Release v26.0

• To use new AI features, you must bring your own LLM engine and configure it via the admin system. Each feature is configured individually to allow maximum flexibility so you can customise them as needed.
• When you set up a Course Framework, make sure your Unit Page templates include the Course Builder component.
• If you want to allow pending resource bookings that clash, you need to enable “allow clashes per resource.”

AI Discussion Activity

Relevant to: Teachers, Students.
Plans: Learning Enhanced

Schoolbox now introduces one of our most significant learning enhancements to date: a guided, educationally-aware AI discussion tool built directly into classroom activities.

This new capability gives teachers an efficient way to facilitate meaningful one-on-one dialogue at scale, while giving students a safe, structured space to explore ideas, reflect more deeply, and receive tailored prompts that help move their learning forward. 

Teachers can now set up scaffolded AI discussions that guide students through learning scenarios:

• Self-reflection: Help students develop reflective thinking and learning goals.
• Project ideation: Assist students to design their own projects that demonstrate learning while showcasing their interests and strengths.
• Socratic tutoring: Provide additional learning support to students at their own pace and level. Available 24/7 to support students' learning outside the classroom.
• Character interviews: Enable students to discuss concepts and ideas with fictional or non-fictional characters to develop an understanding of perspectives, motivations, and beliefs.

After each session, teachers receive a summary of student interactions aligned to assessment criteria - providing quick, meaningful insights into each learner’s engagement, understanding, and next steps.
 

Availability:
Availability of this AI feature depends on the AI model configured for your Schoolbox instance (such as OpenAI or Microsoft Azure). Your school must have an active integration with a supported AI provider to access any AI features. To know how to set it up, see:

• ‘Using OpenAI services’ or ‘Using MS Azure OpenAI Service‘ in Set up the AI Services
• Enable AI-guided student discussions in learning activities (as a Superuser)
   

Where You’ll Find It:

Access it via the course outline on your class page, or build it to be reused in your course unit planner.

How to Use It:

1. Create and configure the AI-guided discussion for your class.
2. Students start the discussion, interacting with the AI agent through your prompts.
3. Monitor participation from the activity page. See who has started, who’s still working, and who has submitted.
4. Open individual discussions to read student responses and see how they engaged with the AI.
5. Be alerted when a student needs support.
6. Receive a criteria-aligned summary after students have submitted, to better understand each student's experience.

Why It Matters for Your School:

• Bring learning to life: Create dynamic, interactive discussions that spark curiosity and engagement.
• Safe and secure: Full audit logs and transcripts, appropriate guardrails, and monitoring to ensure AI interaction is safe.
• Stay on track: Let AI guide conversations with timely prompts and feedback that keep dialogue focused and productive.
• Unlock next steps: Gain a clearer view of your student cohort, understand how to best support and teach each student in your class.

For further information, see our help pages on Set up and use AI-guided Student Discussions in Learning Activities.

Differentiation Profiles and AI Differentiation

Relevant to: Pastoral Moderators, Inclusive Education Teams, Teachers.
Plans: Learning Enhanced - Requires Pastoral Care Module.

Student Differentiation Profiles give teachers quick access to the key information they need to tailor learning for each student. By drawing on data from existing ILP/IEPs, the differentiation profiles highlight important learning attributes such as preferences, strengths, support needs, and required adjustments. Schools can also customise the profiles to match their policies and ensure teachers receive the right details at the right time.

Schools can now control who creates and manages Student Differentiation Profiles using a new “Differentiation” permission. Differentiation profiles link to the Pastoral Care module when ILP/IEP records are shared, and specific pastoral types can automatically trigger profile creation. A new AI feature can securely and anonymously pull relevant details from linked pastoral records to auto-populate a differentiation profile, greatly reducing setup time.

