Frequently
Asked
Questions

Is there a free trial?

Yes. Start free with 3 creates and 3 marks, no card needed. Then unlock a 30-day free trial with everything included. Start your free 30-day trial.

Do I need to be particularly tech-savvy to use SmartEducator?

Not at all. SmartEducator is browser-based and designed to work the way teachers already work. If you can upload a file and read an email, you can use the platform. Most teachers are up and running within minutes of signing up.

Can I use SmartEducator as an individual teacher, or does my whole school need to sign up?

SmartEducator works equally well for individual teachers and whole schools – either can sign up and start benefiting immediately. As a solo user, simply select the tier that suits you, create your classes and get started. For schools, colleges and MATs, onboarding can be set up to bring in your existing classes, rosters and staff directly. You can explore individual pricing here, or contact the team to discuss a school-wide rollout.

How long does setup take for a school integrating at institutional level?

Setting up SmartEducator at school or institutional level is a straightforward process, and one we support at every step. Timelines vary depending on the size and complexity of your organisation, so we'd always recommend getting in touch directly – our team will walk you through what to expect and make sure everything is in place before you go live.

Do I need an IT team to get started?

Not if you're signing up as an individual. Teachers, tutors, parents and home educators can sign up, add their classes or students and start the same day – no IT involvement needed.

For schools, colleges, universities and training providers integrating at institutional level, we can pull in class rosters, module enrolments, candidate records and assignments directly. Our team works with yours to set this up, so there's very little for your IT department to do.

Who is SmartEducator for?

Anyone who sets work or marks it. If you create questions, tasks, tests or exams – or assess the answers – SmartEducator is built for you, whatever the subject, level or setting. That includes:

• Schools – primary and secondary, state and independent schools, special schools and alternative provision, multi-academy trusts
• Post-16 and further education – sixth forms and FE colleges, vocational and technical courses, apprenticeship providers, adult and community learning
• Higher education – universities, departments, lecturers, seminar leaders and graduate teaching assistants
• Professional training and certification – training providers, professional bodies, awarding organisations, corporate learning and development teams, and regulated sectors such as financial services, legal and compliance, health and care, police and public sector, defence, and engineering and trades
• Individuals – teachers, supply and cover teachers, trainee teachers, tutors and tutoring companies, examiners and moderators, and parents and home educators
• Everyone else who teaches – language schools, music and arts teachers, coaches and instructors, online course creators and exam-prep providers

What types of assessment can SmartEducator mark?

Practically anything a learner can write, draw or say. Handwritten, typed or recorded, SmartEducator marks it against your mark scheme – or one it generates for you:

• Exams and tests – mock exams, past papers, end-of-unit and end-of-topic tests, entrance exams such as 11+ and 13+, SATs-style practice, GCSE, A level, vocational and technical qualifications, university exams and professional qualification exams
• Short and objective answers – multiple choice, true/false, matching, gap-fill, one-word and short answers, numerical answers, calculations and equations with working
• Extended writing – essays, extended responses, creative writing, source and text analysis, reports, reflective writing, research projects and dissertation chapters
• Coursework and non-exam assessment – coursework, NEA, practical and lab write-ups, investigations, projects, portfolios of evidence and assignment briefs
• Visual and image-based work – diagrams, labelled drawings, graphs and charts, annotated sources and maps, and photographed exercise-book or whiteboard work
• Oral and spoken assessment – presentations, oral exams and vivas, professional discussions, language speaking tests, debates and recorded spoken answers
• Everyday and formative work – homework, classwork, worksheets, quizzes, starter activities, exit tickets, retrieval practice and knowledge checks
• Workplace and vocational assessment – case studies, scenario-based questions, competency and compliance knowledge checks, and written evidence for apprenticeships and professional standards

I'm not a teacher – can I still use SmartEducator?

Yes. You don't need a teaching qualification or a classroom. Trainers, examiners, assessors, L&D teams, coaches, tutors and parents all use SmartEducator to create practice material and mark responses against clear criteria. If you can describe the task and what a good answer looks like, SmartEducator can help you set it and mark it.

