Councils and universities can apply for government funding to provide Covid catch-up tutoring, according to new details revealed today.
The new National Tutoring Programme (NTP) website, published this morning, states that organisations wishing to become the “Tuition Partners” providing the tutors offered through schools, must be capable of delivering a tutoring programme, including training for tutors and quality control.
These organisations could range from established tutoring companies to local authorities, charities and universities - but should not be agencies “who only match tutors with pupils”, the website states.
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They can bid for the Department for Education funding from the end of August, and successful providers will offer tutoring to schools from 1 November.
The organisations will bid to provide “sustained blocks of tutoring” to individual pupils aged five to 16 in any subject, “but with an expected focus on English, maths and science”.
All providers wishing to take part must meet four eligibility criteria, including experience working with schools.
The timeline for applications is as follows:
- 31 August - Funding round for Tuition Partners opens.
- 18 September - Funding round closes.
- 31 October - List of approved Tuition Partners is announced.
The website states: “Tuition Partners might be existing tutoring providers that have experience of working with schools or other organisations, such as charities, local authorities or universities who are able to design a new programme to meet the NTP standards.
“We expect Tuition Partners to be organisations who can deliver a tutoring programme (consisting of training for tutors, central monitoring of quality and systems to communicate with schools) rather than tutoring agencies who only match tutors with pupils.”
