True power of AI in the classroom is the potential to ease the burden
Recent research from The Access Group, which looked into how different sectors are already using AI, highlighted how most teachers (80%) believe that AI supports their work in alleviating admin tasks and freeing up their time for more meaningful student interactions - potentially cutting down their overtime by several hours each week.
This isn't a case of reinventing the wheel; new technology has the power to support and enhance existing workflows. Whether that's generating lesson plans, consolidating homework questions or coming up with creative classroom activities, there's endless opportunity.
And the use of AI for some of the simplest of tasks is having a transformative impact on the lives of teachers.
A tool, not a replacement
AI’s strength lies in augmenting teaching tasks. It’s in no way there to replace teacher judgement or their professional skill, but acts as a tool to help make their lives easier.
This is an important sentiment echoed by Kandis Watson, teaching and learning lead at Harton Academy, an Access GCSEPod customer.
“AI will never replace teaching. If it does, I wouldn’t have a job. Teaching still needs skill, personalisation and adapting to students.
“If we moved to a world that was solely run by AI we would lose a lot of skills - for both teachers and students.”
- Kandis Watson, Teaching and Learning Lead, Harton Academy
Head of Science at Walton High School’s Brooklands Campus, Diane Masson agrees that while AI is now a tool many teachers can’t do without, it couldn’t ever replace their expertise or ability to understand each individual student’s needs and preferred styles of learning.
At their school they have embraced using AI technology and have been trialling different tools cautiously - selectively piloting tools, aligning with robust AI policies and focusing on measurable value.
"We worry that overreliance on AI could lead to skill erosion and reinforce misconceptions if not used wisely.
"But we’re excited to try new things and are starting slow, testing what’s truly effective.
“We don’t see AI as a way to hand over professional responsibility. Rather, it’s about giving teachers back precious time that can then be spent on the things that truly matter - differentiating instruction to meet individual student needs, crafting clear explanations and maintaining a strong, dynamic presence in the classroom.”
- Diane Masson, Head of Science, Walton High School, Brooklands Campus
The practical uses of AI in the classroom
Harton Academy and Walton High School are among many schools across England using GCSEPod from The Access Group to help their students learn, revise and prepare for their exams, proving to help students achieve between 1 and 2 grades higher, on average.
In addition, teachers are using AI for lesson planning and creating homework tasks, ideation and planning for activities.
Kandis says AI helps her to create the ‘bare bones’ of a task or activity, and then she can build on it and adapt it for her students: “AI doesn’t give you enough for a full lesson, but it takes out the thinking element to allow you to be more creative and build on what it creates with your own expertise.
“Often it comes up with ideas and activities that I wouldn’t have thought of, and means I don’t get stuck doing the same things all the time with students. They enjoy the variety too and it keeps learning engaging for them.”
Diane Masson says she and her colleagues have found the AI lesson planner tool within GCSEPod the most useful. The feature generates suggestions for lesson starters, workshops and activities based on a specific topic that aligns with the curriculum.
They have also experimented with different AI tools to help with marking, especially when used for short, multiple-choice questions, but has proved more difficult for essay or assessment based schoolwork as AI struggles to account for inconsistencies.
“Using GCSEPod has been an invaluable resource for teachers at the start of their careers, or for those who have been using the same tactics for so long that they need some new ideas. It’s also useful for setting homework during holidays and targeted tasks for specific assessments or knowledge gaps identified for the students.
“We’ve trialled advanced generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to mark end-of-unit test papers and while AI was adept at identifying straightforward factual errors and handling lower-mark recall questions, it struggled significantly with the more nuanced aspects of marking. It can’t always pick up on a student’s reasoning, their special educational needs (SEN) such as dyslexia or ADHD and we’ve found it can miss the crux of an answer.”
Looking ahead: How AI helps teachers in the classroom
Ultimately, the goal for schools is not just to adopt AI, but to do so with intention, purpose, and a focus on what matters most: student learning and their results.
AI technology already has the potential to shift time-consuming burdens of a teacher, allowing them more time for deeper interactions and better feedback for students.
Once refined, it could really offer tailored tools to meet teaching needs and transform a teacher’s working week.
But true success depends on setting realistic expectations, defining clear boundaries and building staff confidence. It’s not about the number of tools deployed, but by how well those tools can be adopted and support teaching goals.
The way we see it, AI is not the end of traditional teaching, it is an enhancement for the profession. It’s being built for efficiency, leaving teachers to provide the human element of nuance, empathy and expertise, which technology could never replace.
