Frequently
Asked
Questions
Everything educators ask about SmartEducator – from getting started to school-wide rollout.
Getting started
Is there a free trial?
Yes – every new account includes a 30-day free trial. Your card details are required to start the trial, but you won't be charged until the 30 days are up, and you can cancel any time before then with no commitment. You can also test the platform first before signing up to the trial here.
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.
Subjects and compatibility
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 currently integrates with popular LMS platforms such as Google Classroom, Canvas and Microsoft Teams, with further integrations in development all the time. If your school uses a different platform, get in touch and we can talk through your options.
Marking and feedback
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 graded as submitted, not corrected.
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 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 grade and comment can be reviewed and adjusted before it reaches a student.
AI detection
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.
The platform
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.
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.
Data, privacy and compliance
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 district administrators on request.
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.
Pricing and commitment
Is there a contract or minimum commitment?
No long-term contract is required. Your 30-day free trial gives you a taste of the platform, after which you choose the plan that suits you – whether that's an individual teacher account or a school-wide solution. Cancel any time during the trial period with no charge.
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.
What are the pricing options?
SmartEducator offers four individual tiers, each designed to match where you are in your teaching practice:
- Free Trial | Full platform access for 30 days at no cost, including 3 assignments and up to 90 submissions per month. You can even get a taster of the trial here.
- Create | £8 per month, including AI resource creation, marking and feedback tools, up to 3 assignments and 90 submissions per month
- Mark | £30 per month – our most popular tier – with up to 12 assignments and 360 submissions per month, as well as full marking and feedback suite
- Accelerate | £46 per month, with unlimited assignments and submissions, plus the full Accelerate Insights dashboard
All plans are available on monthly or yearly billing. View full plan details and feature comparisons on our Pricing page.
SEE WHAT A TERM AS A SMARTEDUCATOR FEELS LIKE.
Start your free 30-day trial and experience what SmartEducator does for your teaching, your school and your student outcomes. No commitment until you’re ready.