UK Department for Education Plans AI Training, Support for Schools

Recent initiatives in education are increasingly focused on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance teaching and learning across multiple levels. The U.S.-funded Shark AI curriculum introduces AI concepts to Florida middle school students through paleontology, providing teachers with professional development and hands-on fossil materials to build STEM skills. Higher education students are independently using AI as a study partner for creativity and efficiency, but they seek more faculty guidance and reasonable usage policies to balance benefits and risks. In the UK, the Department for Education plans to release training and guidance for schools on managing AI use and risks while funding research on AI's role in education and administration. Individual schools like Chamlian Armenian School are proactively embedding AI through leadership-driven strategies, teacher training, and student workshops focused on responsible and creative AI use. Meanwhile, the Education Endowment Foundation in the UK is conducting a trial of an AI lesson planning assistant to evaluate whether it can reduce teacher workload without compromising lesson quality, aiming to build evidence for effective AI use in classrooms.