On Tuesday at the Labour Party conference, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said she believed the benefits of tutoring risked being “undermined” because of the way it’s delivered - but remains keen to look at effective interventions in the future.

Certainly, the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) - introduced in 2020 with a target of delivering six million tutoring courses to 65 per cent pupil premium pupils as a key pillar of the government’s Covid education recovery programme - has been beset with challenges and controversy.

Yet, policy experts, educationalists and now Labour are reluctant to completely throw out the baby with the bath water, recognising the powerful evidence base for the role tutoring can play not just in Covid recovery, but ultimately in tackling the attainment gap.

It’s not just the academic benefits it brings either, but growing qualitative research and evidence point to the wider benefits it can have on confidence, attendance, and relationships with other children and teachers - all critical for children’s wellbeing and readiness to learn.

So, what would it take to enable tutoring to play that role in tackling the attainment gap in education?

1. Focus on disadvantaged pupils

Firstly, if we’re serious about tackling the attainment gap, we have to be unashamed about any national tutoring offer relentlessly focusing on those from low-income backgrounds.

A pupil premium target would help with this (what gets measured, gets done), with schools then having some wider discretion to target it at those outside the pupil premium bracket but unlikely to afford it.

Without this focus, we risk tutoring in the education system actually standing to help widen the attainment gap.

At present, fewer than 50 per cent of pupils benefitting from the NTP are in receipt of pupil premium: the balance is not tipped in favour of those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

2. Stick to the evidence

Secondly, tutoring needs to follow the evidence of what works to drive impact. The move in the second year of the NTP to allow larger group sizes was a clear move away from the evidence that the greatest impact occurs with groups of 1:3 or fewer.

It allowed wider take up - to hit the target for overall programme delivery - but at the expense of impact.

Additionally, this year, schools receive £67.50 per pupil premium pupil towards tutoring. On a subsidy of 50 per cent at £18 an hour, this is enough to pay for 7.5 hours of tutoring. Again, far below the evidence that 12-15 hours is optimal for impact.

What’s more, though, we know that persistent absence has been a particular challenge for disadvantaged pupils. As such, getting these pupils to attend tutoring sessions isn’t always easy. This means that, realistically if they are to receive 12-15 hours of tutoring, 15-20 hours need to actually be offered.

3. Improve the process

Finally, implementation, administration and the funding model for the NTP all need to be stabilised and made simpler. So far, the finance model and oversight have changed year on year, which is confusing for schools and providers to navigate.

The decrease in take-up as the subsidy has declined, especially in the context of very stretched budgets, suggests the subsidy model is a long way from working.

If we’re serious about tackling the attainment gap, Covid recovery and the many benefits tutoring can bring, then the government should be willing to fully fund it.

With the NTP set to end in 2024, we risk all the work that’s been done to embed tutoring in schools and the role it’s played in supporting Covid recovery being undone.

Decisions for future governments

All the evidence suggests the challenges post-Covid are going to be playing through the system for many years to come.

Now is not the time to pull the plug on this vital support. But for schools to plan effectively to embed tutoring in the long term, they need to know if the funding is continuing sooner rather than later. The chancellor’s Autumn Statement is a prime window for that.

On the Labour side, it’s encouraging that Phillipson has shown support for effective interventions, such as tutoring, and is aware of the challenges in the way it’s been delivered.

A commitment to tutoring for disadvantaged pupils was actually in the Labour education manifesto in 2010. While it was the Conservatives that introduced the NTP, Labour could rightly have a claim to having been the first champion of tutoring in state schools.

There is a clear opportunity here for Labour to take what’s begun, reform it and make it a powerful tool for tackling the attainment gap, should they get into power.

Susannah Hardyman is the CEO of Action Tutoring