Since November 2^nd, schools have been able to access high-quality, subsidised tutoring from 33 organisations that have been selected by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). But how did the EEF get from nearly 400 applications to just 33 approved Tuition Partners? 

NTP Tuition Partners funding was made through a competitive grant-funding process, with all applications passing through the same five stages.

Stage 1: Minimum eligibility criteria

Applicants firstly had to meet minimum criteria in their proposals. This included; supporting students between the ages of 5 and 16, ensuring all their tutors are DBS checked and would receive training, and importantly, having experience of working with schools. They also had to commit to both reaching at least 500 pupils over the year of delivery and participating in the NTP Tuition Partners evaluation delivered by NFER.

All eligibility criteria had to be met for the application to pass through Stage 1.

Stage 2: Quality criteria

Those applicants that met all the eligibility criteria were then scored on how closely their model aligned with the ​‘NTP model’ of high-quality tutoring, which was designed based on the best-available evidence for small group tuition.

Applicants scored highly in this stage if their proposal aligned closely with the NTP quality criteria. Demonstrating, amongst other things, that their recruitment processes for tutors were rigorous and that tutors received comprehensive training over the course of the programme, with access to online resources and support. And, showing that they had a clear communication plan with schools which included regular-check in points and constant monitoring of session delivery to very rapidly identify any issues with attendance or quality, and ensure that these issues were quickly addressed.

Other quality criteria that applicants were scored against can be found here.

Stage 3: Reach and value for money

All applicants that scored highly in Stage 2 were then assessed based on their reach and value for money. We have an aim of reaching up to 250,000 pupils in all regions of England, so we took into consideration the areas applicants were proposing to work in and the number of pupils they were able to reach (whilst maintaining quality), as well as the cost of their provision in comparison to similarly scoring applicants.

Stage 4: Due diligence

By this stage, we had a shortlist of preferred providers that met all the eligibility criteria, scored highly in our quality stage and also demonstrated strong reach and value for money.

Our final stage was to undertake detailed assessments of safeguarding practices, financial management and controls, data protection practices and other checks. Only those applicants who scored highly enough in all areas of our due diligence stage were considered to be on the final list of approved providers.

Stage 5: The final list 

All stages until this point led us to the final list of 33 providers that we have on our website today.

All of the unsuccessful applicants have been offered the opportunity for feedback, which they will receive by mid-December.