Funding concerns preventing tutoring from becoming ’embedded’ in schools

The majority of school leaders who have dropped out of the Government’s flagship tutoring programme, or are planning to this year, have cited funding concerns as the main reason, a report suggests.

Nearly half (45%) of school leaders do not believe the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) – which aims to help pupils catch up on learning missed due to Covid-19 – is cost-effective, according to a survey.

The report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found that 55% of the senior leaders who said that they had dropped out of the NTP already, or planned to drop out at the end of the current academic year, cited the reduced Government subsidy rate as a key factor in their decision.

The Department for Education (DfE) subsidised 60% of the costs that schools incurred for delivering the NTP in the 2022/23 academic year, but this subsidy is set to reduce further in future years.

The DfE originally planned to fund 25% of the cost of the NTP in the 2023/24 academic year, but last month it announced that it would increase it to 50%.

The survey, of 439 senior school leaders in England between March 10-15, suggests that 76% of those currently using the NTP believe that it is improving the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.

But only 9% of senior leaders currently using the NTP reported that they could continue delivering the same amount of tutoring to disadvantaged pupils when the NTP subsidy decreases to zero.

“This indicates that the reducing subsidies are likely to continue to deter schools from providing NTP tuition to pupils and potentially that the subsidies have reduced too rapidly for tutoring to have become embedded in schools,” the report suggests.

The top reasons given by senior leaders for dropping out of the NTP were the reduced subsidy (55%) and annual funding arrangements for the programme making it difficult for them to forward plan (35%).

Other factors listed included difficulties sourcing suitable tutors (28%) and the administrative burden required to access the funding was too high (27%).

“The funding arrangements for the NTP are having a significant impact on both the take up of and drop out from the programme and reducing its sustainability,” the report says.

But it acknowledges that some views may have now changed as the survey was carried out before the Government announced that the NTP subsidy for 2023-24 would be 50% instead of 25%.

The NFER is calling on the Government to explore how additional financial support can be made available to schools over a longer period to allow tutoring to become embedded in schools.

Ben Styles, NFER’s head of classroom practice and workforce, said: “School leaders mostly believe the NTP is helping disadvantaged pupils, but many feel this support comes at too high a cost in terms of finances and administration.

“Tutoring is not yet embedded in schools. Long-term financial support is needed alongside reductions to the administrative burden on staff.

“Leaders would also benefit from much more notice on changes to funding arrangements, so they can forward plan and budget properly.

“Overcoming these barriers is vital if tutoring is to win the hearts and minds of schools and be seen as a sustainable way of helping to close the attainment disadvantage gap.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “As the Government intends to reduce the subsidy next academic year – even though by less than it initially planned – the programme will obviously become unaffordable for an increasing number of schools.”

James Bowen, assistant general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “As this report shows, the vast majority of schools dropping out of the NTP do so for financial reasons.

“If the Government are serious about making this work, they need to signal that they will invest in tutoring properly and for the long term.”

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: “As this report shows, our National Tutoring Programme is helping those pupils most in need of support, with over three million courses started to date.

“Since the evidence from this survey was collected in March, we have announced that the subsidy will increase from 25% to 50% next year, having listened to feedback from schools. We will therefore be matching school’s funding contribution levels.

“On top of this, we will also be supporting them more widely through a £2 billion boost in school funding which will be at its highest level in history – in real terms.”