Government announces funding for national tutoring programme in England to be doubled

Ministers are to double the funding for the government’s flagship tutoring programme.

The £1bn national tutoring programme (NTP) was launched in November 2020 to help children in England make up for learning lost during the coronavirus pandemic, when schools were closed to most pupils for months at a time.

Initially, 75 per cent of the funding was provided by the government for the 2021/22 academic year, and the subsidy was due to be cut to 25 per cent for the coming academic year. Ministers have now announced that £150m will be made available to schools next year, part of a package that will total £1bn over four years.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “School leaders have been clear that dramatically reducing the tutoring subsidy next year would have been disastrous for the programme.

“In a recent member poll, 59% of respondents told us that they were using the programme this year but would not be able to access it next academic year.

“It is therefore good news that the subsidy will be maintained at a higher rate than originally planned for 2023-24”

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, added “We welcome the fact that the Government subsidy for the NTP is not going to be reduced next year by as much as was initially planned.

“The fact remains, though, that schools which struggled to afford 40% of the cost of tutoring this year aren’t going to find it any easier to afford 50% next year.”