Today, (Mon 2 Nov) the government announces which providers have been approved to deliver tutoring to disadvantaged pupils as part of the response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "In the long-run, the National Tutoring Programme has great potential to help schools accelerate the progress of pupils that have fallen behind.

"In the short-term, it is severely constrained by the number of tutors available. The scope of the NTP this year appears to be capped at 250,000 pupils – a significant number but still a fraction of the 1.4m children in receipt of free school meals, for instance.

“It is therefore critical that this finite support is targeted to those pupils that can benefit most. To do so, the registration system cannot be on a first come, first served basis. Schools aren’t booking concert tickets here, hoping for the best seats, so allocations must come down to more than timing and good luck.

“The government’s ‘catch-up’ strategy was launched when we hoped that the worst of the pandemic would be behind us by now, when in fact in certain parts of the country at least, a second wave of disruption is only just beginning to hit. Far from catch-up, the government needs to be mindful that schools in many areas of the country will be focused first and foremost on ensuring that their pupils are not falling even further behind."

Press and Media contacts:

Steven George
NAHT Head of Press and Media
01444 472886
07970 907730

Rose Tremlett 
Senior Press Officer 
07545 354363

Email : press.office@naht.org.uk