UK Department for Education Issues AI Guidance to Streamline Teacher Marking, Administration

The UK Department for Education (DfE) has issued new guidance allowing teachers in England to use artificial intelligence (AI) to automate routine administrative tasks such as low-stakes marking, generating quizzes, and drafting routine letters to parents. This initiative aims to reduce teachers' workloads, enabling them to spend more quality face-to-face time with pupils and enhance personalized support. The guidance stresses that teachers must remain transparent about AI use, rigorously check AI-generated outputs for accuracy, and protect personal data to mitigate risks like misinformation and data breaches. Educational leaders and unions have welcomed the move, recognizing its potential to ease staff burdens and support recruitment, though concerns remain about the financial costs of AI infrastructure and ethical disclosure practices. Developed with input from education experts, the guidance emphasizes that AI should support, not replace, teacher-led learning and calls for approved AI tools only. The government views this as a key step in leveraging technology to improve educational outcomes and equity across schools.