National Tutoring Programme needs to reform to fulfil its aims

Youth charity Impetus has published a report with a package of reforms that it says must be implemented in order for the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) to reach the children who have fallen behind at school.

According Impetus, who is a founding partner of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), the quality of tuition providers varies, and the best provision is still not always available to schools, particularly those that need them most.

Earlier this month the government closed the loophole that meant schools could use potentially sub-standard tuition. They can now only use accredited tuition partners who have met a rigorous set of quality standards.

But schools are still struggling to find quality tuition. More high quality accredited tuition partners are needed, and it is clear that schools also need more support than the NTP is currently providing to make the scheme work.

The National Tutoring Programme was set up in Summer 2020 to make high-quality tuition available to help those whose education has been most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. These are overwhelmingly young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, who were already only half as likely to pass GCSE English and Maths.

Impetus believes that for the NTP to work as it was intended, the Department of Education now needs to explore higher subsidy rates for higher quality tuition providers - to encourage the take up of the best quality tuition.

It also needs to require the new NTP contractors to include a capacity building element in their programme - to grow the availability of quality tutoring.

It also needs to make NTP management information available to drive improvements in the scheme, and allow it to develop to meet more schools’ needs.

Ben Gadsby, Head of Policy and Research at Impetus, and author of the report said: "Tutoring is one of the best-evidenced interventions for supporting young people to make accelerated progress but, two years on, quality tutoring still isn’t available to every school that needs it.

"The National Tutoring Programme has the chance to transform the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. But without better data, and the ability to attract more, higher quality tutors, there is a real risk that this potential will never be met.

"Our report outlines the steps that the new contractor, along with the Department for Education need to take to make the programme a success, so that all schools can secure the tutoring they want for their pupils."