Education Secretary gives keynote speech at Education World Forum

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson's speech on the use of EdTech to improve opportunity in education at the Education World Forum.

"Hello everyone, and thank you all for being here.

It's wonderful to see everyone together in the same place – the biggest gathering of education ministers anywhere in the world!

And what a fitting location. Just next door is the Methodist Central Hall, where almost 80 years ago the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time.

And we also sit in the shadow of Westminster Abbey, a place which marks the memories of so many inspirational figures, men and women who still light up our classrooms centuries on.

Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, and Charles Darwin are all buried there.

Jane Austen and the three Brontë sisters each have a plaque – next to the statue of William Shakespeare.

And close by lies the grave of Charles Dickens, whose stories I grew up reading, whose characters I loved.

Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Pip and his great expectations.

The abandoned children of Victorian London, held back, time and again, by the tough luck of a bad start.

I was always drawn to Dickens because he was never afraid to confront social injustice.

The daily, grinding poverty that kept opportunity out of the reach of millions.

There's been plenty of progress since those darker days.

And thankfully, London looks very different today.

But much of the inequality, the injustice remains.

Opportunity still lies beyond the grasp of too many people – here in this country and around the world too.

We have so far to go on our journey to cut the link between background and success.

That's our job as education leaders, to give not just some children but all children the opportunity to succeed, regardless of background, to make that old dream new again for each generation.

There are well over a hundred countries and territories represented here today. Well over a hundred different education systems. Well over a hundred different sets of challenges.

But we can come together around one common cause. Opportunity.

That's what education is all about. Opportunity for all children – to learn, to discover, to go on and live a good life.

So that every child knows, deep down in their bones, that success belongs to them.

That's my mission for the children of this country, it's the mission of our government. Because background shouldn't mean destiny.

But the barriers we face are huge – here in the UK and across the globe.

250 million children still out of school around the world.

70% of children in low- and middle-income countries unable to read at the end of their basic education.

A pandemic that saw schools all over the world close their gates, classrooms empty, playgrounds silent, a global generation of children falling behind.

Challenges of this scale demand the fresh solutions of the future, not the stale systems of the past.

We must squeeze every last drop of value out of every last pound of funding.

And technology will lead the way.

The opportunities of EdTech are huge. It's a wave of innovation that can lift the learning of billions.

But to be clear about what technology can do, first we need to be clear what it cannot do.

It can't replace great teachers.

They are the heart, they are the soul of every school.

That was true 500 years ago. It'll be true in 500 more.

Education is a deeply human gift, given by one generation to the next.

Opportunity passed from one generation to the next.

But EdTech can take that gift and make it stronger, spread it further, share it with more children.

It can be the radical force that brings the very best education into every city, every town, every village, every school, every classroom in the world.

It can help us to reach learners who might otherwise be left out – because they have a disability, their parents are poor, they don't speak a certain language, or simply because they're a girl.

EdTech can help us tear down those barriers.

Here in this country, we're using it to free up teachers time to spend more time teaching.

For children that means more attention, higher standards, better life chances.

For teachers – less paperwork, lower stress, fewer drains on their valuable time. 

My department is continuing to support Oak National Academy, an online hub of resources for teachers, whose AI lesson assistant is helping teachers to plan personalised lessons in minutes.

Making the most of teacher time is one of the challenges we all face.

Another is attendance – getting children back in the classroom, especially since covid.

Our response is rooted in our world-class data, where schools can use an interactive dashboard to drive early intervention.

And it's working. We've lost 3 million fewer days to absence this year than last.

And now we're using AI to go further and faster.

Just last week we launched a brand new AI-powered tool, which we think is amongst the first of its kind in the world.

Every mainstream school in the country can access reports right now to benchmark their attendance against 20 similar schools.

They highlight what schools are doing well, and where they need targeted intervention and support.

That's the kind of cutting-edge insight schools need to get attendance moving.

But, despite its huge power, we know that AI isn't a magic wand.

EdTech can light up the next century of education – and I believe it will – but there are no guarantees.

So getting AI on the right track now is the most important challenge for global education in a generation.

