Tutoring

NTP was a rough ride (and January didn’t help), says Francis

Exclusive

Running the government’s flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP) for its inaugural year was “a bit bumpier” than expected, but there are no regrets, says Professor Becky Francis.

The chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) said “serious disruption” caused by Covid impacted the scheme.

Although the programme met its 250,000-pupil enrolment target, just 205,538 youngsters had started sessions by the end of August.

The last-minute lockdown in January left the EEF, which oversaw the scheme alongside four other charities, rapidly putting tuition providers through safeguarding checks so they could offer online support for pupils stuck at home.

As well as disrupting getting tutors into schools, the lockdown hit leaders’ “appetite to try new things or be able to extend themselves,” Francis said. “It’s been a hugely challenging year for everybody.

“If we’d known [there would be more waves] we might have thought more or been able at least to anticipate the need to move models of delivery from classroom based to online, or from online back to classroom again.”

A particular problem was balancing being “true to the evidence” on tutoring, while “being flexible with responsive demands and needs on the ground”.

The EEF normally points out what works best in schools, rather than delivering a scheme.

And Francis said while the foundation was “determined” it would not be “deliverers” again, it would be “more hands-on” in future work.

However, she was “disappointed” the new charity set up by the EEF, the National Tutoring Foundation, was not selected to run NTP year two. Randstad, a Dutch HR firm that submitted a much cheaper bid, won the contract.

Under the new scheme, the government will start to taper the subsidy it provides for schools to access tutoring.

But Francis urged “really careful scrutiny” over how this impacted the scheme.

Latest education roles from

Chief Education Officer (Deputy CEO)

Chief Education Officer (Deputy CEO)

Romero Catholic Academy Trust

Director of Academy Finance and Operations

Director of Academy Finance and Operations

Ormiston Academies Trust

Principal & Chief Executive

Principal & Chief Executive

Truro & Penwith College

Group Director of Marketing, Communications & External Engagement

Group Director of Marketing, Communications & External Engagement

London & South East Education Group

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

How accurate spend information is helping schools identify savings

One the biggest issues schools face when it comes to saving money on everyday purchases is a lack of...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building Character, Increasing Engagement and Growing Leaders: A Whole School Approach

Research increasingly shows that character education is just as important as academic achievement in shaping pupils’ long-term success. Studies...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Educators launch national AI framework to guide schools and colleges

More than 250 schools and colleges across the UK have already enrolled in AiEd Certified, a new certification framework...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Tutoring

Just 1 in 6 schools to offer tutoring after NTP, research suggests

Tutoring 'heavily reliant' on the availability of ring fenced funding, NFER research found

Samantha Booth
Tutoring

A ‘vibrant tutor market’? Providers wind down as NTP closes

Tutoring providers scale down as the flagship catch-up scheme closes

Samantha Booth
Tutoring

Over 4 in 10 schools snub tutoring in final year of subsidies

Course starts likely halved in last year of subsidies for flagship catch-up programme

Freddie Whittaker
Tutoring

Tutoring: Another £1m saved as mentor scheme axed early

Demand has dropped for mentors with only a fifth of the target reached last year

Samantha Booth

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *