The government’s Covid catch-up scheme, the National Tutoring Programme, is a long way short of meeting its targets for the number of pupils receiving tuition or working with academic mentors, new figures reveal.
The Department for Education says that an estimated 20,000 pupils have started packages through the Academic Mentor programme - less than 8 per cent of the 252,000 target figure that was set for this academic year.
The scheme is also a long way short of its target for pupils receiving tuition through the Tuition Partners arm of the programme.
Exclusive: NTP 92 per cent adrift of target
Background: Five things we have learned about the NTP
Tuition: Majority of funding now going directly to schools
DfE figures show that 52,000 courses began through Tuition Partners last term. However, this figure may contain some duplication of individual pupils as they will be counted more than once if they have received more than one package of tutoring.
The pupil impact target for the Tuition Partners arm of the programme was to reach 524,000 pupils in the 2021-22 academic year.
The DfE figures, published today, also show that the majority of pupils receiving tuition have received help through school-led tutoring.
Of the 302,000 courses started last term, more than three-quarters - an estimated 230,000 - were provided through a new, school-led tutoring pillar.
A new report published today by the Department for Education says that the government has not made an assessment of how many individual pupils have received tutoring through tuition partners or academic mentors.
However, in a press statement, the DfE says that an estimated 20,000 pupils have started packages through the Academic Mentor pillar of the programme.
The government said that more than 300,000 tutoring courses began last term, which was nearing the total figure for the previous academic year.
Schools minister Robin Walker said: “We are now seeing the real reach and impact of the unprecedented investment this government is making in supporting children’s education recovery. Every pupil - wherever they live - should be supported to get back on track and reach their potential, and that’s what this tutoring programme is doing.
“We know there is still work to do, but it’s hugely encouraging to see so many students from all backgrounds have been directly reached through the government’s tutoring programme, and I encourage all schools to take advantage of it.”
Last year, the DfE announced that the majority of new funding on tuition would be going directly to schools themselves to complement the existing work of the NTP programme.
