An education expert who proposed the National Tutoring Programme says it risks being a “disaster” and wants a public inquiry into its administration.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at Exeter University, said that regular tutoring could boost pupils’ learning by three to five months across the year, but instead the scheme risked being a “tragedy” that would deter schools from using tuition.
The scheme has signed up less than 10 per cent of its target of pupils for the year. Head teachers say it is complex and unwieldy, with one likening it to “gambling” with school money.
The £1 billion programme seeks to provide one-to-one or small group tuition for children worst affected by lost learning during the pandemic. It has three pillars:
