Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced the initiative last week, pledging £500 for every year 7 student who did not hit the Level 4 benchmark in English and maths at the end of key stage 2 this summer – some 110,000 pupils.
The money is to be used for intensive catch-up tuition, but unions have said that qualified staff must lead the initiative for it to have an effect.
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), welcomed the funding, but warned: “There must, however, be enough teachers in schools to be able to fulfil this promise. The previous government’s additional tuition pledge floundered because of a shortage of teachers. It is proven that interventions led by qualified teachers are more effective than those led by support staff.
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