Fewer Isle of Wight 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 Covid-19 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 42 of 49 schools on the Isle of Wight 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 33.

The Government funded 70 to 75 per cent of the programme in 2021-22, with schools covering the remainder.

This was reduced to 60 per cent last year, and to 50 per cent for the academic year that started in September.

Over the last school year, 3,417 Isle of Wight pupils undertook 4,374 courses – learning for a total of 52,000 hours.

By this October, 648 courses had been started for the current academic year, with 19 schools participating.

According to the figures, economically disadvantaged children are more likely to use the programme.

Across the Southeast, 41 per cent of pupils who received tutoring in 2022-23 had been on free school meals at some point in the last six years.

These children made up 21 per cent of all pupils in the region.