Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Feryal Clark and Bradley Thomas

Wednesday 25th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

4. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on AI in schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Feryal Clark)]

My Department is working closely with the Department for Education and Skills England to ensure that the education system is ready for the opportunities and the challenges that AI poses. We are assessing the AI skills gap and mapping pathways to address it. My officials have been working closely with the DFE on the education content store, for example, which is a pilot project that seeks to help developers to make better AI tools for teachers by providing a store of reliable and relevant UK data. Last week, the DFE produced guidance to support schools with the safe and effective use of AI in education.

[Bradley Thomas]

Will the Minister outline what steps are being taken to reduce academic dishonesty and plagiarism in schools resulting from the use of artificial intelligence tools?

[Feryal Clark]

AI has demonstrated that it can help the education workforce by reducing some of the administrative burdens and the hard work that teaching staff and school leaders face in their day-to-day role. On the hon. Gentleman’s question, evidence is still emerging on the benefits and risks of pupils and students using generative AI. We will continue to work with the education sector on use cases to develop our understanding of how to use AI safely and effectively. As I have said, the Department has issued guidance to teachers on how to identify and best use AI in schools.