Once created, Student Differentiation Profiles appear wherever teachers need them - on the student profile, the class list, and the student participation page when customising learning activities. On the Student Participation page, the differentiation profiles combine with activity details to drive AI-powered insights. The system then offers key differentiation considerations and suggested adjustments, acting as an intelligent assistant to support fair and personalised learning.

Availability:
Availability of this AI feature depends on the AI model configured for your Schoolbox instance (such as OpenAI or Microsoft Azure). Your school must have an active integration with a supported AI provider to access any AI features. To know how to set it up, see:

• ‘Using OpenAI services’ or ‘Using MS Azure OpenAI Service‘ in Set up the AI Services
• Enable Differentiation Profiles (as a Superuser)

Where You’ll Find It:

Access Student Differentiation Profiles from a student’s profile, the class list, and the student participation page.

How to Use It:

For Administrators:

1. Configure the layout and fields of your Student Differentiation Profiles.
2. Link relevant Pastoral Care types to trigger automatic profile creation.
3. Use AI to extract key information from linked ILP/IEP or pastoral records and auto-populate profiles.
4. Edit and update Student Differentiation Profiles from the central management page.

For Teachers:

1. Access Student Differentiation Profiles from the student profile, class list, or Learning Activity Participation page.
2. Use AI to view recommended considerations and customisations for individual students.
3. Apply or adapt these suggestions when modifying or creating learning activities.

Why It Matters for Your School:

• Supports diverse learners: Students receive responses matched to their individual needs, making learning more accessible and inclusive for every student.
• Reduces teacher workload: Teachers don’t have to manually adjust prompts or consult multiple documents for each student - the AI provides personalised support automatically.
• Improves student engagement: Can incorporate student interest areas and suggestions in alignment with strengths and learning levels.
• Builds consistency: Students receive support aligned with their documented learning profile, helping your school maintain a consistent, data-driven, and equitable approach to differentiation.

For further information, see our help pages on Set up Differentiation and use Differentiation Profiles. 

Book Resources via the Calendar

Relevant to: Administrators, Staff
Plans: Community Enhanced, Community Elite, Learning Enhanced

To help improve your school scheduling and organisation, you can now book resource rooms and other resources alongside your events, directly in the Calendar. Get clear oversight of all the resources you require for your event, the current approval status, and easily look for additional resources available during your event.  

Where You’ll Find It:

You can access the updated Resource Booking tool when creating, editing, or viewing calendar events.

How to Use It:

Creating Calendar events:

1. Open the Create Calendar Event modal.
2. Whilst configuring your calendar event, select resources available to you from the Resource drop-down.
3. Select Create Event.
4. Now your resource bookings are linked to the calendar event, so any changes made to the calendar event will reflect on the resource bookings.

Editing Calendar events:

1. Visit the event page.
2. Update the event overall or change an individual resource booking.

Managing resource booking clashes:

1. Using the updated homepage component for resource booking moderation resolves conflicts/clashes.
   Or,
2. Using the refreshed resource booking report resolves clashes.

Why It Matters for Your School:

• One-Step Booking: Schedule your event and reserve the iPad cart or the Study room simultaneously.
• Automatic Updates: Change the event date, and the resource booking moves with it.
• Better Context: Resource managers instantly see the purpose of the booking.
• Manage Conflicts: Allow multiple booking requests to ensure conflicts can be resolved quickly and easily.

For further information, see our help pages on: 
- Create Resources for Resource Booking
- Creating Calendar Events and Tasks
- Manage clashes in the Calendar (as a Moderator)

Course Builder Workflow 
Relevant to: Teachers, Curriculum Teams.
Plans: Learning Essentials, Learning Enhanced.

Teachers can now directly access the Unit Planner when they begin a new course. A new quick-create modal now makes it easier for teachers to create a few units simultaneously, and the core tools required for course management, including Assessment Calendar, Course Markbook, and Import to Classes, can be accessed from a single location with this change, which reduces navigation, streamlines teaching and learning, and emphasises the Unit Planner page’s importance in developing new courses.

See the help page for more details.