Case Study

The Challenge

Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) had a powerful vision: to use AI to directly improve staff wellbeing, by reclaiming staff time, reducing the hours teachers spent marking outside of work, and bringing greater consistency to assessment and feedback.

Leaders recognised that teachers were regularly giving up evenings and weekends for marking, often with the human risk of inconsistency after reviewing dozens of pieces of work. Their goal was to ease the weight of the task while ensuring control, consistency and that students continued to receive fair, high-quality feedback.

At the same time, BCoT wanted AI to act as a sparring partner; playing a supporting role, not a replacement for teacher expertise. This project was designed with friction built in: AI would review student work, draft feedback, and check against quality assurance standards, while teachers retained control to edit, challenge, and finalise. This safeguarded the human judgment at the heart of teaching, while giving staff the space to focus on coaching and supporting learners.

Like many in Further Education, BCoT risked being held back by strategic inertia; financial pressures and uncertainty around AI made progress feel out of reach. By unlocking AWS’s One Government Value Agreement funding and support, they removed both cost and confidence barriers to advance their AI strategy. The result? A groundbreaking teacher-led solution designed by teachers, for teachers, to give staff back their time. Meet Fixter!

Our Approach

To turn their vision into reality, BCoT needed a way to innovate safely, without stretching already tight budgets. This is where the AWS’s One Government Value Agreement (OGVA) became the turning point.

Working with Perform Partners, AWS and Ingram Micro, BCoT secured $25,000 in AWS credits to accelerate AI, alongside 5 Skills Builder training licenses. This removed the financial gamble and created the breathing space to test and refine the Fixter Project rigorously.

Perform Partners handled the entire OGVA enrollment process on BCoT’s behalf, making it simple and seamless. That freed college leaders to stay focused on what mattered most: shaping a solution that put teachers and staff wellbeing at its heart.

The credits enabled BCoT to push the system to its limits during testing, confident that they could identify issues early and roll out only when the tool was robust and ready. The training licenses ensured staff could upskill alongside the technology, building capability and confidence across the college.

By leveraging the power of the partner network, BCoT removed the inertia, that’s holding back so many in FE, and progressed their AI strategy with confidence.

“The process was seamless for us as it was managed by our partners at Perform Partners and Ingram Micro. That meant we could stay focused on the project’s vision and requirements, while feeling supported by a team who listened, adapted, and co-created with us.”

Scott Hayden, Head of Teaching, Learning and Digital, BCoT

Scott Hayden of Basingstoke College of Technology

Supporting People Through Change

Staff wellbeing remained the golden thread throughout the project. Teachers like Lisa Fixter, once skeptical of AI, became advocates after seeing how the tool helped them reclaim their time and reinvest it into the most human part of their role: teaching.

Together, we ensured teachers were in control throughout. The teachers defined specifications, tested outputs, and refined the system with Perform Partners, AWS, and Ingram Micro. AWS Skills Builder licenses further empowered staff to build their own digital confidence, ensuring technology adoption went hand-in-hand with professional growth.

For leadership, the reassurance that governance, data security, and ethics were embedded from day one meant they could confidently progress with innovation, knowing their staff and students were protected.