Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with Randstad prior to the company informing the National Tutoring Programme’s tutor organisations that they are no longer required to meet the Department for Education’s requirement that 65 per cent of their tuition support is provided to children receiving the pupil premium.

The National Tutoring Programme is on track to deliver the ambitious target of two million tutoring courses to children this academic year. The department is continuing to prioritise tutoring for those children most in need of catch-up, and the contractual target to deliver 65% of tutoring packages to children receiving the pupil premium remains in place. Randstad and the department are committed to ensuring that tuition goes to the most disadvantaged pupils. The department regularly consults with schools to identify ways to improve the programme and ensure it works for schools and pupils. Following feedback from schools and the department’s tutoring partners, tutoring organisations have been given some operational flexibility to ensure the programme reaches all eligible schools, and ultimately as many children as possible, while ensuring disadvantaged children continue to be prioritised.