MEaP Academy Community Education Centre has been invited to join a national consortium with Black education-providers across the country to bid for funding from the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). This national consortium is being led by the London-based Aspire Education Group.
MEaP Academy Community Education Centre has been invited to join a national partnership with Black education-providers across the country to bid for funding from the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). This national consortium is being led by the London-based Aspire Education Group. In June 2020, the Government committed £350m to a National Tutoring Programme to help schools give high-quality catch-up support to pupils. This tutoring will be targeted at those learners who are Pupil Premium. The NTP is being delivered by the Education Endowment Fund (EEF).
Dr Ornette D Clennon, MEaP Academy’s representative in the consortium said, “We feel that it is crucial that some of this funded catch-up support reaches our BAME communities, some of whom are in dire need of assistance. Especially our Black children who have fallen behind in their GCSE attainment in the past couple of years, made worse by the current pandemic. We made all this clear to the EEF when we met with them”. Dr Clennon believes that grassroots community education organisations already working with Black children from disadvantaged backgrounds should be supported by the National Tutoring Programme, as a priority to ensure that these funds support the children who need assistance the most.
As the UK’s first Black-led national education group, the consortium was unsuccessful in this round of bids. It is not clear whether the scheme will be continued beyond next year. However, parents are advised to lobby their schools to ask for appropriate provision to be made available to their children.
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To lobby your school, you can personalise and email this template to both your Headteacher and Board of Governors:
Subject: National Tutoring Programme in our School
Dear [name of Head teacher]
I am [name] the parent/carer of [child’s name] who attends your school. I write enquiring after your school’s participation in the National Tutoring Programme. I note that the government has provided funding for schools to run catch-up sessions for their pupils on Pupil Premium. I write asking what your school’s plan is for this funding because I would like [child’s name] to participate in this catch-up initiative.
Would it be possible to arrange a meeting with you to discuss this further? I would be keen for these catch-up sessions to be culturally appropriate, as I know in the limited time available, this element would maximise the learning experience for [name of child]. If at all possible, I would also appreciate the opportunity to discuss the possibility of a school partnership with external tutors to address my concerns in this area.
Yours sincerely
[Parent/Carer’s name]