Faculty AI and expert education organisations to lead programme to put safe, impactful AI in the classroom

Faculty are joined by highly-qualified partners from across the sector – including ImpactEd Group, Open Education AI, and AI in Education – to design, build and test the flagship AI programme.

Seeking to remove barriers to educational opportunities, the Content Store aims to improve the learning experience for pupils and save teachers time; demonstrating how safely developed AI can improve public services. 

Incubated in the Department for Education, the programme will bring together selected educational material such as programmes of study, lesson plans and anonymised pupil assessments – to train AI tools that augment and support teachers in time consuming activities, creating more time to dedicate to their students.

To prioritise safety and the secure handling of student data during the Content Store’s development, Faculty has partnered with a specialist education law firm to establish strict safeguards to protect young people. This guarantees all educational data complies with relevant protection laws. 

By ensuring the materials generated for pupils and teachers by AI-based tools are safe, legally-compliant and evidence-based, the Content Store will build confidence in the use of AI across the education sector and set a standard for safely harnessing data to empower public services. 

As well as data, the Content Store will depend on the trust, experience and input of the wider education sector. Throughout development, Faculty, ImpactEd Group, Open Education AI, and AI in Education will continue close collaboration to build the Content Store’s technical infrastructure while engaging directly with key stakeholders: schools, colleges and other educational settings; EdTech companies, awarding organisations and content providers; and above all teachers, parents and students. By building national AI infrastructure hand in hand with the education sector, the programme will stay grounded in the goals of reducing teachers’ workload, improving students’ outcomes and breaking down the barriers to educational opportunity.

Minister for AI and Digital Government Feryal Clark said:

“AI could give teachers the freedom to focus on what truly matters: crafting engaging and inspiring lessons without the pressure of endless paperwork. 

“We are delighted to work with a British AI company, Faculty, in delivering this world-first pilot project. Our work will create tools that teachers can use to save time on marking homework and other admin, so their efforts can be focused on helping students directly.

“This is the first of many projects that will explore how we can put the data we hold to work to improve public services and grow the economy.” 

Tom Nixon, Managing Director, Faculty said:

“This programme demonstrates how AI has the potential to redefine public services, making them more efficient and accessible while levelling the playing field for startups and tech innovators. I’m excited to see how the new government will harness these technologies to drive innovation, reduce barriers, and ensure that everyone, from small businesses to public institutions, benefits from this transformative approach.”

Minister for Early Education Stephen Morgan said:

“We are determined to break down the barriers to opportunity to ensure every child can get the best possible education – and that includes access to the best tech innovations for all. Artificial intelligence, when made safe and reliable, represents an exciting opportunity to give our schools leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life. 

“Today’s world-leading announcement marks a huge step forward for AI in the classroom. This investment will allow us to safely harness the power of tech to make it work for our hard-working teachers, easing the pressures and workload burdens we know are facing the profession and freeing up time, allowing them to focus on face-to-face teaching.”

Sir Anthony Seldon, Founder, AI in Education said:

“Artificial Intelligence has the potential to revolutionise education in ways not seen since the invention of the printing press, with far-reaching implications for addressing social inequalities. AI in Education are delighted to collaborate with sector stakeholders on this groundbreaking Content Store project which we believe will benefit all learners, especially the most vulnerable.”

Elin de Zoete, Group Director, ImpactEd Group added:

“As schools and teachers explore the huge potential in AI to augment practice and save time, ImpactEd Group is excited to bring the voices and expertise of education leaders into the co-design of this ambitious project. By rooting the Content Store in the needs of the sector, we will catalyse AI tool innovation that will drive outcomes for the profession and for young people.”   

Matt Woodruff, CEO, Open Education AI  added:

“At Open Education AI, we believe that by focusing on interoperability and standards for data, analytics, and AI, schools can free up resources for teaching and learning while fostering growth and innovation in the EdTech ecosystem. We are thrilled that The Content Store project not only offers opportunities for continued innovation but also incorporates the valuable perspectives and needs of key sector stakeholders.”

About Faculty

Faculty, headquartered in London, transforms organisational performance through safe, impactful and human-led AI. We have over 10 years experience helping customers reap AI’s benefits whilst managing the risks. Founded in 2014 with a training programme to help academics become data scientists, we now provide over 300 global customers with software, bespoke AI consultancy, and an award winning Fellowship programme. Our expert team includes leaders from across government, academia and global tech brands. We have raised over £40m from investors including The Apax Digital Fund, LocalGlobe, GMG Ventures LP, and Jaan Tallinn, one of Skype’s founding engineers.

About ImpactEd Group

ImpactEd Group supports education and purpose-driven organisations to maximise their potential, increasing impact and operational sustainability. ImpactEd Group is made up of ImpactEd Consulting and its specialist practices, ImpactEd Evaluation, ImpactEd Philanthropy and ImpactEd Data and AI.

About Open Education AI

Open Education AI is a social enterprise with a vision to improve education outcomes for young people through data, analytics and AI. Founded with partner MATs including United Learning, Dixons, Greenwood and Ark, its open-source data lake architecture now serves hundreds of schools across England. Its mission to increase capacity and capability across the sector is delivered through community events, formal collaboration, hackathons and by adopting open source.

About AI in Education

AI in Education is an independent, cross-sector body that brings together senior and experienced figures who have worked in both the state and independent sectors. AI in Education aims to ensure that AI will maximise the interests of all involved in education, students, teachers, support staff, parents, governors and the wider community. It wants to do so by ensuring that AI enhances human intelligence and experience and does so in a way that above all is to the benefit of the most vulnerable – including those with the least means, additional learning needs and those from diverse backgrounds.