Need to work together

Our new poll has found high levels of parental uncertainty about the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), which was created in response to partial school closures during the pandemic to combat lost learning.

A pillar of the government's new Schools White Paper is to offer targeted support for every child who needs to catch up on their learning, aiming to provide pupils with up to six million tutoring courses by 2024.

Yet only around half of parents (52%) said that they had heard of the NTP, where 48% had not.

Tutoring will continue to be one of the levers that the government uses to ensure that every child has the opportunity to get up to date on their learning.

But parents are concerned about the disruption their child has faced to their schooling over the last few years, and the impact that this will have on their outcomes and opportunities later in life.

The "Parent Pledge” is a step in the right direction in terms of bringing parents further into their child's education.

It is pleasing to see policymakers recognise their crucial role in supporting their child’s learning.

However, the devil will be in the details in terms of whether or not additional tutoring not only helps to improve outcomes for children, but also reaches those who need it the most.

Parentkind is mindful that the "Parent Pledge” requires parents to proactively approach the school before they receive support, and for many parents there are existing barriers to crossing that threshold.

It could work better by working in conjunction with initiatives which helps build robust and positive relationships between home and school.