The CEO of one of the East Midlands’ biggest Multi-Academy Trusts has said that implementing AI in schools could be a “game-changer” for teachers, students and parents.
Sian Hampton, CEO at Archway Learning Trust, which operates 10 academies across Nottingham, Derby and Derbyshire, says the Trust has already started to introduce elements of the technology into day-to-day activities in a bid to improve efficiencies and to continue to ensure the quality of education across its schools is as high as possible.
The main areas AI can be implemented in schools at the moment is in administrative work, such as meeting transcriptions, as well as creating lesson plans, which can be a real time-eater for staff.
It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced Labour’s AI Opportunities Action Plan which aims to implement AI in a number of public services including healthcare and education.
Sian said:
“We’re always looking for ways the Trust can improve the learning experience for our students, all while managing the workload of our staff.
“If implemented correctly, AI could be a real game-changer in the education sector, especially for subjects where there’s a lot of heavy marking and essays that need to be read through. Implementing AI would save admin time, giving teaching staff more time to focus on excellent marking practices.
“Finding ways to effectively implement AI tools into this process means staff can then spend time more effectively in other areas, which ultimately benefits both teachers and their students equally.”
While Sian believes the increased use of AI across all industries is not something the education sector can ignore, the former History teacher stressed the vital importance of adequate training for senior management and teachers in how to both safely and effectively use the technology.
She added:
“We’re still in the very early stages of exploring and understanding how AI can be best used to support our work and while there are many possibilities, we’re also aware of the potential risks.
“Government support or intervention outlining how such tools can be safely and uniformly implemented would be highly beneficial, especially for smaller Trusts which do not have the expertise or capacity to explore the software alone.”
Archway Learning Trust is a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) with 10 academies across Nottingham, Derby and Derbyshire. It is Nottingham’s biggest MAT, educating one third of Nottingham’s children.
https://www.archwaytrust.co.uk/