South Staffordshire College's AI-Powered Support for Staff Development and Knowledge Access

Rethinking Staff Support with Ethical AI

South Staffordshire College is a forward-thinking institution based in the West Midlands, UK, known for its commitment to digital transformation in teaching and learning. While many educational institutions look to AI for student engagement, South Staffordshire College took a different path—using LearnWise AI to support staff development and knowledge access.

With a growing emphasis across the UK on Continued Professional Development (CPD) in education, the College saw an opportunity to streamline how educators and administrators accessed internal knowledge, policies, and institutional procedures. By implementing LearnWise’s AI assistant, South Staffordshire empowered staff to get timely answers to complex questions—improving efficiency, reducing administrative burden, and unifying resources.

The Challenge: Navigating Complex Policies and Institutional Knowledge

For staff at South Staffordshire College, CPD isn’t just a best practice—it’s a policy-driven requirement. Faculty and administrative teams are constantly upskilling, managing curriculum updates, and implementing new processes aligned with UK government regulations. However, institutional knowledge was scattered across multiple SharePoint folders, PDF documents, and policy guides—making it hard for staff to quickly find trusted answers.

South Staffordshire needed:

• A way to help staff navigate hundreds of internal documents
• Centralized access to policy updates, CPD best practices, and internal guides
• An always-available assistant that worked across departments
• A scalable, ethical AI that aligned with their digital-first mission

The Implementation Journey: LearnWise AI as a Staff-Facing Knowledge Assistant

In early 2024, South Staffordshire College deployed LearnWise AI as a staff-facing knowledge assistant, specifically designed to support CPD and institutional awareness. The AI assistant integrated directly with the College’s existing SharePoint environment—where most policy documentation, best-practice workflows, and training materials lived.

By indexing and understanding the content stored in SharePoint, LearnWise allowed staff to ask complex questions in natural language and receive accurate, timely, and contextual responses. For example:

• “What’s the proper process for requesting a lesson observation?”
• “Where can I find the policy for student digital accessibility?”
• “What CPD is required this term for part-time lecturers?”

No more digging through folders or asking colleagues. LearnWise served as a single source of truth.

Performance Snapshot (January–March 2025)

Deep Integration with SharePoint for Smart Knowledge Management

The key to success in this case wasn’t just AI—it was integration. LearnWise was configured to connect directly with the College’s SharePoint structure, indexing key areas such as:

• CPD policies and yearly training requirements
• Safeguarding procedures and reporting guidelines
• Staff handbooks and academic calendars
• Digital learning tools documentation
• Accessibility standards and compliance frameworks

Instead of treating SharePoint as a static document store, LearnWise turned it into a dynamic, searchable, and conversational resource—accessible any time, from any device.

Staff could ask questions without needing to know where a document was stored, what it was called, or even who authored it. The AI assistant understood intent and delivered specific answers or linked to the relevant section within a document.

Key Findings and Lessons Learned

1. High Engagement for a Staff-Only Rollout

Despite being a non-student use case, usage rates were extremely strong, with staff initiating an average of 8.7 conversations per user in just 90 days—indicating high interest and practical value.

The integration of Learnwise AI into our systems at South Staffs College has been remarkably smooth and efficient. The project was delivered with ease, thanks to the exceptional support from Learnwise, making them one of the best partners for digital adoption I've ever worked with. The AI has significantly enhanced our CPD sharepoint navigation, making it more intuitive and user-friendly for both new and seasoned staff.
— Jake Owen, Digital Support Technician

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2. Shortcut Buttons Shaped Better Habits

With 93 shortcut button clicks, staff engaged frequently with structured conversation starters like “CPD requirements,” “Safeguarding steps,” and “How to request IT support.”

3. AI Accuracy Boosted Staff Confidence

With a 96.8% resolution rate and over 80% positive feedback on answers, staff trusted the assistant to deliver accurate, relevant information without escalation.

4. Time Saved Across Departments

By resolving hundreds of inquiries autonomously, LearnWise reduced email chains and follow-up calls—giving time back to managers, IT support teams, and HR.

The integration of the LearnWise AI Bot into our BITS CPD site has been a game-changer for both new and existing staff. The project was incredibly easy to deliver, thanks to the seamless support from LearnWise, one of the best partners I have ever worked with for digital adoption. The AI Bot has significantly improved navigation on our CPD site, making it more intuitive and user-friendly. Sharing best practices at Jisc Digifest has highlighted the positive impact this integration has had on our college.
— Steve Wileman, Head of Digital Learning

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A New Era of Institutional Intelligence

South Staffordshire College is leading the way in applying AI beyond the student experience. By using LearnWise AI as a knowledge assistant for staff, the College streamlined information access, enhanced professional development, and unlocked the full value of their SharePoint knowledge base.

In a landscape where CPD and digital transformation are mission-critical, LearnWise AI proved to be more than a chatbot—it became a strategic asset for institutional success.

As the College looks to expand the assistant’s role to include more automation, analytics, and personalization, its use of AI for ethical, practical staff support stands out as a model for further education institutions across the UK.

What’s Next: Future Expansion Opportunities

While the current implementation focuses on SharePoint-based staff support, South Staffordshire College is actively exploring new ways to expand LearnWise’s impact across its digital ecosystem. Potential use cases under consideration include:

• Microsoft Teams integration for seamless in-chat access
• Placement within myday to increase visibility and daily utility
• AI assistant for the public-facing website, improving stakeholder and community engagement

These possibilities reflect the College's commitment to evolving staff support with scalable, intelligent tools that meet users where they are.

Curious to see how ethical, scalable AI support can help your institution get students and staff the information they need, anywhere, anytime? Book a demo.