While the programme reached over 90% of the targets in some southern regions, the North East came in last with less than 60% of the target number of schools for the region engaging and this lack of engagement has now become a topic of national interest.

As you know we’ve been campaigning hard to ensure that North East schools receive appropriate support to help them and their students can move forward from the effects of the pandemic. We have been speaking to school leaders across the region to understand why they are or are not engaging with the NTP, to enable us to build a broader picture of what is happening in the North East. Whether you are engaging with NTP or not, please help us to lobby on your behalf by completing this short survey to help us understand the detailed situation in our region.
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Statistics from the National Tutoring Programme have shown that there are significant disparities in regional engagement. As of 26th February 2021, the NTP has reached 100% of it’s target in the South West and 96% in the South East. However, northern regions saw far less engagement with Yorkshire and the Humber, North West and North East all reaching fewer than 60% of target schools. The North East was narrowly the lowest at 58.8%.

The NTP has highlighted that they expected regional differences given that tutoring has previously been much more established in the South and London. However, the NTP has not disclosed their regional targets.

Schools North East’s ‘State of the Region’ survey in January had already indicated that there was low NE engagement with the programme due to a number of different reasons. Fewer than 20% of respondents were engaging in the programme and of those who were, a third were unsure if they would continue with the programme. Reasons behind this were wide-ranging, with some schools wanting to engage but failing to be paired with mentors, and others choosing not to as they preferred to have their own staff supporting students rather than external tutors.

Further feedback from school leaders in the region has suggested that it is a ‘one size fits all approach’ and that whereas tutoring has been successful in London and the South in the past, this does not necessarily mean it is an appropriate intervention for students in the very different context of the North East. Furthermore, given that some of the students who need this support the most have struggled throughout the pandemic with lack of access to devices and internet, there is a concern that there will be a lack of engagement with online sessions.

The issue of engagement in the region has gathered national attention with articles in Tes and Schools Week, with further interest from other outlets.

Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East said ‘We understand from conversations and research with school leaders across our network that engagement in the region has been low. A number of schools have expressed their interest in the programme but have failed to be matched with mentors. Some schools have chosen not to take part in the programme preferring to support students’ recovery with staff who know their students. Equally, there is a concern that the students who most need targeted interventions lack the support and access to properly engage in online sessions. While we don’t want North East schools to miss out on the opportunity, we also need to trust in the professional judgement of our school leaders about the best approach to support our children.’

‘Tutoring has been an established intervention in Southern regions, reflected in the high engagement reported there. Applying this one-size-fits all approach doesn’t take into account huge regional variations, including the significant levels of long-term, high impact disadvantage in the North East, which has been exposed and exacerbated by Covid-19. Any recovery programme needs to be flexible to allow school leaders to identify where the gaps are, and properly support students in their mental and emotional development, not just academic ‘catch-up’.’

This point was underlined at the Education Select Committee meeting earlier this week regarding ‘catch up’, where Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, said ‘I think we have to be bold and ambitious. My view is that the recovery needs to be long-term, sustained and far reaching. “Catch-up” is not really the language that I am using; I think it is much more about recovery over time. Catch-up is part of that, but it will not be enough—we need to do something over a long period.’