Private tuition is booming. Increasing numbers of young people use it to help improve their grades, but what impact is this having on social mobility?
Head start
Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of social mobility charity the Sutton Trust, told the BBC that private tuition seriously risked widening the learning gap.
“Parents naturally want to do their best for their children”, said Sir Peter.
But he added: “Providing private tuition for them puts those children whose parents can’t afford it at a disadvantage.
“That’s why it is so crucial that we find a successful way to ensure that the learning gap is narrowed for less advantaged children.”
You can view BBC News’ report into the subject – which features Sir Peter Lampl – below:
The Sutton Trust found that almost a quarter of state school pupils have received private or home tuition at some point in their schooling, a figure that rises to 40% in London.
Opportunities
Every child should have the opportunity to fulfil their academic potential, regardless of their background or parental income.
Sir Peter Lampl would like to see more schools using their pupil premium funding to pay for tutoring for disadvantaged pupils. This pupil premium is additional money paid to schools for every one of their pupils eligible for free school meals.
Sir Peter Lampl’s charities the Sutton Trust and EEF created a Teaching and Learning Toolkit to provide guidance for teachers and schools on how to use their resources to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.
Learn more about the Toolkit, here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit
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