A Network Policy Analysis of England’s National Tutoring Programme - COVID-19 and the Embedding of the Private Sector in State Governance

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

This paper examines the UK government’s main intervention in education during and after the COVID-19 crisis—the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), operating in England from 2020 to 2024. It traces a truncated genealogy showing how learning loss became a key policy problem and how the private sector was promoted as the principal solution. The study follows the programme’s evolution and decline based on schools’ experiences and needs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Intervention and programme overview

Genealogy, evolution, and decline

Network analysis and heterarchical governance

Education Privatisation and Commercialisation in the Context and Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University | Volume 33 Number 60 | September 23 , 2025 | ISSN 1068-2341 | | --- | --- | --- | A Network Policy Analysis of England’s National Tutoring Programme: COVID-19 and the Embedding of the Private Sector in State Governance Bronwen M. A. Jones Patrick L. J. Bailey & Alice Bradbury Institute of Education, University College of London United Kingdom Citation: Jones, B. M. A., Bailey, P. L. J., & Bradbury, A. (2025). A network policy analysis of England’s National Tutoring Programme: COVID-19 and the embedding of the private sector in state governance. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 33(60) . [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8985](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8985 This)[ This](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8985 This) article is part of the special issue Education Privatisation and Commercialisation in the Context and Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic, guest edited by Sue Winton and Nicole Mockler. Abstract: This paper examines the UK government’s main intervention in education during and after the COVID crisis—the National Tutoring Programme (NTP)—which operated in England from 2020–24. It involves a truncated genealogy of the NTP which shows how, when learning loss emerged as a key policy problem, the private sector was promoted as the main policy solution. We trace the evolution and decline of the NTP in response to schools’experiences and needs. We also conduct a network analysis of the final iteration of the NTP and suggest that although it can be seen as a policy failure, it set a significant precedent in the extent to which the private sector became imbricated into the machinations of governance. We use the construct of heterarchical governance to argue that the NTP saw the establishment of a mezzanine level of governance which saw the involvement of the global education industry, with its concomitant neoliberal imaginary of education, embedded at a powerful level of the policy process. This raises questions about how privatisation might be conceptualised and articulated as well as raising concerns about the capacity for global actors to access and shape national education systems, notably during times of crisis. Keywords: privatisation; tutoring; COVID-19; policy networks; governance Un análisis de política en red del Programa Nacional de Tutorías en Inglaterra: La COVID-19 y la incorporación del sector privado en la gobernanza estatal Resumen: Este artículo examina la principal intervención del gobierno del Reino Unido en materia de educación durante y después de la crisis de la COVID-19: El Programa Nacional de Tutorías (National Tutoring Programme, NTP), que operó en Inglaterra entre 2020 y 2024. Presenta una genealogía resumida del NTP que muestra cómo, cuando lapérdida de aprendizaje emergió como un problema clave de política pública, se promovió al sector privado como la principal solución. Rastreamos la evolución y el declive del NTP en respuesta a las experiencias y necesidades de las escuelas. Asimismo, realizamos un análisis de redes de la última versión del NTP y sostenemos que, aunque puede considerarse un fracaso de política pública, estableció un precedente significativo en cuanto al grado en que el sector privado se entrelazó con las dinámicas de gobernanza. Utilizamos el concepto de gobernanza heterárquica para argumentar que el NTP supuso el establecimiento de un nivel intermedio de gobernanza que implicó la participación dela industria educativa global, con su correspondiente imaginario neoliberal de laeducación, incrustada en un nivel influyente del proceso de formulación de políticas. Esto plantea interrogantes sobre cómo podría conceptualizarse y articularse laprivatización, así como preocupaciones sobre la capacidad de los actores globales

FAQs

What is the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) and where did it operate?

The NTP was the UK government’s main education intervention during and after the COVID crisis, operating in England from 2020 to 2024.

How does the paper explain the rise of the private sector in the NTP?

It presents a truncated genealogy showing that when learning loss emerged as a key policy problem, the private sector was promoted as the main policy solution.

What analytical framework does the study use to interpret governance in the NTP?

It uses the construct of heterarchical governance, arguing the NTP established a mezzanine level of governance involving the global education industry and a neoliberal imaginary of education.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda