Unfair to make schools accountable for failure of government scheme

Community, the union for education and early years professionals, has expressed its concerns at government plans to publish new ‘tutoring league tables’ – a move seen as an attempt to ‘name and shame’ schools in England that have not yet signed up to the National Tutoring Programme.

According to a letter to heads from Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, urging  remaining schools “to participate”, the “data of each school’s involvement” will be published in the autumn as part of the government’s “pledge to parents”; schools that have not signed up will be contacted directly by the Department for Education (DfE) to “discuss their plans”, while data on take-up will also be passed to Ofsted.

Martin Hodge, Community’s Head of Education Policy, said:

“The ‘parent pledge’ is being used unfairly to hold schools accountable for something over which they have no control – the failure of the government’s tutoring scheme, which it contracted Randstad to run in 2021 before announcing earlier this year that the contact with the company would be ended.

“School staff have continued to work throughout the pandemic.  They have asked for help and funding to support recovery – help that has not been given.

“The support that has been offered – tutors – has come with caveats and a heavy steer to use one of the government’s preferred providers, despite there being no control over the quality of the tuition.

“Where tutors have been employed directly by schools, they have proved to be remarkably effective, but most of the tutoring money was intended to be used to fund private tuition partners – something over which schools had no control – and yet they are now being implored to use these partners before the funding runs out.

“Any unused funding is expected to be returned to the DfE, and, in an unexpected and deplorable twist, schools will be held accountable for the effectiveness of the provision.”


If you are a member of Community and need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
LinkedIn
Share

Thank you. We have received your query

We have received your query and a member of our Service Centre Department will be in touch to discuss further with you.

Due to service demands it is not always possible for our advisors to reply to your query immediately. We aim to respond within 48 hours of receipt.

If your employer has invited you to a formal meeting (disciplinary, grievance or appeal) and you are seeking representation, if you have not already done so via this form, please provide us with all relevant supporting information including any notes/minutes from any investigation process and your email/letter of invitation, which should include full details of when and where the meeting is due to take place.

Please note that representation is not provided for investigation meetings.

If you have any further queries, please contact our Service Centre Department on 0800 389 6332 or at servicecentre@community-tu.org.

       
           

Not a member?
Let’s get to know each other.

       
   
           

"*" indicates required fields

Name*

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Do you live in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, or the BANES?*
Are you a Community member?*
Are you in active employment?*
What type of learning would you like to access (please tick all that apply)*
Do you have a disability?
What is your gender?

Do you have a learning disability?
Where do you prefer to learn?*