Key Takeaways
- Somerset Council is trialling artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up the creation of special educational needs reports for children.
- The AI will assist with drafting basic Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), aiming to reduce lengthy waiting times.
- Human staff will still make all final decisions, with AI handling background administrative tasks.
- While there are concerns about data privacy, the hope is that this will free up staff for more direct family support.
Somerset Council is looking into using artificial intelligence to help cut down the long waits families face for children’s special educational needs reports.
The council hopes to follow other authorities in England by using AI to support and quicken daily administrative tasks. This initiative is in its “very early stages,” according to Councillor Heather Shearer, the Liberal Democrat lead for children, families, and education.
The AI tool is intended to help write the first draft of Education, Health and Care Plans, commonly known as EHCPs, for vulnerable children. Shearer emphasized that AI would only be used for these basic reports.
“We will be using this with consideration and care,” Shearer commented. “We need to ensure our work is always excellent quality and done in a timely manner, so we can spend more time helping parents and children.”
She added that “staff make decisions and people make decisions but if AI can help do the background tasks for these reports, it could be beneficial.”
The Somerset Parent Carers Forum voiced some initial concerns regarding the sharing of sensitive data. However, they are willing to observe the trial’s effectiveness, as reported by BBC News.
Ruth Hobbs, chief executive of the Somerset Parent Carer Forum, mentioned that many local areas are already using AI to help draft EHCP reports. “There’s benefits but also concerns with dealing with data with vulnerable children,” she said.
Hobbs also pointed out that a significant portion of a caseworker’s time is spent writing reports. “If it means spending more time face-to-face with children and parents then that has to be a good thing,” she added.
Somerset Council has stated its keen interest in hearing feedback from everyone involved in this AI trial.
