Fewer Devon schools offered tutoring support last year, new figures show.

The National Tutoring Programme was introduced to help in-need children catch up after the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the Government has reduced funding to the programme – despite data showing poorer children are more likely to undertake courses.

Figures from the Department for Education show 329 (89%) of 371 schools in Devon took part in the Government's national tutoring programme in the 2021-22 academic year.

But as of August – at the end of the 2022-23 school year – this number had dropped to 244 (66%).

The Government funded 70 to 75% of the programme in 2021-22, with schools covering the remainder. This was reduced to 60% last year, and to 50% for the academic year that started in September.

Over the last school year, 12,664 Devon pupils undertook 19,409 courses – learning for a total of 226,000 hours.