A female tutor wearing glasses is sat around a desk with three primary aged pupils who are wearing dark blue school uniform. The pupils are listening to the tutor explain a concept.

My thoughts on the upcoming election

CEO Ed Marsh reflects on what the election on 4 July 2024 could mean for young people

Published:

  • Time to read: 3 minutes

Like many people, I was somewhat surprised yesterday to suddenly get a notification on my phone that a general election was about to be called.

We’ve obviously all known for a while that an election was on the horizon. But, when watching the coverage, it struck me that after several years of discussing what has happened, the conversation has already turned to what happens next.

For all political parties there are questions to be answered, manifestos to be fleshed out and priorities to be established. It is clear to me that this election will come at a critical time.

It is a critical time for our young people whose lives are still so dramatically affected by the pandemic, it is a critical time for our schools who are in need of real investment, and it is a critical time for tutoring.

For all political parties, there are questions to be answered, manifestos to be fleshed out, and priorities to be established. It is clear to me that this election will come at a critical time.

It is a critical time for our young people whose lives are still so dramatically affected by the pandemic, it is a critical time for our schools who are in need of real investment, and it is a critical time for tutoring."
Ed Marsh, Tutor Trust CEO

When it became apparent that Covid and school closures were simultaneously damaging young people’s education, and disproportionately negatively affecting those from lower-income communities, the government introduced funding for ‘Covid catch up’ which included funding for tuition.

Tutoring works...

Since the introduction of the funding for tuition more than 5 million tuition programmes have been delivered and I am incredibly proud that, during this period, Tutor Trust has delivered more than 25,000 programmes. We know from our own evidence that every time a 12-hour programme of tuition is completed the young person taking part will have gained (on average) an additional three months of learning. Tuition works; it is incredibly popular with both pupils and parents and over 80% of head teachers want to continue to provide the support next year.

Introducing this funding has had a transformational impact on schools and young people and is something our country should feel very proud of.

National Tutoring Programme planned to finish

However, as it stands, the funding for schools to provide these programmes will end in August. This is despite a vast amount of evidence that the impacts of COVID-19 are still being felt, particularly among young people from lower-income communities.

With a general election now confirmed for July, all political parties have a genuine opportunity to stop this funding from ending. To recognise that ‘Covid Catch Up’ is far from complete and that tutoring is a life-altering moment for our young people which should play a key part in our education system.

Our immediate response

This week we will be writing to each of our political parties, urging them to continue funding for the COVID-19 catch-up, and I hope the confirmation of an upcoming general election will create a moment where all of our politicians commit to supporting our young people to fulfil their potential.

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