Action Tutoring CEO Jen Fox (pictured furthest right) at the Public First state-funded tutoring report launch in parliament in April. 

Words from our CEO, Jen

A big welcome from me as Action Tutoring’s new CEO. I’ve watched our founder and former CEO, Susannah Hardyman, trailblaze routes to advocacy and influencing, ensuring those in power don’t forget about the young people we support.

Building on the legacy Susannah left behind, I remain deeply committed to engaging with policymakers and continuing the work that has been so effectively established. I look forward to sharing our progress over the coming months. In the meantime, please take some time to read this policy update, which I hope you find interesting and insightful. 

Your policy update: What's featured

Approaching nearly a year into the new Labour government, we take stock of the promises, policies, and progress made in shaping the future of education.

Join us for this policy newsletter as we:

• Analyse initial plans turned into actions.
• Celebrate the success of policy implementation.
• Identify remaining gaps - especially in supporting children and young people facing disadvantage following the end of the National Tutoring Programme. 

Findings from our key report

At Action Tutoring, we pride ourselves on being advocates and sector leaders. This includes facilitating meaningful and long-standing solutions to the issues disadvantaged children and young people face within and beyond education. 

As such, we are proud to have been a part of a substantially influential report, Past lessons, future visions: Evolving state-funded tutoring for the future, alongside other sector leaders such as Impetus, Get Further, and The Tutor Trust. 

This report provides a tangible analysis of the successes and shortcomings of the National Tutoring Programme and the 16-19 Tuition Fund that any government can take forward to produce a new, improved and long-standing initiative that supports the education of children and young people who are unable to access the same support as their more affluent peers.

In this policy update, we will provide a summary of the findings and recommendations of this report, but I highly recommend that those who haven’t, give it a read.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I wish you all the best.

Labour's educational policy agenda

Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP and Education Secretary (second from right), and Helen Hayes, Labour MP and Chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee (right). Photo credit: Sheffield Hallam University.

The highlights

Labour made significant strides in reshaping the educational landscape within the initial months following re-election. The appointment of Bridget Phillipson as Education Secretary resonates directly with the ethos of Action Tutoring, an Oxbridge-educated MP who was previously a free school meals recipient as a pupil.

At the same time, the formation of a new education committee, chaired by Labour MP and champion of Action Tutoring, Helen Hayes (following a programme visit in 2018), signals a renewed commitment and focus on holding the Department of Education to account. It also shows a focus on addressing key issues such as challenges around further education and the skills shortage, the SEND crisis and children’s social care, as seen via their current inquiries. 

Next stages

The Labour government has outlined a comprehensive education reform agenda, which was aimed at enhancing educational quality and equity. Key initiatives to facilitate this include:

• The replacement of single-word Ofsted grades with a detailed report card system.
• The launch of a curriculum review led by Professor Becky Francis (Education Endowment Foundation CEO) to ensure a rich syllabus.
• The introduction of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to prompt inclusivity for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Education and policy reform developments 

The success of Labour's plans is yet to be determined. Despite well-intended initiatives, concrete action has not yet been seen to make structural changes, which may weaken the impact on vulnerable children and young people within the education sector.

However, the challenge arises when reflecting on how the government plans to recruit teachers. New analysis by the National Foundation for Educational Research suggests that if using pay as a sole incentive, the government's plans to recruit 6,500 new teachers would require a salary increase of nearly 10% a year for three years. This would cost an additional £2.1 billion next academic year and rise to £7.7 billion from 2027-28 onwards, which would not be covered by the £450 million earmarked by the party for the pledge.

The manifesto set a clear pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers without setting out a detailed definition of how this supply target would be measured, delivered, or a timeline for implementation. While this figure seems significant, 6,500 new teachers are only equivalent to 1.4% of the UK's full-time teacher workforce for 2023/24 (468,693). 

progress in technology, withstood the hardship of a global pandemic and seen substantial social change amongst young people. Therefore, it is time to undertake a comprehensive refresh of the national curriculum to ensure it remains innovative and fit for purpose, delivering excellence for all and removing barriers to opportunity for children and young people.

