Commenting as the government releases new data on the number
of National Tutoring Programme courses started since the
programme began in 2020, Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of
school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
“Schools have told us that they find accessing tuition support
through the National Tutoring Programme confusing and difficult.
The numbers for the national scheme are, without question,
disappointingly low.
“However, despite these problems with the national scheme,
today's figures suggest that schools are stepping forward to
arrange their own tutoring support for pupils, using the more
flexible school-led tutoring grant. Despite funding only being
made available in the Autumn term and training for tutors only
being available from November, schools have done well to commence
tuition for nearly a quarter of a million pupils. This shows real
appetite for tutoring but that schools aren’t finding the
national route accessible.
“Unfortunately, the story behind these numbers is that there are
still many children that would benefit from tutoring support who
are not getting it. Too many schools report that there are simply
no tutors available that meet their needs. The government's
tutoring revolution risks stalling unless more is done to ensure
that high quality, easy-to-access tutoring support is available
to every school, for all pupils that need it, in every single
part of the country.”
