Entry name: From Barriers to Breakthroughs: Embedding AI to Empower Adult Learners and Educators
Describe your entry, including why you should win this year
This entry recognises Aleks House, Deputy Head for Digital and Innovation in Adult, Community and ESOL education at one of the UK’s largest FE colleges. Her work focuses on making education more inclusive, responsive and empowering for adults who are often overlooked by digital strategy.
Aleks leads from both the front and the side. She works with teachers, learners and leaders to embed AI and digital tools into teaching and learning in a way that feels practical and human. Tools like Gemini, ChatGPT and NotebookLM aren’t used for the sake of it. They meet real needs, boosting confidence, improving access, and freeing up time to teach.
Learners are at the heart of every change. Some are Entry 1 ESOL students describing their dream homes and watching them appear as images. Others are preparing for resits and learning to ask Gemini for help instead of giving up. One learner said, “It didn’t just give me the answer-it told me how.” Another: “It’s like I have a teacher at home.” These are students who once felt stuck or afraid of failure. Now, they’re finding their voices.
The Voices That Care project brought those voices to life. Nine learners from across Adult and ESOL education stood up and shared their stories-many for the first time-in front of college leaders and their peers. They used AI to plan and practise their speeches, build confidence and express complex experiences in English. Aleks coached each of them, combining language support, digital tools and care. The result was a deeply moving event that left a lasting impact on everyone involved. One learner said, “I never thought anyone would listen to my story like that.”
Staff are supported, too. Aleks introduced NotebookLM to help teachers create learner profiles and plan lessons that meet individual needs. The system protects privacy and stays within GDPR rules while making personalisation possible. For a teacher returning from long-term illness, this meant they could focus on students rather than stress. “It’s a lifesaver,” they said. “I can focus on what really matters - teaching.”
One of Aleks’s standout achievements is the STEM 7 Challenge. This college-wide project brought STEM and AI skills into adult education using real-world themes and weekly challenges. It created energy, pride and practical skills, and has since shaped wider curriculum planning.
Aleks should win this award because she brings strategy, empathy and action together. She builds trust. She shares what works. And she leads with people, not platforms. In a time full of AI hype, her work is calm, ethical and deeply learner-centred.
This is digital transformation done right. Quietly powerful. Measurable. And full of care.
Describe the impact of your work within or beyond your institution, how it was developed, and what others could learn from your work
This work developed through listening, experimentation, and building trust. Aleks began by exploring how AI tools could meet the real needs of staff and adult learners-especially those least served by existing digital strategies. Rather than launching a top-down rollout, she worked alongside teachers and learners to test ideas, refine approaches, and grow confidence over time.
AI adoption was embedded within existing systems, with a strong focus on accessibility, safeguarding and staff readiness. NotebookLM was introduced through a GDPR-compliant model that prioritised teacher control and learner privacy. Projects like Voices That Care and the STEM 7 Challenge emerged through cross-team collaboration, creating space for staff to try new approaches and for learners to shape their own journeys.
The impact has extended beyond the department. Staff across the college are planning to adopt similar approaches to personalisation, CPD and learner voice. Aleks has shared her work through published articles in FE News and C-Learning and Google for Education networks-helping others adapt the work for their own contexts.
What makes this approach replicable is its balance of innovation and care. Others can see that change doesn’t have to start with a full strategy or perfect plan. It can begin with one small, human-centred experiment. By focusing on purpose, trust and inclusion, this work shows how AI can support-not replace-what matters most in education: relationships, agency and learning that lasts.
Describe the impact of your work internally and externally, on your students, colleagues and peers, how it was developed, and what others could learn from your work.
This work developed through listening, experimentation, and building trust. Aleks began by exploring how AI tools could meet the real needs of staff and adult learners-especially those least served by existing digital strategies. Rather than launching a top-down rollout, she worked alongside teachers and learners to test ideas, refine approaches, and grow confidence over time.
AI adoption was embedded within existing systems, with a strong focus on accessibility, safeguarding and staff readiness. NotebookLM was introduced through a GDPR-compliant model that prioritised teacher control and learner privacy. Projects like Voices That Care and the STEM 7 Challenge emerged through cross-team collaboration, creating space for staff to try new approaches and for learners to shape their own journeys.
The impact has extended beyond the department. Staff across the college are planning to adopt similar approaches to personalisation, CPD and learner voice. Aleks has shared her work through published articles in FE News and C-Learning and Google for Education networks-helping others adapt the work for their own contexts.
What makes this approach replicable is its balance of innovation and care. Others can see that change doesn’t have to start with a full strategy or perfect plan. It can begin with one small, human-centred experiment. By focusing on purpose, trust and inclusion, this work shows how AI can support-not replace-what matters most in education: relationships, agency and learning that lasts.
Please describe how your work is aligned with CMALT and FELT
At the heart of Alek's work is a commitment to thoughtful, responsible use of learning technology to support access, agency and inclusion-especially for adult learners with complex needs.