What if my type of work isn't listed?

SmartEducator is subject- and format-agnostic, so if your work can be uploaded as a file, photo, scan or audio recording and marked against criteria, it will very likely work. Start a free trial and try it with your own work, or get in touch and bring a sample – we'll show you how it's marked.

Is the platform suitable for primary schools, or is it focused on secondary and above?

Yes, SmartEducator works well for primary schools as well as secondary. By default, SmartEducator calibrates its feedback and marking language to a secondary level of reading and understanding, so for primary-age pupils, we'd recommend teachers make use of the platform's feedback style controls to adjust this. For example, adding an instruction such as "make this suitable for a reading age of 8" ensures feedback lands at the right level for younger pupils.

These instructions aren't limited to individual teachers, either: they can also be set at organisation or school level, so a primary school can configure feedback tone and reading level consistently across every class and teacher from the outset.

Does SmartEducator work for sixth form and FE colleges, including vocational courses?

Yes. SmartEducator supports both academic and vocational post-16 courses. Upload your awarding body criteria and every essay, piece of coursework or oral assessment is marked against them, criterion by criterion. Lecturers can also create lesson plans, starter activities, quizzes and essay questions, with class context such as exam board and individual learning needs applied automatically.

Can universities use SmartEducator?

Yes. SmartEducator helps lecturers mark consistently across modules and seminar groups – whether that's handwritten exam scripts, typed essays or recorded seminar presentations – against each module's own criteria. Lecturers can also create seminar questions, formative quizzes, essay questions and reading guides, with module level and learning outcomes applied automatically. Insights can be viewed by module, cohort or criterion.

Can SmartEducator be used for professional qualifications and training?

Yes. SmartEducator supports organisations that run high-stakes written and oral exams – in sectors including financial services, accountancy and tax, banking and insurance, legal and compliance, defence, police and the public sector, health and care, and engineering and trades.

Upload your mark scheme and every response is marked against your criteria, ready for your examiners to review before results are released. You can also create knowledge checks, case studies and practice exams around your syllabus, and track performance by cohort, paper and criterion.

I'm a tutor – how can SmartEducator help me?

Whether you teach one-to-one or small groups, at 11+, GCSE or A level, SmartEducator lets you create practice papers and homework at the right level for each student, have their answers marked against your own mark scheme – including past-paper mark schemes – before your next session, and track each student's progress over time.

I'm a parent or home educator – do I need a teaching background?

No. Create worksheets and quizzes pitched at your child's level, then photograph their work and upload it. SmartEducator marks it against a clear mark scheme – one it generates, one you write, or one you reuse – so you know exactly what to work on next. You can also connect the Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams account your child's school uses.

What subjects does SmartEducator support?

SmartEducator is completely subject-agnostic, meaning it handles any subject you teach. That includes sciences, mathematics, English, history, geography, modern foreign languages and more. It supports the full range of question types, too: multiple choice, true/false, short answer, long-form text, equations and image-based assignments. It also works across all curriculums, standards, exam boards and qualification levels.

Does SmartEducator work on any device?

Yes. It's fully browser-based, so no downloads or installations are required. It works on any internet-connected device: desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile. Getting started is straightforward, too: just sign up with an email address, verify via the link sent to your inbox and create a password. Single sign-on is available for Microsoft and Google users.

Which LMS platforms does SmartEducator integrate with?

SmartEducator integrates with Google Classroom, Canvas, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft OneNote and Moodle, and is compatible with 50+ learning platforms in total. Assignments go out through your LMS, and submissions, marks and feedback return to it automatically. If your school, college or organisation uses a different platform, get in touch and we can talk through your options – or simply upload work directly.

Can SmartEducator read handwritten submissions?

Yes, and with the same accuracy as typed work. Handling handwritten submissions was a core reason SmartEducator was built, and our large language AI models are highly accurate at reading them. The rule of thumb is: if you can read it as a teacher, the platform can read it too. Upload photos, scans or document files and begin the marking process as normal. You retain full control to edit any extracted text before marking begins. Student errors – spelling, grammar or expression – are preserved as written, so work is marked as submitted, not corrected.

