Covid catch-up sessions subsidised by the government are proving “too little, too late” for schools, a multi-academy trust leader has warned.

While the intentions behind the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) are “incredibly positive”, expecting cash-strapped schools to pay 25 per cent of catch-up tutoring costs is a “real crunch point”, according to Richard Sheriff, chief executive of the Red Kite Learning Trust and executive head of Harrogate Grammar School.

Asked on BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme how much use he will get out of the NTP, Mr Sheriff said: “I think at the moment it looks like it’s going to be quite limited. And I think that reflects the view across many schools across the country that I’ve spoken to so far.”

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The MAT leader said schools were “very confused” about the funding for the government’s Covid catch-up scheme, which was assigned in two tranches.

The first portion of the £1 billion Covid catch-up package, worth £650 million, was allocated to schools to spend as they wished on their catch-up plans.

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The second, worth £350 million, was earmarked specifically for the NTP. A significant portion of this funding, £76 million, was dedicated to running a subsection of the programme, called NTP Partners.

This part of the scheme allows schools to purchase subsidised external tutoring for disadvantaged pupils whose education has been disrupted.

Schools can choose from 33 providers selected to participate in the government-funded scheme, who offer a range of different types of tutoring, including face-to-face and online, using tutors drawn from different pools, including supply teachers, university students and trained volunteers. 

But Mr Sheriff took issue with the fact that these sessions are only subsidised up to 75 per cent, meaning schools are expected to pay 25 per cent of the costs.

The NTP has said schools are free to cover the remaining costs using the first portion of the government catch-up cash - the £650 million fund - but Mr Sheriff said this money had already been assigned in many cases, leaving schools with no way forward.

“I think the intentions are incredibly positive. We need to do all we can to support this generation of children who have been so affected by the virus, and missed so much of school. It really is incredibly pressing, incredibly important,” he said.

“But the schools already received, right as the beginning of this school term...the bulk of the money the government had allocated went to schools. And schools could make decisions about how best to use that to close the gap.

“This second tranche of money...made available, which was for the National Tutor[ing] Programme, I think schools were very confused about. They thought they were going to [be] receiving an extra tranche of money to buy tutors in.

“In actual fact...that tranche of money is not coming to the schools, but it’s being used to set up a programme of [33] different providers, some from the private sector, some are supply agencies coming into the tutoring sector, and schools can buy, at a 75 per cent discount, tutors from those independents.

“The problem with that is they’ve already decided what they’re going to spend the money on earlier this term, and they have to pay the 25 per cent from the first tranche of money that they’ve already decided how they’re going to spend.”

Mr Sheriff said his school would “definitely” use the NTP, but he feared it would become a “kind of minority interest”.

“Most schools I’ve spoken to have said: ‘Look, actually we don’t want to use tutors from organisations we don’t know. We don’t want to use adults who the children don’t know. We think it’s best if we decide those people who the children know can work with them.’ And they’ve come up with solutions to that locally, rather than using private providers that they don’t know,” he said.

“There’s already been a huge amount of time used up because obviously we are landed with the job of doing this, they then have to set up to do it, they then have to procure [33] different separate agencies in order to deliver this to schools. Meanwhile, schools have the children waiting for catch-up.

“What schools have to do now is go on to a website, put their postcode in, up come the...different providers, choose which one they want. They’re all different price points, some are charities, some are not. And then they’ve got to make contact with them. And I’m hearing that some schools have made contact and they’ve said: ‘Actually, we’d love to help but we have no more capacity - it’s all gone.’”

Mr Sheriff said the cost of tutoring varied between ”£300 per five sessions to £180 per five sessions”.

“So there’s a lot of choice, there’s a lot of options, and some of those will really work for individual schools, they really will, but I think for a lot of schools it’s just too little too late,” he said.

“And remember that 25 per cent of the cost has to be paid by the school, and this is a real crunch point - because they’re supposed to use the first tranche of money to pay for this tutoring scheme, but many have already allocated that money.

“And any extra cash in school [has] gone on hand sanitiser, temporary classrooms and plastic screens. So they are tight for cash to pay for that tutoring, however good it is.”

Addressing Mr Sheriff’s concerns about schools covering 25 per cent of costs, a spokesperson for the NTP said: “The cost is heavily subsidised by 75 per cent so tutoring is more accessible to those pupils and schools who have previously not been able to access quality tutoring. This tutoring is available in 15 hour blocks, which will be as cheap as £50 per pupil in some cases.

“By subsidising approved tuition partners, the NTP is making high-quality tutoring available in regions where capacity was previously very limited. This means that tutoring will be available to schools in every English postcode, addressing the problem of regional disparities.”

On the issue of schools neglecting tutors not known to their pupils, the NTP spokesperson said: “It was argued that schools would prefer to use tutors or tutoring companies they already have relationships with.

“However, in many deprived areas that simply isn’t an option for schools - because there isn’t any available local provision. The NTP was specifically designed to allow all schools to access high quality tutors regardless of their postcode.”

The spokesperson also said it “isn’t true” that schools are contacting providers who are already at capacity.

“All tuition partners are required, as per their grant agreements, to let us know when they reach just 25 per cent of their capacity,” they said. 

“Only a small number of providers have reached this milestone so there is plenty of capacity left.”

And on the issue of timing, the NTP spokesperson said: “The National Tutoring Programme was first announced at the end of June and is already delivering in schools as of the beginning of November. The NTP has worked quickly to recruit, assess and fund tuition partners whilst ensuring that all tuition partners are of the highest quality to support children.

“In addition, many schools told us that they needed time to assess pupils’ learning and wellbeing needs on the return to school in Sept, before they could engage fully with the NTP.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “The National Tutoring Programme will ensure that high quality tutoring - which can be transformational in boosting academic progress, especially for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds - is available in all parts of the country to those who need the most support to catch up.

“The programme is just one part of our wider £1 billion Covid catch up fund, which is providing schools with flexible additional funding to use in the best interests of their pupils, guided by expert advice from the EEF on the most effective interventions schools might choose.”