From a CMALT perspective, it demonstrates:
Operational understanding of AI and digital tools across multiple contexts, embedding them into ESOL, maths and community learning in practical, scalable ways;
Strong foundations in learning, teaching and assessment, with tools used to personalise instruction, reduce workload, and scaffold learner independence;
A firm grasp of the wider context, ensuring ethical use of AI within safeguarding, data protection and accessibility policies;
Leadership and communication, with collaborative CPD, coaching, and published sector-facing articles that share practice beyond the college.
Aligned with FELT, this work shows:
Awareness, with a reflective approach that surfaces unconscious bias and centres learners' needs, not tools;
Professionalism, through evidence-led practice and mentoring, ensuring legal compliance while modelling innovation responsibly;
A values-led culture, promoting equity, access and learner voice-especially evident in the Voices That Care project and co-created resources;
A strong sense of care and community, supporting colleagues, listening to learners, and openly sharing success and setbacks across the sector.
Alek’s work is about leading ethically, thinking critically, and building systems that others can trust-and learn from.
Give one example of your leadership making a real difference
One of the clearest examples of Aleks’s leadership making a real difference is the Voices That Care project.
Originally designed as a small confidence-building opportunity for ESOL and adult learners, it became a powerful event that changed how learners saw themselves-and how others saw them. Ten learners, some at Entry Level, many with limited formal education or complex personal histories, were supported to write and deliver speeches about their lives. Using AI tools to plan, revise and practise, they developed not just their English, but their courage and self-belief.
Aleks led every stage of the process. She coached the speakers individually, supported language development and digital skills, and worked with curriculum staff to create time, space and encouragement. She liaised with senior leaders and built a supportive audience of staff, students and invited guests. The learners stood up, spoke clearly, and moved the room. Several shared refugee journeys, challenges in education, and hopes for the future. One said, “I never thought my story mattered. Now I know it does.”
The impact was immediate and lasting. Staff described it as one of the most meaningful events they had ever attended. Several learners said it was life-changing. Leaders invited the speakers to future events and asked how learner voice could be embedded more widely.
This wasn’t just a presentation. It was a shift in culture. Aleks created the conditions-and the confidence-for learners to be heard. That’s leadership with lasting impact.
What approach do you take to creating good conditions for culture change?
Creating good conditions for culture change starts with listening. I begin by understanding where people are-what they’re proud of, what’s not working, and what feels possible. In adult and community education, staff often face heavy workloads, digital overwhelm and complex learner needs. I don’t push tools or strategy before there’s trust.
Instead, I start small and model what’s possible. I share examples, co-create resources, and invite people to experiment. I make space for hesitation and learning without judgement. With AI and digital transformation, this has been essential. Staff needed time to try things out, see the benefits for themselves, and grow their confidence. I build in practical support, CPD, and peer-to-peer coaching so it doesn’t feel like one more thing-it feels like something that helps.
Alongside this, I keep our values visible: “All Learners Enjoy, Achieve and Progress. All Staff- Enjoy, Support and Develop”. Culture change isn't just about tech or systems-it’s about clarity of purpose. For us, that means inclusion, learner voice and equity. In projects like STEM 7 and Voices That Care, staff and learners worked together towards something meaningful. Those shared successes are what build momentum.
I also work across levels-supporting individual teachers while shaping strategic direction with leadership. I translate what’s happening on the ground into language senior teams can act on. That bridge between classroom and strategy is where culture change takes root.
For me, sustainable change is relational. It happens when people feel seen, supported and part of something worth building together.
Supporting evidence (max 3):
1. Voices That Care: When Learners Speak, Communities Listenhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1nJwIsreXO2NDRHqdwP6W6c0G8jgiUba9vD5lZ4vK074/edit?usp=drive_link
A reflective summary and case study of a college-wide learner voice project, supported by AI tools. Nine ESOL and adult learners were coached to write and deliver personal speeches, using ChatGPT to develop language and confidence. The event created lasting cultural impact across staff, leadership and students.
2. AI for Teachers & Case Studies
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-IWr9tnaNmgc3FXHNG5ny7Pm2kjgIkH0qImZXHKz7Ws/edit?usp=sharing
A collection of real-life case studies from ESOL and adult learning staff using Gemini, ChatGPT and NotebookLM to personalise learning, reduce planning pressure, and support diverse learners. Includes teacher reflections on returning from long-term sickness, adapting for neurodiverse needs, and improving differentiation.
3. FE News Article – Beyond Language: Preparing Adult and ESOL Learners for Life, Work and AI with STEM7
https://www.fenews.co.uk/exclusive/beyond-language-preparing-adult-and-esol-learners-for-life-work-and-ai-with-stem7/
A nationally published article showcasing the STEM 7 Challenge, a cross-college initiative embedding AI and STEM skills into ESOL, English and Maths through challenge-based learning. Highlights Aleks’s leadership in strategy, CPD and learner-centred curriculum design.