Three members of the Institute of Education (IOE) have been selected to join the UK Department for Education’s newly created Science Advisory Council that comprises twelve independent experts who will be responsible for advising education decision-makers from a scientific point of view.

The aim of the Council is to connect the Department for Education (DfE) with the relevant scientific community for the provision of scientific inputs in the education policy processes. The new members from IOE have extensive experience in many relevant areas that will improve the education sector.

Professor Claire Crawford, professor of economics in the IOE’s Centre for Education Policy and Equalizing Opportunities, conducts research on educational and labor market inequalities. She was previously a member of the DfE’s Skills and Productivity Board and has given evidence to many select committees on matters relating to education, social mobility and inclusion. Professor Crawford’s activities seek to influence policymakers to bridge the gaps in educational outcomes.

Bella Luckin is the Emeritus Professor of Learner-Centered Design in UCL Knowledge Lab. She is an expert on AI in education. Her work focuses on the ethics of designing AI systems and actually using them in real life, especially in education, with particular attention to enhancing teaching and learning through machine learning technologies but with human intelligence first. She will also play a crucial role in the Council by helping to develop strategies for the appropriate use of technology in education.

Working with the Council will also be Professor Michael J. Reiss, IOE’s Chair of Science Education who has a background in bioethics and natural history. A member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics for many years, Professor Reiss has published many works and the latest *The New Biology: A Battle between Mechanism and Organicism* (2023) that he edited with Michael Ruse and published by Harvard University Press. His arguments will be particularly relevant in considering moral issues in science education.

The creation of the Science Advisory Council is also consistent with the goal of the DfE which is to remove barriers to opportunities as well as improving the general quality of education and ensuring that children are given an appropriate level of training and care.

While introducing the Council, Professor Russell Viner, Chief Scientific Adviser at the DfE, underlined the department’s dedication to scientific evidence in the making of policies. He quoted: “It is important to keep abreast of developments in technology and science in order to offer the best service possible.” The department has to withstand pressures based on science, but primarily it provides a ‘back-stop’ for rational management. The establishment of the Council is a major milestone in the effort of ensuring discipline and scientific order in policy formulation and implementation in the education sector for the benefit of the learners.