Teachers share AI experiments that ease everyday workloads

Finding time to test new technology is difficult when lessons still need planning. A South West school partnership is giving teachers a way to try artificial intelligence together and share what helps.

The Digital Skills and AI Hub has expanded from 80 staff to 600 teachers and leaders, according to programme partner Teachmate. Its latest phase includes training on checking tools’ safety and protecting pupils’ data.

An earlier trial brought staff into nine working groups, testing practical uses such as lesson preparation, feedback and administration. A new government case study reports that, by week four, most staff in the workload group were saving more than two hours a week.

Those are reported savings from small trials, with results varying between settings. The hub’s own report describes inaccurate outputs, licensing barriers and experienced teachers who found little benefit.

Giving teachers time to learn and compare notes helped some spend less of their week on routine preparation, while keeping professional judgement in charge.

Sources

• Teachmate — the expanded school partnership
• Department for Education — Digital skills and AI hub case study
• Digital Skills and AI Hub — phase two impact report, pages 41–50