KATHERINE ASTON, RESEARCH MANAGER, NFER, UK Introduction Since the release of various generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models for public use, there has been great interest in its potential use in education. By August last year, 57 per cent of teachers reported using at least one form of AI tool to help […]
CRAIG LOMAS, SENIOR LECTURER IN EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF GREATER MANCHESTER, UK PROFESSOR GEOFF BAKER, CEO, TRUE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP AND EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF GREATER MANCHESTER, UK Introduction There has been an exponential increase in the number of pupils diagnosed with autism spectrum condition (ASC) in schools in England since 2020, with 70 per cent of […]
MARK LESWELL, RESEARCH LEAD, SWALE ACADEMIES TRUST, UK This article examines how AI tutoring could address the educational attainment gap for socio-economically disadvantaged students. Recent studies suggest that AI tutoring can deliver significant learning gains, while overcoming the scaling limitations of traditional one-to-one tutoring. While implementation challenges exist, the technology shows promise as a cost-effective tool […]
SAM LOVATT, SENIOR LECTURER IN PRIMARY EDUCATION, ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY, UK Children and young people are surrounded by technology, with many of them (nine out of 10) owning a smartphone by the time they attend secondary school (Woodhouse and Lalic, 2024). A recent report from Ofcom (2024) found that 96 per cent of children between the […]
ANNA CHATWIN, DEPUTY HEAD OF TEACHING, LEARNING & INNOVATION AND TEACHER OF HISTORY & POLITICS, BERKHAMSTED SCHOOL, UK The rapid advancement of generative AI presents educators with a pressing question: how can artificial intelligence (AI) be harnessed to foster inclusive and adaptive teaching practices? Research by Mollick and Mollick (2023) provides a tangible framework for upskilling […]
JANE WAITE, RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION, CAMBRIDGE AND RASPBERRY PI COMPUTING EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, UK Introduction Resources related to AI and education are emerging, from international and country-specific policy guidance (e.g. Miao and Holmes, 2023; DfE, 2025), to suggested competency frameworks (e.g. Miao and Shiohira, 2024). When considering how AI technology may manifest in […]
REBECCA STOTT, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, TWINKL; NPQH; MA-ED, SEND & DIGITAL LEARNING, UK GEORGINA DURRANT, SEND AUTHOR, BLOOMSBURY; NATIONAL THOUGHT LEADER FOR INCLUSION, TWINKL, UK JONATHAN PARK, AI LEAD, TWINKL, UK Lost amid the noise of the election, the Department for Education updated its risk report in July to warn that the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) […]
Charlie Cutler, Director of Curriculum, United Learning, UK Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has the potential to fundamentally change education and substantially support teachers in teaching, and its use in education is growing. The proportion of teachers reporting using GenAI ‘to help with school work’ has grown from 35 per cent in August 2023 to 42 […]
DALE BASSETT, DIRECTOR OF ASSESSMENT, UNITED LEARNING, UK Assessment is integral to education, helping us to understand how students are progressing. Whether formal annual tests, exit-ticket quizzes or informal learning checks in the classroom, ‘traditional’ assessment isn’t going away – but it is hugely impacted by AI, both positively and negatively. United Learning’s ongoing development of […]
ROBERT CAUDWELL AND PAUL MALLABAND, CO-FOUNDERS, PENROSE EDUCATION, UK Introduction As is true in most professions, teachers are increasingly outsourcing elements of their work to AI (artificial intelligence) tooling. As AI capabilities continue to improve, it will become possible to increasingly rely on machines to do parts of our jobs for us. This has the potential […]
DR FIONA AUBREY-SMITH, FOUNDING DIRECTOR, ONE LIFE LEARNING, UK Educational organisations are increasingly deciding who will take responsibility for leadership around AI (artificial intelligence) in their context – with new roles and remits being evolved to lead this changing landscape. Yet each of those sharing their expertise or leadership is doing so through a particular […]
Introduction With the advancement of large language learning models (LLMs – AI tools such as ChatGPT), there are senses of optimism, potential and scepticism within the education world in equal amounts: optimism regarding its potential impact on reducing workload, a key factor in the recruitment and retention crisis (NFER, 2024); potential in its ability to […]
KAREN WESPIESER, TEACHER TAPP, UK Since 2020, Teacher Tapp has been checking how teachers are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools. In November 2024, we asked teachers: What AI-powered tools or technologies (if any) have you used or experimented with in your teaching practice? The data featured in this Teacher Tapp research has been gathered from our […]
ALASDAIR MONTEITH, HEAD OF GEOGRAPHY AND ADVANCED PRACTITIONER, GORDONSTOUN SCHOOL, UK We ran our first staff CPD session on using AI in April 2022 and have been encouraging staff to trial the use of LLMs (Large Language Models) ever since. The aim of our CPD sessions is to provide teachers with an understanding of what […]
Meena Kumari Wood, RESEARCHER, AUTHOR AND FORMER HMI (OFSTED), UK The potential impact of AI on students’ ‘soft skills’ A recent CIPD survey revealed that a third of 16–24-year-olds lack employability skills, including resilience, problem solving and communication skills (CIPD, 2024). Almost half of respondents felt that they were never taught these skills at school […]
HANNAH-BETH CLARK, MARGAUX DOWLAND, LAURA BENTON, REKA BUDAI, IBRAHIM KAAN KESKIN, EMMA SEARLE, MATTHEW GREGORY, MARK HODIERNE, WILLIAM GAYNE AND JOHN ROBERTS, OAK NATIONAL ACADEMY, UK Following the launch of GPT in 2022, the EdTech market has been flooded with artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support teachers with time-consuming tasks, such as lesson planning or […]
RENATE SAMSON, PROJECT LEAD (DATA AND DIGITAL SOCIETY), ADA LOVELACE INSTITUTE, UK In January 2025, the Nuffield Foundation and Ada Lovelace Institute published ‘A learning curve? A landscape review of AI in education in the UK’ (Samson and Pothong, 2025). The paper seeks to inform conversations around the use of EdTech and AI in UK schools. […]
MATT DAVIS, GLOBAL MANAGING DIRECTOR, ETIO, UK LEE NORTHERN, PRINCIPAL INSPECTIONS CONSULTANT, ETIO, UK School inspections, resource challenges and the potential of AI While the focus on generative AI (GenAI) in education and its potential has typically been on its use for school staff and pupils, its promise of bringing radical productivity benefits to complex tasks (Somers, […]
