Boris Johnson: I want to explore value of one-to-one teaching

One-to-one tuition could be used more widely to help pupils in danger of falling behind as well as those who are excelling, Boris Johnson has suggested.

The Prime Minister said he wanted to “explore the value” of intensive teaching after it was used by many while home-schooling during the coronavirus pandemic.

He told the Conservative Party online conference: “When I talk about levelling up, I mean not just investing massively in our schools, delivering on our promise to raise per pupil funding to £4,000 per head in primary school and £5,000 per head in secondary school, as well as a £30k starting salary for teachers.

“I am thinking not just about the inputs, but about the outputs, the changes in the lives of young people.

“And so I want to take further an idea that we have tried in the pandemic, and explore the value of one-to-one teaching, both for pupils who are in danger of falling behind, and for those who are of exceptional abilities.

“We can all see the difficulties, but I believe such intensive teaching could be transformational, and of massive reassurance to parents.”

Mr Johnson said that new approaches are born in crises, and championed his Government’s promise of free courses for those who lack A-level equivalent qualifications.

He said: “From internet shopping to working from home, it looks as though Covid has massively accelerated changes in the world of work.

“And as old jobs are lost and as new jobs are created we are offering free training for adults without A-levels in vital skills from adult care to wind turbine maintenance.

“The Covid crisis is a catalyst for change, and we need to give people the chance to train for the new jobs that are being created every day.”