The Government’s Catch-up programme

Education Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 29 Nov 2021 Closed: 20 Oct 2022 Parliament page
The Education Committee is holding an inquiry on the effectiveness of the Government’s catch-up programme. The pandemic has had a significant impact on all aspects of pupils’ lives. Pupils have lost months of learning, with disadvantaged pupils the worst affected. To date, the Government has spent around £5 billion on … Read more
14 Recommendations
6 Conclusions
1 Report
3 Oral sessions
3 Events
Activity timeline 8 events
25 Jan
2022
25 Jan
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
12 Jan
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
7 Dec
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions
The Government's Catch-up programme
Andy Green · Copleston High School Jill Thompson · Kelvin Grove Primary School Jo Coton · NET Academies Trust John Blaney · BMAT STEM Nicola Shipman · Steel City Schools Partnership Orienne Langley-Sadler · Elms Bank School and College Ruth Holden · Mulberry Academy Shoreditch
The Government's Catch-up programme; Accountability hearing with Robin Walker MP
Graham Archer · Department for Education Karen Guthrie · Randstad Mr Robin Walker · Department for Education
The Government’s Catch-up programme
David Laws · Education Policy Institute Nick Bent · The Tutor Trust Professor Becky Francis · Education Endowment Foundation
Recommendations & Conclusions
8 results
5 Recommendation Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
Teachers and school staff know their pupils and know what interventions are likely to bring...
Teachers and school staff know their pupils and know what interventions are likely to bring the most benefit. The Catch-up Programme to date has been fragmented, and a complex bureaucratic system for applications may have hampered some schools’ ability to … Read more
Government Response
The government will simplify the National Tutoring Programme by allocating all tutoring funding directly to schools and has allocated recovery premium based on disadvantage, and Ofsted considers the use of catch-up funding within inspections.
Department for Education
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9 Recommendation Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
It is not clear that the National Tutoring Programme will deliver for the pupils that...
It is not clear that the National Tutoring Programme will deliver for the pupils that need it most. We expect full transparency about the operation of the National Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purposee 31 Tutoring Programme, including information … Read more
Government Response
The Department began publishing half-termly data from March 2022, including data on participation by local authority, region and school, and will publish data on pupil characteristics such as disadvantage and SEN annually; they will reprocure for delivery partners as they will not be extending Randstad’s contract.
Department for Education
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10 Recommendation Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
The Department must commit to publishing statistics on a half-termly basis on the number of...
The Department must commit to publishing statistics on a half-termly basis on the number of starts under the National Tutoring Programme with a greater degree of granularity. This must include information on the proportion of children accessing the programme on … Read more
Government Response
The Department began publishing half-termly data from March 2022, including data on participation by local authority, region and school, and will publish data on pupil characteristics such as disadvantage and SEN annually; they will reprocure for delivery partners as they will not be extending Randstad’s contract.
Department for Education
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11 Recommendation Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
Currently it appears that the school-led tutoring pillar is more attractive than tuition partners or...
Currently it appears that the school-led tutoring pillar is more attractive than tuition partners or academic mentors (with 230,000 starts as of 1 December, compared to 52,000 and 20,000 respectively), although we have heard concerns about the quality assurance underpinning … Read more
Government Response
The government will allocate all tutoring funding directly to schools, ensure high standards of tutoring through training, procure delivery partners for quality assurance, and ensure school funding allocations for NTP take account of the numbers of disadvantaged pupils.
Department for Education
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13 Recommendation Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
The Department should commit to undertaking a review of the impact that Covid-19 has had...
The Department should commit to undertaking a review of the impact that Covid-19 has had on children with special educational needs and disabilities. (Paragraph 60) Mental health resilience and an extended school day
Government Response
The government will continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on pupils with SEND through research into academic progress and gathering evidence from schools, and the SEND and AP Green Paper addresses many of the key themes raised.
Department for Education
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14 Conclusion Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
We are conscious that any extension to the school day would need to be carefully...
We are conscious that any extension to the school day would need to be carefully balanced so that staff workload and pupils’ energy are not negatively impacted. However, we are also persuaded that there is merit in extending opportunities for … Read more
Government Response
The government has committed to a minimum expectation of a 32.5 hour school week in state-funded mainstream schools by September 2023, alongside extra-curricular activities, sport, and the National Youth Guarantee.
Department for Education
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15 Recommendation Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
The Department must introduce a pilot of optional extra-curricular activities for children to help improve...
The Department must introduce a pilot of optional extra-curricular activities for children to help improve academic attainment and wellbeing. The pilot should be trialled in areas of disadvantage across the country. If this pilot proves effective, the Department should include … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights its existing commitments to extra-curricular activities, including introducing a minimum expectation of a 32.5 hour school week, working with DCMS and the Department of Health and Social Care on the cross-government School Sport and Activity Action Plan, and investing nearly £30m per year to open up state school sport facilities and improve PE teaching.
Department for Education
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16 Recommendation Accepted
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Pr…
There are some examples of positive collaboration between local private and state schools in terms...
There are some examples of positive collaboration between local private and state schools in terms of offering the use of sports centres or theatres to support enrichment activities which should be further encouraged. Primary and secondary state schools should also … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights its existing commitments to extra-curricular activities, including introducing a minimum expectation of a 32.5 hour school week, working with DCMS and the Department of Health and Social Care on the cross-government School Sport and Activity Action Plan, and investing nearly £30m per year to open up state school sport facilities and improve PE teaching.
Department for Education
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Government Response AI assessment · 20 of 14 classified

Total 14 recs + 6 conclusions