The National Tutoring Programme Year 2: Implementation and Process Evaluation

Sarah Lynch, Megan Lucas, Elizabeth Davies, Aarti Sahasranaman and Gemma Schwendel

26 October 2022

Research report on the DfE website

This report summarises the findings from the implementation and process evaluation of the second year of the National Tutoring programme (2021-22). The programme is an important part of the Government’s Covid-19 recovery response, offering tuition support to disadvantaged pupils who have been hit hardest by the disruption.

Drawing on survey and interview data, the report focuses on: reasons for participation in the NTP; its implementation (particularly School-Led Tutoring (SLT) which was new in 2021-22); the impact of the NTP on workloads; the effect of the NTP on pupil premium spending on tutoring; satisfaction with the programme; and perceptions of its impact.

Key Findings

  • Most school leaders and teachers were generally positive about all three NTP routes, although favoured the SLT route because they valued control and autonomy over delivery of tutoring.
  • Most senior leaders involved in each of the individual routes perceived the NTP was having a positive impact on pupils’ attainment, self-confidence and them catching up with their peers.
  • The majority who were participating in the NTP were satisfied with the quality of tuition across all three routes, yet a minority had found it difficult to access provision and lacked confidence in being able to obtain high-quality tutoring.
  • Some schools were not participating in the NTP because they felt the subsidies were insufficient, but could be encouraged to participate in the future if subsidies were increased.
  • Most senior leaders had experienced an increase in their workload, particularly due to the management and administration time required to deliver tutoring.