University establishes tutoring scheme for disadvantaged school students

The University of Exeter is running a new pilot programme to train university students to tutor disadvantaged pupils who have fallen behind due to COVID.

The education system in England is facing major challenges because of the COVID pandemic and a new program aims to tackle this head-on by enlisting the help of university students. The tutor programme aims to boost literacy and education recovery efforts in schools. 

Student volunteers are given training before being working with small groups of children once per week. Students involved have stated that they’ve enjoyed participating in the scheme and have found it ‘rewarding’.  

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) fulfilled its promise to provide two million tutoring courses last year.

This programme is currently focused on improving literacy and is separate from the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), the government’s main education recovery plan. The NTP fulfilled its promise to provide two million tutoring courses last year, but did not reach its goal of aiding disadvantaged pupils who were more severely impacted by the COVID disruption. There are also concerns about future participation once the government subsidy is decreased from 60 per cent to 25 per cent in 2023. These programmes are essential as the gulf in attainment between disadvantaged students and their peers is currently the widest it has been in 10 years.

There are also concerns about future participation once the government subsidy is decreased from 60 per cent to 25 per cent in 2023

The goal of the Exeter programme is to create a system that can be replicated at other universities and implemented in schools throughout the country. The scheme would also aid universities in fulfilling government expectations for them to work with local schools to improve attainment, particularly among disadvantaged pupils.