Labour has today [Friday] slammed the Conservative’s National
Tutoring Programme for failing children, as new figures reveal
that just 1% of pupils are receiving support under the scheme.
Figures released in response to Parliamentary questions reveal
that just 93,000 pupils across England have started to receive
tutoring under the Government’s flagship programme, equivalent to
just 1% of school pupils. Among those eligible for pupil premium,
who are most likely to have struggled to learn remotely during
lockdown, 41,850 are receiving tutoring – equivalent to just 2%
of those eligible for pupil premium.
, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary has said the
figures show the Government is “failing to deliver on its
promises to children and families”, with the Department for
Education previously stating that the programme would target
“disadvantaged” young people to accelerate their academic
progress and ensure they do not fall behind.
The figures also show that just one in 8,277 pupils are being
supported by an academic mentor under the scheme, with mentor
support so far reaching just 23,000 children.
The figures come ahead of a visit from Kate Green and , Shadow Schools Minister, to a school in the West
of England where they will speak to exam year students about the
summer assessment process.
Despite repeated concerns raised by education staff, students and
parents the Government still has no plan to support students who
will be moving on to a different education or training providers
come September to make-up for the learning they have missed. Like
last year, this has prompted concerns about further and higher
education providers that they will be left to pick-up where the
Government has failed and plug gaps in students’ knowledge and
skills without additional support.
, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:
“We have seen failure, upon failure from this Conservative
Government which has treated children as an afterthought
throughout the pandemic and now has no plan to deliver a strong
recovery.
“The woefully low reach of the National Tutoring Programme and
continuing uncertainty around assessments for exam year pupils,
shows the Government is failing to deliver on its promises to
children and families.
“Labour wants children to be at the heart of our national
recovery. Our Bright Future taskforce will deliver a national
recovery plan which is ambitious for every child’s learning and
wellbeing.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
|
Total children started to receive tutoring
|
Total school children
|
Percentage of children receiving tuition
|
|
93,000
|
8,890,000
|
1.05%
|
|
Children on pupil premium receiving tutoring
|
Total children on pupil premium
|
Percentage of children receiving tuition
|
|
41,850
|
2,027,390
|
2.1%
|
Source: total school children:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2020
Source: children eligible for pupil premium https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwicl8f_0KDwAhUhx4UKHcp3ClQQFjAMegQIJBAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearchbriefings.files.parliament.uk%2Fdocuments%2FSN06700%2FSN06700.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1KYsfmazJ8zaSl4-tj-fQb(page
8)
This is equivalent to one mentor per 8,277 school pupils or just
0.26% of all pupils being supported by an academic mentor.
- Upon launching the National Tutoring Programme, the
Department for Education said it would: “increase access to
high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people over
the 2020/21 academic year. This will help accelerate their
academic progress and prevent the gap between them and their more
affluent peers widening.”
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time
