Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Paragraph: 58
Currently it appears that the school-led tutoring pillar is more attractive than tuition partners or...
Conclusion
Currently it appears that the school-led tutoring pillar is more attractive than tuition partners or academic mentors (with 230,000 starts as of 1 December, compared to 52,000 and 20,000 respectively), although we have heard concerns about the quality assurance underpinning that part of the programme. The Department should ensure that all resources are focused on the school-led pillar to ensure more schools are able to access the National Tutoring Programme. The Department should also assess the accessibility of tutoring across the regions and create a quality assurance framework to enable schools to make informed decisions about the tutoring organisations or individuals they employ.
Paragraph Reference:
58
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
49. School-led tutoring has been well received by schools this year; our statistical release on 31 March 2022 showed an estimated 76% of tutoring is being delivered through this route. On 31 March 2022 we announced that we will allocate all tutoring funding directly to schools next year. This will enable schools to choose how best to organize their tutoring; this could include contracting with accredited tutoring organizations, employing new specialist staff as academic mentors and providing the support through existing school staff. 50. In order to ensure a high standard of tutoring, any staff without qualified teacher status must complete high quality, bespoke training devised and delivered this year by the Education Development Trust to ensure they have the skills to deliver effective small group tuition. Our feedback suggests much of the school-led tutoring is being delivered by fully qualified teachers. 51. The plans for academic year 2022/23 (announced 31 March 2022) include procuring one or more delivery partners, to deliver quality assurance of tuition organisations, high- quality training for new tutors and recruitment of well-qualified academic mentors. Taken together, these three measures represent a clear focus on quality within the programme. 52. Take-up across the regions is broadly similar, with regions that experienced most learning loss showing higher school participation. With the estimated national average currently at 59.9% of schools participating in NTP in this academic year, the range is from 55.9% in the South East, and 56.4% in the South West, to 64.4% in the North East and 65.3% in the North West (Figures as of March 2022). We continue to work through bespoke communication plans to drive up participation. As we have done this academic year, school funding allocations for NTP for academic year 2022/23 will take account of the numbers of disadvantaged pupils in schools.