Andy MacNae

Andy MacNae

Labour — Rossendale and Darwen

Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025

Debate

Virtual Teachers

Contribution

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—

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