SCHOOLS Minister Robin Walker MP was at Coventry’s Joseph Cash Primary School last Thursday to see the positive impact the National Tutoring Programme had on pupils.
The Government has so far rolled out 1.5million tuition courses across England – each 15 hours worth of sessions – in a bid to help pupils and raise attainment standards.
The cash has funded extra teaching hours, the majority in-house and some external, so pupils could get three-to-one tuition. This is the first year in a three-year programme.
Mr Walker said he was very impressed with what he saw from both the Coventry pupils and their teachers and how they had benefited from the tuition.
“What I saw was good teaching and engagement – both learning and teaching to a very high standard,” he said.
“The National Tutoring Programme has transformed the way schools provide support for the young people who need it the most.
“Children from all backgrounds and all corners of the country have now started over 1.5million tutoring courses, which is testament to the programme’s success.”
Mr Walker said it was fitting his visit coincided with ‘Thank a Teacher Day’.
Department of Education research found 63 per cent of primary schools in Coventry had taken up the scheme, narrowly below the national average in England of 66 per cent.
Mr Walker added: “The aim is to get the figures up to 100 per cent so every school signs up and attainment levels rise.”
The Minister was also in Coventry to announce the doubling of the ‘Recovery Premium’ funding in secondary schools which would mean each one in England receive £60,000 next year as opposed to the £30,000 for this year. It works out at £276 per pupil who needs the assistance.
The funding is aimed at helping pupils catch up on the education they lost during the pandemic. In primary schools, the funding has risen to £7,000 per school, amounting to £143 per pupil who needs extra support.
Children and young people faced unique challenges during the pandemic, and the £1bn Recovery Premium, shared between schools, was aimed at ‘turbo-boosting’ the gap-filling from the education missed.
Another study into the impact of the pandemic and home learning on education has found that on average pupils were three months behind but, Mr Walker said, the Government’s intervention had seen two-thirds of that time recovered.
“There is more work to do and it is dependent on different situations – based on schools, their local areas, the households and the families.
“When we provide the cash to schools we put it in the hands of the headteachers who can choose how that money is spent and specifically target the pupils who need extra support.
“The heads are the people who know first hand where the funding will be better-spent.”
Click here for more on the ‘Recovery Premium’ scheme.