Can SmartEducator mark oral assessments and presentations?

Yes. Record or upload spoken answers, presentations and professional discussions – as audio files such as .m4a – and SmartEducator marks them against the same criteria as written work. That covers student presentations in sixth form and FE, recorded seminar presentations at university, and oral exams for professional qualifications. As with all marking, you review and edit everything before results are released.

Can I use my own mark scheme or awarding body criteria?

Yes. Upload your mark scheme, awarding body criteria, module criteria or past-paper mark scheme – or write your own – and every answer is marked against it, criterion by criterion. Each criterion gets its own score and feedback, so you can see exactly where marks were gained or lost.

What if I don't have a mark scheme or rubric to upload?

No problem! SmartEducator will generate one for you. The platform analyses the assignment and creates the most appropriate framework: a skills-based rubric with success criteria for complex or extended tasks, or an answer key with a points scheme for shorter, more factual ones. Mark schemes can also be aligned to relevant curriculums, exam boards and assessment objectives. You can review and edit everything before marking begins to make sure it's exactly what you need.

Can I mark a whole set of paper scripts at once?

Yes. Scan paper scripts in bulk – a full class set, a mock exam or a cohort's exam papers – and upload them together alongside any typed or audio submissions. SmartEducator reads and marks each one, ready for you to review, edit and release.

Can I edit marks and feedback before they reach students?

Absolutely, and this is fundamental to how the platform works. Every mark, rubric criterion and piece of feedback is fully editable before anything leaves the platform. Nothing reaches a student without your review and approval. Editing a mark automatically triggers a regrade to keep everything consistent, also.

How does SmartEducator handle different exam boards?

The platform recognises the major UK exam boards and their assessment objectives, applying them automatically when relevant. You can also specify the exam board at class- or assignment level.

Can SmartEducator handle skills-based or creative subjects where marking is more interpretive?

Yes. SmartEducator is built to mark both fixed-answer questions and open-ended, interpretive work – from single right-or-wrong answers in Maths to extended creative writing and skills-based assignments in subjects like English.

SmartEducator adapts based on the given subject, matching its approach to the one best suited to marking the task at hand.

For work marked against a levelled or rubric-based mark scheme, SmartEducator runs a "final pass": the complete submission is read as a whole and marked against each criterion in turn, rather than judged line by line in isolation. This keeps the full context of the work in view, so SmartEducator weighs overall coherence and quality alongside each specific criterion much as a human marker would.

And because interpretive marking always calls for professional judgement, teachers keep the final say: SmartEducator does the groundwork, but every mark and comment can be reviewed and adjusted before it reaches a student.

What kinds of resources can I create?

Describe your topic and audience, and SmartEducator generates curriculum-aligned resources in minutes – complete with questions, cover sheets, exemplars and mark schemes. Resource types include lesson plans, starter activities, quizzes, classwork, homework, essay questions, practice papers, revision activities, seminar questions, reading guides, knowledge checks and case studies, or anything custom you need.

Can I pitch resources at different levels?

Yes. Choose a challenge level – Foundation, Core or Stretch – and set the number of marks, the time allowed and the number of questions. Class or student context, such as year group, subject, exam board and individual learning needs, is applied automatically, and resources can be adapted for EAL learners.

How do I get resources to my students?

Review and edit everything first, then publish straight to your class, module group or cohort through your connected LMS, download a print-ready PDF for the classroom or exam room, or export to Word.

How accurate is the AI detection tool?

Very accurate. SmartEducator's detector is trained specifically on the frontier models from the major AI labs – including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google – allowing it to identify not just that AI was used, but which model produced the content. Detection runs paragraph by paragraph and provides a confidence rating per section, giving teachers clear, specific information rather than a blanket verdict. Like any detection tool, it works best as a guide for the teacher rather than a definitive conclusion – and it's actively updated as new AI models are released.

Does the AI-detection result affect a student's grade or appear in their feedback?

