The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) was introduced by the DfE to provide subsidised tuition to disadvantaged pupils and help close the attainment gap caused by school closures in response to Covid-19. This report gathers the views of senior leaders in England to understand the extent to which the NTP is offering additional value to schools and pupils and the factors that influence the potential of tutoring becoming a sustainable intervention.
The report found that nearly two thirds (65 per cent) of the 52 per cent of senior leaders currently using the programme are planning to continue using it in the 2023/24 academic year. Three quarters (76 per cent) currently using the NTP believe it is improving the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils, while 73 per cent believe the programme selection guidance allows them to prioritise pupils most in need of academic support.
However, views on the cost-effectiveness of the programme are split (42 per cent believe it is cost-effective and 45 per cent do not) while 58 per cent of surveyed leaders do not think tutoring is a long-term solution to closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.
The top five reasons given by senior leaders for dropping out of the NTP were:
- Reduced subsidy (55 per cent)
- Annual funding arrangements for the NTP made it difficult to forward plan (35 per cent)
- Difficulties sourcing suitable tutors (28 per cent)
- Administrative burden required to access the funding was too high (27 per cent)
- Reporting requirements for the funding were too burdensome (23 per cent)
Key Findings:
- Among the 52 per cent of senior leaders currently using the NTP, almost all (91 per cent) reported that it has allowed them to offer support to more disadvantaged pupils, and more than two thirds (68 per cent) have been able to hire or use additional staff. We also found that three-quarters (76 per cent) of these leaders believe it is improving the attainment of disadvantaged pupils at their school, and nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) plan to continue using the NTP in the 2023-24 academic year. But nearly half (47 per cent) reported that their school only offers tutoring during normal lesson times.
- NTP funding arrangements, the ability to source suitable tutors, administrative burden and time required to implement the NTP are barriers to sustainability, as they are reducing take up and/or causing drop-out from the programme.
- More than half (61 per cent) of all senior leaders surveyed think that other types of support are more effective than tutoring for improving attainment amongst disadvantaged pupils, including 42 per cent of senior leaders planning to continue using the NTP next year.
- Over half (58 per cent) of all senior leaders surveyed do not think that tutoring is a long-term solution to closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils, including 46 per cent of those planning to continue delivering the NTP, and there are split opinions about the cost-effectiveness of tutoring.