Does my student need to follow the pacing dates set out by their subject teachers?

No, but they should do their best to. There are no “late marks” deducted if these are not followed. Pacing dates are set with both the students’ and teachers’ workload in mind. However, keep in mind that if too many assignments are uploaded past the pacing dates at the end of a term, then the teacher may not get to marking them and the mark will be automatically given as zero.