Responsibility for AI in education should be stripped from the Department for Education and temporarily handed to a “rapid response unit” run by an external expert, a new report has argued. The review also recommended that Ofsted judge schools on their AI strategy and downgrade those with a weak approach. A report by historian and educator Anthony Seldon and founding partner of Balderton Capital Tim Bunting for Public First argues that England is “trying to educate for an AI-less world that no longer exists”, and that its response to growing technologies has fallen behind on an international scale. Polling of more than 4,000 young people aged 11 to 24 years old found that 87 per cent of respondents have used an AI tool. Amongst secondary school pupils, 63 per cent said they have used AI for homework and 77 per cent said they have used it to understand something they are stuck on. However, less than one in ten respondents said schools and universities were preparing them for the future very well, while two-thirds believe it is their responsibility to teach them to use the tools effectively. Response unit needed The report argued prime minister Andy Burnham should establish a “rapid response unit on AI inside the Department for Education” to reverse the “desperate position” AI in education is currently in. Policy responsibilities should be temporarily shifted from 1 November and led by an outside expert, the report argues. Authors say the department’s current priorities – including vocational education reform, teacher recruitment and halving the attainment gap – are “all for naught without an appreciation of how AI changes the fundamentals of education”. This unit should put together an AI education adoption framework and a template for schools to use. AI strategies needed by September 2027 Thirty per cent of young people surveyed said their school has or had clear rules on AI use that they could explain to someone else – while 38 per cent said they were better at using the technology than their teacher. Recent polling by the Royal Society found only 14 per cent of teachers are confident in their AI literacy. The report said all schools should then set out how they will fulfil the framework through an AI strategy, approved by governors. This should be for implementation by September 2027. It also said each school should appoint both a staff member and pupil as an “AI champion”. These strategies would be judged by Ofsted during inspections to ensure schools “demonstrate a commitment to innovation”. Those that do not have a strong strategy would be downgraded. “In particular, Ofsted should look for innovative data collection, open data sharing, a desire to learn and work in networks to continuously learn. The adoption of AI in schools will need to be a continuous process,” the report said. Test ‘human competencies’ Authors argued that exams in schools should be reformed to ensure that “human competencies AI cannot replicate” are assessed. This should be through a “two-lane” assessment model, consisting of high-stakes exams and AI-supported assessment throughout school and beyond. “Over time, this continuous picture of a student’s understanding, built up over months rather than captured in a single exam, can reduce over-reliance on terminal, end-of-course assessment whilst keeping the system rigorous and trusted”. ‘Transform’ data collection The report also argued that ministers should “transform” data usage and collection to “advance pupil progress and education standards”, including data that schools “have found relevant to predicting success”. This could be through a federated data model which keeps anonymised data for settings, but allows data to be moved as pupils move through their career. Authors say education providers could learn from private data companies or external specialists for this. ‘Unparalleled opportunity’ Seldon said: “Despite warnings, education has always been Britain’s Cinderella sector when it comes to technology, and with AI we are repeating the mistake at even greater speed and scale. “AI could offer an unparalleled category of opportunity for learning, tackling economic and social disadvantage, supporting SEND pupils, and nourishing the independent-minded and curious. But schools, colleges and universities have not been readied for AI’s arrival.” DfE guidance on the use of AI in schools says the technology can be used to help write letters to parents, give feedback to pupils and come up with ideas for lessons. The DfE has been approached for comment.