Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to help ensure (a) the safety of and (b) presence of a teacher at all on-line classes.

The Department has published safeguarding guidance, both for schools and for parents and carers, which specifically addresses online remote education. This guidance is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safeguarding-and-remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19 and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-online/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-parents-and-carers-to-keep-children-safe-online.

It states that in their regular communications with parents and carers, schools should emphasise the importance of securing any online support for their children from a reputable organisation that can provide evidence that they are safe and can be trusted to have access to children.

Separate Departmental case studies guidance stresses the importance of ensuring regular teacher contact with pupils. Not all pupils’ home environments will support synchronous or live online remote education, meaning it will not always be possible for a teacher to be present at all online classes. There are, however, a range of other effective means of ensuring ongoing support and feedback between teacher and pupil. The Department’s guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-practice-for-schools-during-coronavirus-covid-19.