AI coming to a classroom near you!

A new AI-powered tool is being trialled in Powys classrooms, and could usher in a new personalised reading support experience and improve literacy outcomes, the county council has said.

Developed through a collaborative effort between Powys County Council’s Education and Digital Services, the Reading Assessment and Text Transformation Tool is a digital resource designed to empower teachers and support pupils in their reading progression.

The initiative highlights the council’s commitment to using technology to enhance education and demonstrates how cross-service collaboration can lead to impactful, real-world improvements for learners in Powys.

Since summer 2025, the services have worked together to create a bilingual tool that enables teachers to quickly assess pupils’ reading ages and instantly adapt texts to suit individual learner needs.

With functionality in both English and Welsh, the tool is currently being trialled in four Powys schools: Archdeacon Griffiths CiW School, Gwernyfed High School, Newtown High School, and Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd.

A wider rollout is planned for November 2025.

Cllr James Gibson-Watt, Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys, said: “This is a fantastic example of how innovation and collaboration can directly benefit our learners. By harnessing AI responsibly, we’re giving teachers powerful tools to tailor support and improve outcomes for every pupil. It’s about making education more inclusive, more efficient, and more effective.”

Cllr Raiff Devlin, Cabinet Member for Customers, Digital and Community Services, added: “Digital transformation isn’t just about technology – it’s about people. This project shows how our digital services can work hand-in-hand with education to create meaningful change. We’re proud to be leading the way in using AI to support our communities and improve lives.”

The tool is designed to:

• Save teachers time by streamlining reading age assessments.
• Support adaptive teaching by modifying texts to match learners’ reading levels.
• Promote equity by ensuring all pupils can access curriculum content.
• Encourage independent learning through personalised reading materials.