And we have far to go to deliver the scale of progress that I know is possible.

Our evidence-base is too narrow, too shallow, too concentrated in certain parts of the world, too focused on certain parts of the system.

More research is needed; better research is needed.

On impact.

On value.

On sustainability.

And on safety.

We need to come together to grow a global, collective consensus – a suite of effective tools, built on top-class evidence.

That's how, together, we can make sure EdTech and AI deliver the very best learning for children.

And on this the UK will lead the way.

This government's EdTech hub – led by our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – brings together research and policy organisations working to bridge the EdTech evidence gap.

The Hub is here to support and empower government leaders, giving you the evidence that you need to roll out and scale up EdTech effectively and responsibly.

The Hub is leading, and the UK is funding, the AI Observatory and Action Lab – supporting leaders in low- and middle-income countries to use AI in education.

And we are continuing the change here at home with our new Content Store Project.

We're pooling a vast range of high-quality content – from curriculum guidance to teaching resources, from lessons plans to anonymised pupil work.

And we're making it available to AI companies to train their tools – so that they can generate top quality content for use in our classrooms.

And we're putting AI to work in a way that's most useful for teachers, and most beneficial for students.

But now we want to go further, to share our expertise, to work with our partners around the world to grow that collective consensus.

So I am delighted to announce today that we are funding the development of global guidelines for generative AI in education.

Working closely with partners at the OECD, we are shaping the global consensus on how generative AI can be deployed safely and effectively to boost education around the world.

But everyone here today will know that guidelines are only ever as good as their implementation.

Because what really matters is firm action in our classrooms, not abstract promises on a page.

That's why today I can announce that the UK will host an international summit on generative AI in education in 2026.

Education leaders from around the world will come together to implement these guidelines – for the benefit of our children, young people and learners the world over.

And we'll continue to build the evidence base at home too.

So I'm pleased to announce today that my department is investing more than a million pounds to test the Edtech we're using in schools and colleges.

Working with the Open Innovation Team, we'll be engaging the sector to understand what works.

We'll look at how tools, including AI, can improve things like staff workload, pupil outcomes and inclusivity.

Evidence must be at the heart of all we do, on EdTech and right across education.

Here in the UK, we're lucky to have the Education Endowment Foundation.

The Foundation is at the forefront of research on how children learn.

And my officials work hand in hand with their experts to make sure all our policies and programmes are driven by the very best evidence.

We need to be at the top of our game.

We've spoken about the challenges specific to education, but there are wider global challenges, that spill into our schools and colleges.

Growing economic uncertainty, shifting labour markets, the flood of disinformation around social media.

These are shared challenges that demand shared solutions.

Solutions powered by technology, backed by evidence.

But collaboration is key. We can't do this alone.

Learning from each other, sharing evidence, sharing data.

The UK is here to convene, to accelerate and to celebrate all that is best in global education.

And in the coming months we'll publish our refreshed International Education Strategy.

At its heart will be collaboration.

Building partnerships that are meaningful, partnerships that matter, partnerships that, above all else, make a difference in the lives of the people we serve.

That's what sets apart those men and women whom we remember in Westminster Abbey. They made a difference in people's lives.

The scientists and engineers, the poets and playwrights, the doctors and nurses.

Most of their deeds were done and dusted centuries ago. But their legacy lives on.

EdTech is now bringing the wonders of the Abbey to a whole new generation of children.

From the Anglo-Saxons to the Tudors, from the majesty of coronations to the drudgery of everyday medieval life.

Abbey experts run virtual classrooms and virtual tours for schools unable to visit in person – so that every child can learn about this building which has been at the heart of our national life for a thousand years.

So that no child has to miss out.

That's what EdTech is all about, what education is all about, opportunity for all of our children.

Because let's not forget, this is for them.

For every child, for every young person, for every adult around the world who deserves the opportunity to learn.

That's why we have to get this right.

That's why so many of you have come here today from so far away.

And that's why I am so thankful that you have.

Because together I know that we can make a difference.

So it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Education World Forum 2025.

And I look forward to working together with you as we build stronger, bolder, better education together."