The government has announced a £102 million extension of the 16-19 Tuition Fund as part of a wider education catch-up package for England.
The money, part of the £300 million in funding for catch-up tutoring originally announced by Boris Johnson in January, will extend the fund, set up to support students in English, maths and other vocational and academic subjects, for a further year.
Announced in July 2020, the 16-19 Tuition Fund was set up to help schools, colleges and all other 16 to 19 providers to mitigate the disruption to learning that arose from coronavirus. The initial £96 million was ringfenced for 2020-21 to support small group tuition for 16 to 19 students in English, maths, and other courses where learning has been disrupted - including vocational courses where assessment has been deferred because of lockdown.
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While the tuition does not need to be for GCSE English or maths, the students supported all need to be those who had not achieved grade 5 or above in at least one of those subjects at this level by age 16. All supported students must be on a 16 to 19 study programme. Providers should prioritise support for students who have not achieved a grade 4 in English and/or maths.
Today’s extension was announced as part of a wider package of support for children and young people in England to support them after months of coronavirus lockdowns. They also include a new one-off £302 million recovery premium for state primary and secondary schools, building on the pupil premium, to further support pupils who need it most, as well as an £83 million expansion of the National Tutoring Programme for primary and secondary schools.
Last month, the Association of Colleges said catch-up funding to support young people who have lost learning through Covid disruption should be allocated on the basis of measures of deprivation to ensure that the resources are targeted effectively.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Our package of measures will deliver vital support to the children and young people who need it most, making sure everyone has the same opportunity to fulfil their potential no matter their background. I know that longer-term support over the length of this parliament will be vital to ensure children make up for lost learning.
“Our Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, will be engaging with teachers, school and college leaders and families over the coming weeks and months to develop our longer term plans.”
Sir Kevan said: “The National Tutoring Programme has already put us on the right path by enabling tens of thousands of young people to benefit from the high-quality support that tutoring offers. We know that ensuring all children and young people can make up for lost learning will be a longer-term challenge, and the range of measures announced today are an important next step.
“But this is just the beginning and I’ll be engaging with the sector, educational charities as well as families, to ensure this support is delivered in a way that works for both young people and the sector and to understand what more is needed to help recover students’ lost learning over the course of this parliament.”
