An AI lesson planning tool established by Oak National Academy has helped primary teachers reduce the time they spent planning lessons by a quarter (24%), without compromising their quality, according to the findings from a trial published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

Teachers using the tool, called Aila, spent an average of two and a half hours a week planning lessons and preparing resources, compared with three hours and 19 minutes for those not using the tool. This equates to an average saving of around 49 minutes a week.

Teachers earlier in their career or with less confidence in their subject knowledge were more likely to find Aila useful and reduce lesson planning workload.

However, there were mixed views about the tool. While some found Aila accessible, aligned with the curriculum and useful when planning lessons on unfamiliar topics, others preferred to adapt existing lessons plans or use other tools.

This research is part of the EEF’s commitment to develop the evidence base on the use of AI in education. This includes a £2.5m research fund to explore how generative AI affects learning, including the phenomenon of cognitive off-loading.

In a post-trial survey, fewer than one in five teachers felt that using the tool meaningfully influenced their teaching and planning. This could reflect a range of factors, such as high levels of confidence in lesson planning at the start of the trial though.