National Tutoring Programme data highlights need for flexible support
The DfE released in-depth data this week on the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), with breakdowns by type of NTP delivery and by region. Previously, DfE had only released ad-hoc statistics.
In the 2020 to 2021 academic year, NTP delivered support schools via two routes: tuition partners and academic mentors. In the 2021 to 2022 academic year, funding has also been provided directly to schools for school-led tutoring, in addition to the other two routes.
Across all routes, the DfE estimates that 59.9% of state-funded schools have so far (up to March) participated in the National Tutoring Programme in the 2021 to 2022 Academic year. A breakdown of the routes started is below.
| 2020 to 2021 | 2021 to 2022 | Total | |
| School led | N/a | 674,941 | 674,941 |
| Tuition partner | 206,855 | 128,766 | 335,631 |
| Academic mentor | 103,862 | 83,805 | 187,667 |
| Total | 310,717 | 887,521 | 1,198,239 |
The table below shows the school participation rates in the NTP and the different strands by region.
| Total | School led | Tuition partner | Academic mentor | |
| England | 59.9% | 53.7% | 14.1% | 4.8% |
| North East | 64.4% | 54.7% | 12.6% | 10.0% |
| North West | 65.3% | 59.5% | 15.9% | 6.1% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 63.2% | 56.0% | 14.4% | 5.5% |
| East Midlands | 58.8% | 53.1% | 13.4% | 3.8% |
| West Midlands | 62.2% | 54.4% | 15.5% | 5.3% |
| East of England | 58.1% | 51.5% | 13.3% | 2.8% |
| London | 58.2% | 51.5% | 18.0% | 5.2% |
| South East | 55.9% | 51.7% | 12.3% | 2.2% |
| South West | 56.4% | 50.8% | 10.4% | 5.2% |
The North East has some of the highest rates of engagement with the NTP (only the North West is above this). This is due to the slightly higher rates of engagement across the North and the Midlands in school-led tutoring, and in our region particularly high levels of participation with academic mentors, relative to the rest of the country.
This contrasts dramatically with figures from the same time last year (March 2021). Figures provided by the NTP showed the scheme had reached 100 per cent of its target number of schools in the South West and 96.1 per cent in the South East, but just 58.8 per cent in the North East, 58.9 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber and 59.3 per cent in the North West.
Considering the clear preference for school-led tutoring, and the difficulties in accessing external tutors across much of the North, it is encouraging that the DfE has announced that schools will now receive funding directly for the NTP next academic year. We have previously called on the government to remove obstacles to delivery of support to students that need it most, and to remove endless bureaucracy to access funds. It is welcome, although it has taken too long, that the government has recognised the limitations of the NTP, hopefully moving away from implementing one-size-fits-all strategies to catch-up.