To facilitate this, Professor Becky Francis was selected to lead the curriculum review, which seeks to ensure subject content is knowledge-rich while also promoting creativity, critical thinking, and real-world skills. Labour has also emphasised fostering greater alignment between academic and vocational pathways to better prepare pupils for both higher education and the workforce. Furthermore, there is a focus on wellbeing and personal development, with proposals to strengthen PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic) education and mental health awareness in schools. 
 

'held the pen’ for the section of ‘Excellence in English and maths’ for the Fair Education Alliance.  

The evidence showed that many aspects of the current system are working well, highlighting the great diversity of stakeholders' views about the present curriculum and assessment arrangements. Compared to other jurisdictions, the curriculum to age 16 is said to be ‘reasonably broad and balanced’, and international comparisons suggest the current curriculum has led to a positive impact on attainment. In addition, the report stated national assessments and qualifications have seen success, including the phonics screening check and national tests at the end of Key Stage 2, GCSEs, A levels, and wider general qualifications at 16-19. 

Four key areas

However, the review panel has identified four key areas with the greatest potential and most pressing need for improvement, which will form the focus of the next phase. These include: 

• How a curriculum can support closing the educational attainment gap for disadvantaged and SEND pupils. 
• The breadth and depth of some specific subjects. 
• How to respond to social and technological change. 
• 16-19 technical and vocational qualifications. 

While the search continues for ways to respond to the growing educational challenges faced by children and young people, we believe we already hold many of the solutions when it comes to closing the attainment gap. 

A blueprint for state-funded tutoring: Action Tutoring and Public First partner on key report

On 2nd April 2025, we were honoured to publish our report ‘Past Lessons, Future Vision - Evolving State-Funded Tutoring for the Future’ alongside many other sector leaders such as Get Further, Impetus and The Tutor Trust. The aim of this report came in two parts:

• Firstly, to act as analysis for policy formulation and draw lessons from the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) and the 16-19 Tuition Fund (16-19TF) design.
• Secondly, to outline a set of recommendations for any future state funding tutoring schemes considered by the current or future governments. 

The NTP and 16-19TF were government-funded schemes for state schools in England between the 2020-21 and 2023-24 academic years. These programmes were created to overcome the unequal impact of lost learning felt disproportionately by disadvantaged pupils compared to their more affluent peers.

The report: Part 1

In Part 1 of the report, we examine how, despite the strong political backing for a national offer for pupils and schools following the pandemic and the sheer volume of tutoring provided (6,168,958 tutoring courses between November 2020 and August 2024 via the NTP), both initiatives still had their shortcomings.

A lack of a consistent champion for tutoring, with the persistent political turnover, and no underpinning theory of change to integrate tutoring into the education system long-term, meant the NTP and 16-19TF lifespans were always destined to be limited.   

The report: Part 2

In Part 2, we learn the lessons of the NTP and 16-19TF, concluding what features are imperative to stay in future state-funded tutoring initiatives and what changes a future vision of tutoring provided for all would require.

The fundamentals remain the same; maths and English tutoring should exist across all key stages, 1:1 or small groups, and in-person delivery (where possible) for a course duration of approximately 12 hours.

However, future tutoring initiatives must provide greater clarity on the purpose of their programmes, a standard-raising intervention for all pupils, or, a specified intervention targeting the attainment gap to support those who need it most. 

Read the full report

To find out more, you can read the full report below, and read my insights in my blog for Action Tutoring. 

Help us expand our network: Recommend us to a school

To continue reaching more pupils during the remainder of the 2024-25 academic year, we’d love for you to put us in touch with any schools in your network.

So if you know of a school, or a teacher who might be interested in our help, why not recommend us to them? Simply get them to email hello@actiontutoring.org.uk, call 0300 102 0094. In addition, you can also post your recommendations via our form below. 

Thank you for helping us to support pupils with their English and maths studies. 

Find out more and apply

If you, or someone you know, would like to share in the excitement of a pupil hearing ‘I get it’ from a pupil you support, sign up to volunteer below.

Jen's final thoughts

From humble beginnings, Action Tutoring has earned a voice in the education sector as a champion of young people facing disadvantage.

With this in mind, I hope we remain a trusted, influential changemaker for many years to come.

A thank you from me goes to our policy working group, who have done the hard work selecting and refining the information in this policy update. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it.

Jen