Latest news with #coursework
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Yahoo
Teacher banned after re-writing pupil's coursework and sending it to exam board
A school teacher who re-wrote one of her pupil's coursework before submitting it to an exam board has been banned from the profession. Lauren Oliver, 35, tampered with the work after telling the pupil it was being sampled for moderation while teaching health and social care at the Oasis Academy Shirley Park in Croydon, south London, in November 2022. She then signed several documents alongside the submission that confirmed the work had been completed by the pupil when this was not the case, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard. Ms Oliver failed to notify the school about her actions, which resulted in the pupil temporarily receiving a better grade. The panel found the teacher had displayed dishonest and inappropriate behaviour, and that her actions were 'unethical and therefore lacked integrity'. Ms Oliver, who had taught at the school since 2012, was one of its lead internal verifiers at the time of the incident, meaning she was responsible for assuring the authenticity of coursework submitted by students for assessment. After informing the pupil she would write the coursework on her behalf, the teacher re-wrote two tasks that formed part of unit 14 in the assessment. The pupil informed the school principle of the matter herself in June 2023, some five months after the work had been submitted. Ms Oliver resigned from her role in October 2023 after admitting the allegations made against her. An extensive investigation was undertaken by the school after the incident to determine whether Ms Oliver's actions were an isolated incident. The panel found Ms Oliver's behaviour had 'fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher' as she 'sought to exploit her position of trust'. 'Cheating in an assessment undermines the integrity of the assessment process used throughout the education system,' it said. 'Assessments are a fundamental aspect of the education system founded on integrity, trust and fairness. 'Ms Oliver placed Pupil A in a very difficult position where they found themselves in June 2023 reporting their teacher's misconduct to the principal.' Decision-maker Sarah Buxcey, acting on behalf of the Education Secretary, banned Ms Oliver from teaching indefinitely subject to a two-year review period.
BBC News
25-07-2025
- BBC News
YouGov survey splits opinions on students using AI for coursework
One in six adults thought reducing or removing coursework would be the best way for schools to avoid the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a YouGov poll, which was commissioned by Cambridge University Press and Assessment, said 89% of adults thought it was "unacceptable" for pupils to use AI, but almost half said it was acceptable for improving punctuation and came after Jill Duffy, the chief executive of exam board OCR, called for a co-ordinated national strategy on AI."The public is clear that coursework is too important to lose, even in the age of AI," Ms Duffy said. The poll of 2,221 UK adults found 46% agreed with using AI for punctuation and grammar in school coursework, but 44% did 16% thought reducing or removing coursework completed at home was the best way to avoid student AI misuse. Risk to fairness Ms Duffy called for a strategy on AI after an independent curriculum and assessment review said it would consider reducing the "overall volume of assessment" at interim report, published in March, said the review had heard about the "risks" to standards and fairness concerning AI in relation to review, which was chaired by education expert Becky Francis, will publish its final recommendations in the Duffy said the findings should be seen as a challenge to find a way to "adapt coursework so it is fit for the AI century". "AI is already in our schools and is not going away," she said."A co-ordinated national strategy, with funding to ensure no schools are left behind, will build public confidence in its transformational potential."[AI] enables us to test different skills, and to reduce the intense volume of exams taken at 16."The YouGov survey, which was carried out in June, suggested more than three in five UK adults also oppose teachers using AI to mark coursework, but 27% support it. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
