Government announces £1 billion expansion of tutoring

Children and young people across England will be offered up to 100 million hours of free tuition to help them catch up on learning lost during the pandemic.

As part of the next step in the government’s plans to boost education recovery, a total of £1.4 billion is being invested, including £1 billion to support up to six million, 15-hour tutoring courses for disadvantaged school children, as well as an expansion of the 16-19 tuition fund, targeting key subjects such as maths and English.

The government expects the £1 billion investment to transform the availability and approach to tuition in every school and college over the next three years, making sure when teachers identify a disadvantaged child in need of support as a result of the pandemic, extra support is available.

The Department for Education has also announced that £400 million will help give early years practitioners and 500,000 school teachers across the country training and support, and schools and colleges will be funded to give some year 13 students the option to repeat their final year.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “This is the third major package of catch-up funding in twelve months and demonstrates that we are taking a long-term, evidence-based approach to help children of all ages.

“I am incredibly proud it recognises the efforts and dedication of our teachers who are at the forefront of children’s recovery – making sure every teacher has the opportunity to access world-leading training, giving them the skills and tools to help every child they work with to fulfil their potential. The package will not just go a long way to boost children’s learning in the wake of the disruption caused by the pandemic but also help bring back down the attainment gap that we’ve been working to eradicate.”

Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the Children and Young People Board at the Local Government Association, said: “No child should be left behind as we recover from the pandemic and this package of measures and significant investment announced by the government will help to boost education recovery. Education recovery will be a long-term endeavour and go beyond academic achievement. It is vital that we also support children and young people’s socialisation, communication and mental health and wellbeing.

“Recovery support should be made available to all children and young people but it is vital that vulnerable children, who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, are the focus of this work. Councils stand ready to use their role as local leaders and education system conveners to ensure that the government’s national education recovery objectives meet the needs of local communities.”