Government ‘determined’ to ensure every child can access personal tutoring

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The Education Secretary has said he is “determined” to make personal tutoring free to every pupil.

During an interview with the Sunday Express, Nadhim Zahawi said one-on-one teaching could become part of the national education system to help children who have fallen behind due to coronavirus lockdowns, according to the newspaper.

Speaking about tutoring, he said: “My target, and my instruction from my boss the Prime Minister, is to make it permanent.

“That means schools will have the ability to use tutoring for pupils when they need it.

“A teacher will identify where the gaps are in a child’s learning in maths and English, and communicate with parents how they are going to deal with that gap.”

Funding from the pupil premium, a payment to help schools support children from lower-income families, will pay for the scheme.

Mr Zahawi also said he believes it was a “mistake” to close schools during the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, adding that his nine-year-old daughter, Mia, “struggled” when classroom teaching was taken away.

The Government previously said parents will be able to access data on how their child’s school is using the national tutoring programme, while the Department for Education pledged to share details with Ofsted.