Oral Answers to Questions

Andy MacNae Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

I am very happy to meet the hon. Member.

[Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen) (Lab)]

15. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of virtual teachers on school children.

[The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)]

This Government are committed to ensuring that every child can access the tools they need in order to achieve and thrive. We inherited a challenging workforce picture from the previous Government, which is why we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers. We are backing teachers and restoring teaching to being a highly valued profession. There is no doubt that technology has a key role to play in driving high and rising standards at school. However, the most important factor for high-quality education is having an expert teacher at the front of the classroom.

[Andy MacNae]

In Rossendale, the academy trust that runs our “stuck” school, Valley leadership academy, recently announced plans to introduce a virtual teacher for top-set maths. This approach has understandably raised a lot of concerns, and I have been working with the trust to make sure it is designed in the pupils’ best interests. I have been assured that this will be a temporary measure, that a qualified maths teacher will be in the room to provide additional support, and that an appropriate range of adjustments will be made for SEND pupils. However, I remain concerned that, without safeguards, virtual teachers may become a default cost-saving measure to address recruitment challenges. Will the Minister share her view on how we can ensure that such an approach is always designed in pupils’ best interests—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Come on, Andy. I call the Minister.