Teachmate featured as a lead case study in new DfE-funded EdTech evidence guidance
Teachmate has been featured as a lead case study in new guidance from the Chartered College of Teaching, 'What does good EdTech evidence look like?', drawing on the Department for Education-funded EdTech Evidence Board (EEB) pilot.
The guidance explores what stronger evidence practice looks like across EdTech, following an independent review of evidence portfolios submitted by 12 EdTech products currently used in UK education settings.
Teachmate features as one of two case studies, Working with schools to generate meaningful evidence, highlighting our approach to building long-term relationships with schools and educators and using their feedback to shape both our product and the way we understand its impact.
Following an independent review of our evidence portfolio and an interview with Teachmate CEO and Co-founder Dr Jon Chippindall, the guidance describes Teachmate as a "strong example" of how an EdTech organisation can sustain collaborative relationships with schools to strengthen product development and evidence-generation practices.
About the EdTech Evidence Board pilot
For schools, knowing which EdTech products are backed by meaningful evidence isn't always easy.
Convened by the Chartered College of Teaching and funded by the Department for Education, the EdTech Evidence Board was established to explore how evidence about EdTech products could be assessed in a more structured and consistent way.
As part of the pilot, 12 EdTech products submitted evidence portfolios which were independently reviewed against a defined set of criteria.
What did the pilot find?
One of the most interesting findings is that better evidence isn't simply about collecting more data, commissioning more research or producing more case studies. Instead, the strongest examples demonstrated what the guidance calls "evidence literacy", namely connecting evidence across different stages of product development, interpreting it against a clear purpose and actually using it to inform decisions.
As the guidance puts it:
"The distinction is not between organisations that do and do not engage with evidence. It is between those that treat evidence as an activity, and those that use it as a system."
What the case study says about Teachmate
The Teachmate case study focuses on one of the key challenge faced across EdTech - how to gather meaningful evidence from busy schools in a way that reflects how products are actually being used day to day.
It highlights four parts of our approach:
Co-creation and strong educator relationships
From the beginning, Teachmate has been built around ongoing conversations with teachers. Rather than treating schools simply as users of the platform or subjects of evaluation, we see them as partners in its development. Feedback from educators is built into everything we develop, implement and refine here at Teachmate.
As Jon explains:
"Schools don't want to be passive recipients of what you're going to come in and test, they want to be part of it."
Many of our strongest educator relationships have grown through existing teacher communities and ongoing professional conversations, giving us continuous insight into how Teachmate is being used every day in real classrooms.
Staying close to implementation
Aside from this, our work with schools doesn't automatically stop once they start using Teachmate. The guidance also highlights our dedicated account managers, whose role goes beyond onboarding and technical support to maintain an ongoing conversation with schools about how they're using the platform, what's working and where challenges emerge.
As Jon puts it:
"Sometimes the data tells you people are using something but that doesn't necessarily mean it's working well for them."
Some of our most valuable insights come from seeing the unexpected ways teachers use and adapt Teachmate in everyday practice.
Making it easier to share feedback
Rather than relying only on standalone evaluations or retrospective surveys, we've built opportunities for regular feedback directly into Teachmate, allowing educators to share insights quickly and easily as part of their everyday use.
Naturally, different schools have different needs, so not every individual tool request can become a new feature on the site. Instead, we look for the broader patterns behind that feedback and what they tell us about the needs of schools more widely.
Broadening perspectives through partnerships
We're also working with partners beyond our core school network to understand how Teachmate is used across different educational contexts.
The case study highlights our partnership with the University of Manchester, where Teachmate has been explored within initial teacher education, and separately through research at the university's Science and Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub (SEERIH) to support non-specialist science teachers, both of which aim to develop educator confidence around responsible AI use.
These partnerships are another opportunity to understand how educators interact with technology, where barriers appear and where our own assumptions might need challenging.
Running through all of this is something that's always been central to Teachmate: AI should support teachers' professional judgement, never replace it.
Teachers remain the decision-makers, adapting outputs and materials to suit the students in front of them. The guidance recognises these adaptations as valuable evidence in their own right.
Building better evidence in EdTech
Asked what advice he would give to other EdTech organisations building relationships with educators, Jon's answer was simple:
"I'd probably do less... better. I'd probably go deeper."
The case study concludes that schools shouldn't simply be places where EdTech products are deployed or evaluated. They should be active partners in understanding how those products work in practice and how they can continue to improve.
Reflecting on Teachmate's involvement in the pilot, Jon said:
"Being part of the EdTech Evidence Board pilot was a valuable experience for the whole Teachmate team. Having our evidence independently reviewed gave us an opportunity to look closely at how we gather, understand and use evidence as we grow. Teachers have shaped Teachmate from the very beginning, so it's great to see that way of working recognised in the guidance. We'll keep working closely with schools, listening to educators and using what we learn to make Teachmate even better."
The publication of the guidance is another important step towards a clearer, more consistent approach to evidence across EdTech.
For us, the pilot has also given the Teachmate team plenty to take forward. We'll continue developing how we gather, interpret and share evidence, while keeping the voices and professional judgement of teachers at the centre of how Teachmate develops.
Read the reports
- Piloting the EdTech Evidence Board: Report on key findings from phase one and phase two - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ab2859bfceb6fb3a6500fe2/EdTech_Evidence_Board_Report_September_2026.pdf
- What does good EdTech evidence look like? Key insights from the EdTech Evidence Board pilot - https://chartered.college/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/What-does-good-EdTech-evidence-actually-look-like-.pdf
About Teachmate
Teachmate is the UK's leading AI platform for teachers, trusted by more than 420,000 educators and over 2,400 schools. With 160+ curriculum-aligned AI tools, Teachmate is designed to reduce teacher workload and support planning, resource creation, SEND, assessment, reporting and school leadership, all while keeping teachers' professional judgement at the centre.