Commenting on a new report by Impetus into the future of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“It is very clear that the NTP did not got off to the best of starts. Over the last year problems associated with the administration of the programme, as well as access to and quality of tutors led to a loss of confidence amongst many school leaders.

"The freedom to be able to use school staff that already know the pupils well, and interact with them on a daily basis was a step in the right direction and it is no surprise that many schools chose to go down that route.

"The announcement that three new organisations have now been chosen to run tutoring represents a fresh and vital opportunity to begin to realise the potential that tutoring has. The government simply cannot afford to get this wrong again.

"From a school’s perspective, it is crucial they continue to retain the flexibility to make decisions that are right for their pupils, that the scheme is as simple to navigate as possible, and that tutors are of the highest quality.”