DfE revises tutoring subsidy reduction from 60% to 50% amid concerns

Schools should be able to access National Tutoring Programme (NTP) cash without having to match funding from “extremely stretched” budgets, headteachers have said

The Department for Education (DfE) initially planned to reduce its tutoring subsidy from 60% to 25% starting in September. However, the DfE has now announced that the reduction will only go down to 50%.

This means that schools will still be responsible for covering 50% of the cost of NTP interventions, which headteachers argue will be difficult for many schools given their limited budgets.

While the Association of School and College Leaders appreciates the change, they note that schools that struggled to cover 40% of the tutoring cost this year will face the same difficulty in covering 50% next year.

Earlier this year, the National Audit Office cautioned the DfE that its plan to gradually reduce and eventually eliminate the subsidy would jeopardize tutoring interventions.

Recent data from the DfE shows that nearly 3.4m tutoring courses have been initiated under the NTP since its launch in autumn 2020. This includes 2.2m in the 2021/22 academic year and approximately 840,000 from September 2022 to January 2023. According to the DfE, 66% of schools have participated in the NTP.

The NTP is a crucial component of the DfE’s £3.5 billion Covid recovery program and has been allocated £1bn over four years. Next year, £150m will be available to schools, which has not been increased. With the higher 50% subsidy, the DfE expects a reduced uptake.

Julie McCulloch, ASCL’s director of policy, stated that the planned reduction to 25% would have led many schools to cut or completely abandon NTP provision. She expressed hope that the government’s change will enable more schools to provide tutoring.

However, she emphasised that schools struggling to afford 40% of the cost this year won’t find it any easier to afford 50% next year. McCulloch suggested multiple times that schools should access their allocated NTP funding without having to contribute from their already strained budgets. She finds it disappointing that the government has not made this simple change, which she believes would allow more schools and students to benefit from the program.

The sentiment was echoed by the National Association of Head Teachers, citing their research showing that 59% of surveyed school leaders plan to reduce NTP provision next year due to the subsidy cut.

General secretary Paul Whiteman added that due to financial pressures, many schools will still struggle to fund the remaining 50% required from them, especially since the overall funding for tutoring will not change.

The DfE has also released guidance for schools on NTP funding for 2023/24, covering various NTP options, fund allocation, handling unspent funds, and addressing issues such as safeguarding and accountability.

The guidance states that tutoring should primarily target pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium or those below the expected standard or grade boundary in relevant subjects. However, controversially, only 50% of those who have received tutoring interventions so far have been eligible for free school meals.