National Tutoring Programme –Recruiting and Deploying Academic Mentors (con_15277)

Tender description

The Department for Education has provided over 1 million tutoring courses since the launch of the National Tutoring Programme in 2020. We are seeking to build on this for Academic Years 22/23 and 23/24 by giving schools greater freedom to design an delivery a tutoring offer that meets the needs of their pupils, alongside making the programme simpler and more flexible. To achieve this, we are seeking a delivery partner to deliver the following requirements: • Recruitment of a new pool of tutors (known as “Academic Mentors”) and management of deployment of Academic Mentors to schools The Secretary of State for Education via Department for Education (the Authority) is undertaking a procurement to appoint a contractor, for the provision of this element of the National Tutoring Programme. The Term of the Contract shall commence on or around 1st August 2022 for AY 2022/23 and expire on 31 August 2024 (the end of AY 23/24), subject to earlier termination in accordance with the provisions of the Contract. Lot 1: The Authority is seeking to appoint a delivery partner to deliver the requirements set out above, which will contribute to the delivery of the National Tutoring Programme. The Programme is intended to support pupils, in particular disadvantaged pupils, to recover from learning loss experienced during the pandemic. This will be achieved by providing pupils with intensive support delivered by skilled tutors, on a one-to-one basis or in groups of up to six pupils. There is clear evidence that tutoring has a substantial positive impact on education outcomes, as a complement to excellent classroom teaching. The programme has seen over 1 million tutoring packages delivered since its launch in summer 2020. During AY21/22 a significant proportion of tutoring has been via the new school-led route, which has involved schools being provided with funding to subsidise the cost of delivery. We are building on this for AY22/23 by providing schools with a total of £350m in NTP funding, which they can use to subsidise up to 60% of the cost of tutoring. Schools will also receive NTP funding directly in AY23/24, though with the subsidy reduced to 25%. Schools will receive support from the Authority, including via our new digital service through which they will be able to find high-quality, local tutoring organisations. Alongside this, we are seeking a delivery partner to deliver the recruitment and deployment element of the programme. Our delivery partner will support schools to spend their NTP funding effectively on a tutoring offer that suits the needs of their pupils. The element of the programme for which we are seeking a delivery partner is as follows: - Recruitment and deployment of Academic Mentors: our delivery partner will recruit a pool of well-qualified Academic Mentors for deployment to schools that request them. Recruitment will involve a rigorous assessment process that secures the best quality candidates. Deployment will involve an efficient process that sees AMs quickly assigned to schools, possibly with particular schools or areas being prioiritised to receive an AM. Lot 1: The Authority is seeking to appoint a delivery partner to deliver the requirements set out above, which will contribute to the delivery of the National Tutoring Programme. The Programme is intended to support pupils, in particular disadvantaged pupils, to recover from learning loss experienced during the pandemic. This will be achieved by providing pupils with intensive support delivered by skilled tutors, on a one-to-one basis or in groups of up to six pupils. There is clear evidence that tutoring has a substantial positive impact on education outcomes, as a complement to excellent classroom teaching. The programme has seen over 1 million tutoring packages delivered since its launch in summer 2020. During AY21/22 a significant proportion of tutoring has been via the new school-led route, which has involved schools being provided with funding to subsidise the cost of delivery. We are building on this for AY22/23 by providing schools with a total of £350m in NTP funding, which they can use to subsidise up to 60% of the cost of tutoring. Schools will also receive NTP funding directly in AY23/24, though with the subsidy reduced to 25%. Schools will receive support from the Authority, including via our new digital service through which they will be able to find high-quality, local tutoring organisations. Alongside this, we are seeking a delivery partner to deliver the recruitment and deployment element of the programme. Our delivery partner will support schools to spend their NTP funding effectively on a tutoring offer that suits the needs of their pupils. The element of the programme for which we are seeking a delivery partner is as follows: - Recruitment and deployment of Academic Mentors: our delivery partner will recruit a pool of well-qualified Academic Mentors for deployment to schools that request them. Recruitment will involve a rigorous assessment process that secures the best quality candidates. Deployment will involve an efficient process that sees AMs quickly assigned to schools, possibly with particular schools or areas being prioiritised to receive an AM.