Neither. AI detection results are visible to the teacher only. They don't influence the grade, don't appear in student feedback and students don't need to be logged into SmartEducator for detection to work. What you do with the information is entirely your call – including nothing, if AI use is permitted or encouraged in your classroom.

Can I use SmartEducator just for marking, without using Create or Accelerate?

Of course. You can enter the platform at whichever point suits you, and its functionality is designed to work in isolation or as an end-to-end solution. If you have your own assignments and mark schemes, upload them directly and go straight to marking. Use the parts that work for you and add more when you're ready.

How does the Accelerate Insights dashboard build up over time?

Every marked assignment feeds the dashboard automatically. The more assignments you mark through SmartEducator, the richer the picture becomes – tracking individual student progress, class trends and performance patterns over a rolling 12-week window. There's no separate setup required; it builds in the background as you use the platform.

How far back does the Insights data go? Can it be used effectively from mid-year?

You can start using Accelerate (our insights and progress-tracking feature) at any point in the school year. It begins building data from the moment students' work starts being marked through SmartEducator, so a school joining in January will start seeing meaningful trends from January's assignments onwards.

Because Accelerate reflects work actually marked on the platform, there's no need to upload or back-date any earlier assignments to "catch up" your data – simply start marking through SmartEducator and your progress tracking begins straight away, growing richer with every submission from that point on.

Can school leaders see data across classes and cohorts?

Yes. School leaders get a live view across classes and cohorts, and insights can be viewed by class, subject, year group, module, cohort or criterion. Accelerate highlights topics to revisit and suggests next steps – such as creating a starter activity or knowledge check on a weaker area – in one click.

What is the Chat function on the dashboard?

The chat assistant is a contextual tool built into specific areas of the platform – file uploads, content creation and the Insights dashboard. It's designed to help with particular tasks: refining content you've just created, guiding you through the submission process or drilling into your class data. It sits in the background rather than front and centre so you can use it where it adds value and ignore it where it doesn't. Think of it as a virtual assistant.

How does SmartEducator handle student data?

Data protection is built into the foundation of SmartEducator's design. We operate audit-logged access controls, region-aware cookie consent, dedicated tooling for handling data subject requests and our infrastructure runs on Azure with encryption in transit and at rest. We're continuing to invest in this area as we grow, including strengthening how student data is handled by our AI processing pipeline.

We're happy to provide more detailed data-handling documentation to schools and trusts on request.

What security certifications does SmartEducator hold?

SmartEducator holds Cyber Essentials Plus – the highest tier of the UK government-backed certification, independently verified by a technical audit – and ISO/IEC 27001, the internationally recognised standard for information security management systems. The same protections apply to pupil, student and candidate data, whether you're a school, college, university, training provider or individual. See all our certifications and accreditations.

Is there a contract or minimum commitment?

No long-term contract is required. Start free with 3 creates and 3 marks, no card needed. Then unlock a 30-day free trial with everything included. You choose the plan that suits you – whether that's an individual teacher account or a school-wide solution.

Is there a pricing option for schools or MATs?

Yes – SmartEducator's Schools plan is available for institutions of all sizes, from individual schools to multi-academy trusts. Pricing is tailored to your organisation's needs, so there's no fixed published rate. Get in touch with the team and we'll put together a proposal that works for you.

Is there pricing for colleges, universities and training providers?

Yes. Colleges, university departments and professional training organisations each have an annual plan, which includes marking of handwritten, typed and oral answers, use of your own mark scheme, and integration with Google Classroom, Canvas, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft OneNote. Talk to us and we'll put together a proposal for your organisation.

What are the pricing options?

SmartEducator offers three individual tiers, each designed to match where you are in your teaching practice:

• Create | Includes AI resource creation, marking and feedback tools, with 50 generations and 90 scripts marked per month
• Mark | Our most popular tier – with 200 generations and 360 scripts marked per month, as well as full marking and feedback suite
• Accelerate | 500 generations and unlimited* scripts marked per month, plus the full Accelerate Insights dashboard

All plans are available on monthly or yearly billing. View up-to-date prices, full plan details and feature comparisons on our Pricing page.

*Subject to fair use.