Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote opportunities for UK companies to offer online tuition in (1) the UK, and (2) overseas.

The Department’s £350 million National Tutoring Programme (NTP) will engage around 15,000 tutors to support 250,000 pupils across England, with the majority of our tuition partners providing online support. Through our EdTech grant funding partnership, Nesta are supporting some tuition partners to strengthen their digital and online offering and capabilities. For example, adapting online content to better meet the needs of students with special educational needs, developing lower-bandwidth platforms, and embedding impact measurement into online provision. The NTP for 5 to 16 year olds has been extended for another year and more information will be available in due course.

More broadly, businesses in England can access free support and guidance on finding the right finance to grow or scale up from the network of local growth hubs and the freephone Business Support Helpline. Information and advice on scaling and growing a business can also be be found on gov.uk. Firms based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can access business support through their Governments.

The Government’s International Education Strategy commits to promoting overseas opportunities for UK companies. We proactively identify opportunities in global markets and to support the sector in maximising its supply capabilities to meet this demand. We promote opportunities via the Exporting Is GREAT website and work closely with British Educational Suppliers Association, the trade association for UK EdTech, and the sector to maximise exposure to opportunities for online education providers.