Auditors are examining whether the National Tutoring Programme is achieving value for money as part of an investigation into government’s education catch-up schemes.
The National Audit Office will report later this year on how effectively the Department for Education is supporting education recovery in schools.
The probe will include an assessment of ministers’ flagship multi-million pound tutoring scheme, following a bumpy two years since its launch.
It will also probe the universal and targeted financial premiums paid directly to schools, training and continuous professional development for teachers and the summer schools programme.
It follows a critical report by the NAO in March 2021 which urged education ministers to take “swift action” to review their catch-up plans.
Auditors also raised questions about how many poorer pupils the NTP was reaching.
Schools Week recently revealed how two reviews of the programme have now been delayed until later this year, around two years after the programme’s launch.
HR firm Randstad’s £32 million contract to run the flagship tutoring scheme is due to end within weeks after it was axed following a tumultuous year which saw the programme struggle to reach its targets.
Three new providers have been contracted to help run the scheme next year, with the cash going directly to schools.
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