Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott introduced the policy following an open letter from more than 150 clinicians raising alarms over the developmental and physical impacts of excessive screen time. The strategy involves redirecting £900 million currently designated for educational technology into a £250 million dedicated textbook fund. Meanwhile, the Department for Education maintained that schools currently control their own tech spending and indicated that official screen-use guidance is already scheduled for release in the new year.
Key points
The plan redirects £900 million from educational technology budgets to create a £250 mill…: The plan redirects £900 million from educational technology budgets to create a £250 million physical textbook fund.
Digital exams and coursework would be curtailed to actively restrict students from relyin…: Digital exams and coursework would be curtailed to actively restrict students from relying on artificial intelligence tools.
The Department for Education is already preparing comprehensive screen-use guidance for p…: The Department for Education is already preparing comprehensive screen-use guidance for pupils aged five to 18.
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The Conservatives have promised to halt screen-based exams and cut coursework in a bid to limit the use of AI by schoolchildren in England if the party returns to power.
The party has also pledged to develop new guidelines so that laptops and tablets are not the "default in classrooms".
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott cited recent warnings from clinicians that excessive screen time could be damaging children's health, adding that "everything in schools must be safe for children and improve standards".
The government is currently developing new screen-time guidance for children and has previously said it would consult on the safety of AI in schools.
The vast majority of school exams in the UK are pen and paper based. Under the previous government led by Sir Keir Starmer, exam regulator Ofqual launched a consultation last year, external on the introduction of on-screen exams.
But it emphasised that pen and paper would "remain central" and that the most widely taken subjects would not be moving to digital assessments for the "foreseeable future".
Federal prosecutors are pushing for a severe prison term, describing the targeted hit on a Sikh separatist leader as a brazen cross-border scheme. The defense is seeking leniency by citing a probation department recommendation and arguing the defendant was manipulated by promises to clear existing legal troubles. The impending court decision will establish how severely the American justice system penalizes foreign-directed assassination plots coordinated on domestic soil.
Committee members are mobilizing behind Kentucky's KC Crosbie following severe election setbacks, mounting a direct confrontation against sitting leadership. The escalating internal dispute has prompted the administration to threaten fundraising cuts amid widespread calls for financial audits. This contest tests the administration's broader influence over party operations ahead of a decisive winter vote.
An affidavit filed in response to petitions concerning large-scale voter deletions in Maharashtra and Delhi relieves affected citizens from fears of penal action. The poll body acknowledged that inadvertent exclusions can happen during efforts to clean computerized voter rolls. Excluded electors are now permitted to submit re-enrollment paperwork without facing legal repercussions, provided they maintain no active registrations elsewhere.