A highly experienced secondary school teacher has been struck off indefinitely after she admitted to rewriting and submitting a student’s coursework as her own.
Lauren Oliver, 35, who spent over a decade teaching health and social care at Oasis Academy Shirley Park, has been barred from teaching in England following revelations of misconduct that stunned the school community.
In November 2022, Ms Oliver altered and submitted a pupil’s coursework without their original input. It wasn’t until June 2023 that the shocking act came to light when the student themselves approached the school principal and revealed the deception.
“Ms Oliver was in a position of trust and responsibility. Therefore, honesty and integrity were integral to her role. Notwithstanding this, Ms Oliver behaved in a dishonest manner,” the disciplinary panel stated.
The panel’s investigation concluded that Ms Oliver had deliberately misled the exam board by rewriting the student’s assignment, knowing it would be used for official moderation.
It emerged that Ms Oliver informed the student their coursework was going to be sampled for external moderation. She allegedly told them she would rewrite it to ensure it met the required standard, and later submitted her own version under the student’s name.
This act led to the pupil initially receiving a higher grade than they had earned. That grade has since been subject to scrutiny, with concerns it may have distorted their overall academic performance.
“Her conduct was capable of causing reputational damage to the school and her colleagues.” Ms Oliver’s actions not only compromised the integrity of the student’s academic record but also put the credibility of the school at risk.
Shockingly, Ms Oliver held a key internal verification role at the school, entrusted with ensuring that coursework was genuine and fairly marked. Her responsibilities would have included confirming that student submissions were authentic before being sent to the exam board.
Given this, the panel said Ms Oliver knew exactly what she was doing, and that her behaviour reflected a “lack of integrity.”
She resigned from her post on 20 October 2023 after admitting her wrongdoing. But the consequences of her actions didn’t end there.
The Teaching Regulation Agency handed Ms Oliver an indefinite ban from teaching, effective immediately. While she can apply for the order to be reviewed in two years, her future in the profession remains uncertain.
The order prohibits her from teaching in any school, sixth-form college, relevant youth accommodation, or children’s home throughout England.
The panel concluded that Ms Oliver had failed to uphold the ethical and professional standards expected of someone in her position.
“The panel found Ms Oliver behaved in a dishonest manner” and that her conduct was “unacceptable professional conduct.”
The incident has raised serious questions around safeguarding academic integrity and the pressures faced by both students and teachers during assessment periods.
As the education sector continues to grapple with such cases, the need for transparency and ethics in the classroom has never been more critical.
