Teachers Reveal Why Government’s £1bn Tutoring Plan Won’t Work
A government plan to fund private tutors for students who need help catching up on their studies amid the coronavirus pandemic has been criticised by school leaders as poorly thought out and with little detail.
Last month the government revealed a £1bn fund – with primary and secondary schools given £650m to spend on one-to-one or group tuition for any pupils who they think need it. The most disadvantaged children will have access to tutors through a £350m programme over the course of the school year from September.
But headteachers have pointed out the money is not entirely new, as some funding to close gaps as pupils transition from primary to secondary schools is being scrapped.
And they also fear that many pupils, especially those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, will be wary of opening up to a stranger and admitting they don’t know or understand things.
“It is great making headlines by saying there will be funding to tutor children – but there have been no real details,” Brian Walton, headteacher at Brookside Academy in Somerset, told HuffPost UK
“It should not be about throwing money at a problem until you know exactly what the nature of the problem is.
Others have questioned whether the money will actually be enough, as research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests the £650m pot works out to be about £80 extra for each pupil.
“Children cannot learn until they feel safe, they are fed and they get back into a routine,” Tehmina Hashmi, executive director at Bradford Academy told HuffPost UK.
“It is not just as simple as plugging gaps in learning. It is about getting children back into the routines and talking to them about how they are feeling.
“It will take time for the new normal to be established before we can even begin to think about gaps in learning.”
Bradford Academy has a primary school and secondary school on the same site and Hashmi says that they have only recently opened to some wider pupils on top of the...
