MP blasts ‘farcical’ tutoring situation

CATCH-UP tutors are running sessions for ‘ghost pupils’ who don’t turn up due to confusion over whether students who repeatedly fail to show up are allowed to be removed from the programme – with an MP calling it ‘farcical’.

Senior school leaders have said that National Tutoring Programme (NTP) tuition providers are saying they cannot remove students that have started a block of tuition from the scheme and replace them with another pupil.

Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South and shadow schools minister, said guidance over whether students could be removed from the scheme needed clarifying.

He told tes magazine: ‘The government’s incompetence has led to the farcical situation where tutors are teaching empty classrooms, failing children and taxpayers.

‘Ministers must urgently clarify guidance for providers and address wider access issues if their failing flagship scheme is to have any hope of reaching the children who need it most.’