AI Tutoring Tools Pioneers Programme
The UK government selected Flint to help shape AI tutoring for England's schools
More than 650,000 teachers and students already use Flint in hundreds of schools. Now the Department for Education and the Incubator for AI (i.AI) have chosen Flint as one of eight Pioneers to design safe, classroom-ready AI tutoring. Since September, teachers and pupils in four schools have used Flint in their lessons as we've worked hand in hand to shape Flint around them.
October 2026
A programme run by
- Pioneers selected nationally
- 8
- Pioneers selected nationally
- disadvantaged pupils in Years 9 and 10 the tools could reach
- 450,000
- disadvantaged pupils in Years 9 and 10 the tools could reach
- partner schools improving Flint with us this year
- 4
- partner schools improving Flint with us this year
- when the programme ends
- March 2027
- when the programme ends
Flint is already in hundreds of schools
Flint is a personalised learning platform for schools. Teachers use Flint to create lesson materials and to build AI activities for pupils to complete. Every pupil gets a personal guide in Sparky, Flint's AI tutor, which works from the teacher's own lessons and helps as much or as little as the teacher decides. Teachers and school leaders set the rules and can read every conversation.
What the programme is
The DfE and i.AI run the programme so that schools can use AI tutoring that is safe, high quality and effective. The tools work from lesson content, so pupils can work through hard ideas at their own level, and teachers can see what each pupil understood and where the gaps are. If the tools work, they could reach up to 450,000 pupils on free school meals in Years 9 and 10.
- 1
Co-design with schools
Each Pioneer works with partner schools to improve the product it already has, so the tools fit UK classrooms and teaching practices.
- 2
Pilot new requirements
Pioneers test how AI tutoring can follow the national curriculum and how insights about pupils can be shared without compromising their privacy.
- 3
Share what we learn
Findings go to government and the wider sector. The DfE will publish key insights in a Reading Room on its AI Content Store, so every school and supplier can use them.
Making Flint better with teachers and pupils
The programme doesn't start from a prototype. Since September, teachers and pupils at four schools have used Flint, the same platform other schools use today, in real lessons. They tell us what works and what doesn't, and we change Flint in response, so every school using Flint gets the improvements. What we learn also goes to the government, to build the evidence for how AI tutoring should work in schools across England.
The programme asks for three things: tools must be safe, must fit the national curriculum and the realities of the classroom, and must show clearly how they help disadvantaged pupils.
Why schools choose Flint
An AI tutor that works for the whole school
Many AI tutors for UK schools are built around a bank of exam questions, a single subject, or homework alone. Flint starts from what your teachers teach.
Built from your lessons, not a question bank
Teachers upload their schemes of work, resources and sources, and Sparky works from them. Pupils get help with what their own teacher taught, in the way it was taught, in class or at home.
Reception to Year 13, in every subject
Flint uses UK year groups and has presets for the National Curriculum programmes of study and the DfE's GCSE subject content for 33 subjects. A trust can use one platform from primary to sixth form.
Pupils explain, debate and question
Pupils question one of Elizabeth I's privy councillors, play a backbench MP at Prime Minister's Questions, or get feedback on an essay draft. Sparky keeps asking until a pupil can explain the idea in their own words.
Your school writes the safety rules
Sparky checks every pupil message, and you can add up to 20 categories of your own in plain English. Alerts go to the staff you choose, such as your DSL, and self-harm alerts are always sent straight away. Pupils can't delete their conversations.
Pupil data stays in London
UK schools use a separate service at uk.flintk12.com. Pupil data is stored in London, AI conversations run in the EU, and pupil work is never used to train AI models. Our sub-processor list names every provider.
One platform for staff and pupils
Teachers get 80+ tools for lesson plans, quizzes and resources. Leaders see how AI is used by subject and teacher, and trust leaders see every school. Pupils learn to use AI as a tool, not a crutch.
See what the Pioneer schools are using
Flint is free for up to 80 staff and pupils. Staff and pupils sign in with their school Google or Microsoft accounts, and class lists sync from SIMS or Bromcom.