Schools warned that lack of participation in National Tutoring Programme will be published
The government has put pressure on schools to engage fully in the National Tutoring Programme, warning them that non-participators will be contacted by the department and parents will be alerted.
In a letter to all schools, the Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said each school’s involvement in a key part of the government’s Covid recovery plan will be made public knowledge once the academic year ends.
In the meantime, the data will be shared with Ofsted, and the department will be in touch with those schools yet to offer tutoring support to “discuss their plans and offer further support”.
“I appeal now, in particular to those schools that have not yet started to offer tutoring, to make sure that you do so as soon as possible this term — do not miss out on an opportunity to help pupils who could benefit now,” Zahawi said.
He said the move to publish the data is part of ensuring “greater transparency of the impact of the programme”. Parents will also be able to see the funding allocations for each school and numbers of pupils eligible for the pupil premium.
Current funding for the National Tutoring Programme is enough to provide a course of tuition to every single pupil eligible for Pupil Premium, the government insists.
Since the tutoring programme’s launch in November 2020, around 1.2 million high quality tutoring courses have been started by pupils, including just under 900,000 this academic year.
However, the Department for Education estimates that 40% of schools are yet to offer any tutoring sessions on the National Tutoring Programme this academic year.
If you would like support on how to utilise the School-led Tutoring Grant, our tutoring specialists, Education Boutique, offer a free consultation and health check to make sure your school will be able to utilise your allocated funding, so you are well placed on the league tables Ofsted will be producing in September.