Private tuition survey reveals safeguarding gaps

The survey of the private tuition sector in England, published last week, also found six in ten private tutor agencies do not solely employ qualified teachers. The research was carried out for the government by the National Council for Social Research and the University of London.

The government has pledged to offer one-to-one tuition for 300,000 schoolchildren in English and 300,000 in maths by 2011. The scheme will cover seven- to 16-year-olds but at present only covers 10- and 11-year-olds. Tuition will be offered by qualified teachers, including private tutors. It is piloting the scheme under the banner Making Good Progress.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said the findings would not scupper government one-to-one tuition plans as not all tutors in the scheme had to come from private tutor agencies.

He said: "In the Making Good Progress pilot, the majority of tutors are actually teachers currently working in schools, while others include retired teachers, supply teachers and teachers from the higher education and further education sectors. While some one-to-one tuition will be delivered by tutors from private tuition agencies, the flexibility of the tutor recruitment model allows local authorities and schools to choose the approach that best meets their needs."