Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential (a) merits of virtual teachers in allowing pupils to (i) rewatch and (ii) relisten to lessons and (b) impact of those teachers on pupils with lower achievement rates.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Oak National Academy, an arm’s length body of the department, aims to support teachers to improve curriculum delivery, reduce workload and support improved pupil outcomes. Oak works with teachers across the country, giving them and their pupils access to high-quality digital curriculum resources across key stages 1 to 4. These digital curriculum resources, including recorded lessons, are free, adaptable and can be accessed at any time.

We do not prescribe the number of teaching hours for each subject, or the format of lessons. This, and the use of recorded lessons online, is left to the discretion of schools on what works best for their pupils.

The department continues to invest in building the evidence base and providing strategic guidance to support safe and effective adoption of digital tools, while respecting school autonomy with regard to its implementation.

The national curriculum provides a broad framework, giving schools and teachers the flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils and local contexts, which may include recording additional lessons.