National Tutoring Programme (NTP)

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) supports schools by providing access to high-quality tutoring to help pupils whose education has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Evidence shows that tutoring can boost progress by up to five months, with extensive evidence showing that tutoring is one of the most effective tools to support learning and accelerate pupil progress.

As part of the Education Recovery programme, the government has invested a further £1bn to support up to six million, 15-hour tutoring packages for pupils who need help. This support includes £222m to fund an extension to the 16 – 19 tutoring provision in addition to training and resources for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme.

Find further information about catch-up funding, including for early years settings and post-16 providers, on the Department for Education website.

In the 2020 to 2021 academic year, NTP delivered support to 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 options.

This publication provides:

• national, regional and local authority level estimates of the total number of starts made by pupils on NTP courses, as well as breakdowns of starts made by pupils on courses through the different options: school led tutoring, tuition partners and academic mentors, and
• national, regional and local authority level estimates of the percentages of schools participating in the National Tutoring Programme and each route.

Uncertainty in School Led Tutoring Estimates

Estimates regarding school led tutoring in the publication are based on the Educational Setting Status Form, a survey with a response rate of 31.4%. Because we infer from this sample what non-responding schools are doing, estimates are uncertain and should be treated with caution. This is particularly true for local authority level estimates where sample sizes are small but we are continuing to publish these estimates to help inform delivery at a local level. More information can be found in the methodology and flags for small samples and lower response rates are included in the data files.

The Department for Education (DfE) is also collecting data about School Led Tutoring through the School Census and the ‘School-Led Tutoring: Year-End Statement’ through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The DfE will use other data alongside the Educational Setting Status form to improve and expand NTP statistics in future.

Starts Made by Pupils on NTP Courses: Total since November 2020

Up to 8th May 2022, DfE estimates that at least 1,508,049 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through the National Tutoring Programme. This is across the 2020 to 2021 academic year and the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

This is an estimated increase of 309,810 from 13th March.

This figure is for course starts. Individual pupils may undertake more than one course.

Starts Made by Pupils on NTP Courses: 2021 to 2022 Academic Year

Up to 8th May 2022, DfE estimates that at least 1,197,332 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through the National Tutoring Programme in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. This is an estimated increase of 309,810 from 13th March.

Up to 5th May 2022, DfE estimates that 913,388 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through school led tutoring on NTP in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. This is an estimated increase of 238,447 from 10th March.

Up to 8th May 2022, 165,230 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through tuition partners on NTP in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. This is an increase of 36,454 from 13th March.

Up to 8th May 2022, DfE estimates that 118,714 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through academic mentors on NTP in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. This is an estimated increase of 34,909 from 13th March.

This figure is for course starts. Individual pupils may undertake more than one course.

Schools Participation in NTP: 2021 to 2022 Academic Year

Up to 8th May 2022, DfE estimates that 66.8% of state-funded schools have so far participated in the National Tutoring Programme in the 2021 to 2022 Academic year. The percentage here represents the percentage of respondents to the Educational Setting Status form who are participating in the programme. This is an estimated increase of 6.9 percentage points from 13th March.

Whilst all schools can access NTP funding through the tuition partners route, not all school are eligible for school led tutoring funding or an academic mentor.