PUPILS will be offered up to 100 million hours of tuition as part of the Government’s multimillion-pound catch-up programme for children in England who have faced disruption to schooling due to Covid-19.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced an additional £1.4 billion of funding – on top of the £1.7 billion already pledged for catch-up – to help pupils make up for lost learning following months of school closures.

As part of the recovery package, some Year 13 students will be given the option to repeat their final year if they have been badly affected by Covid.

Schools and colleges will be funded by the DfE to help accommodate the additional student numbers.

But education unions have described the £1.4 billion funding package as “hugely disappointing” and a “damp squib”, with one school leaders’ union boss warning that the announcement “lets down the nation’s children”.

It was announced as Labour published its two-year £14.7 billion education recovery plan, which called for extracurricular activities to be expanded and mental health support in schools to be improved.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said the Government’s scheme “makes a mockery of the Prime Minister’s claim that education is a priority”.

The DfE programme includes £1 billion to support up to six million, 15-hour tutoring courses for disadvantaged pupils, as well as an expansion of the 16-19 tuition fund which will target subjects such as maths and English.

A further £400 million will go towards providing high-quality training to early years practitioners and school teachers to ensure children progress.

But the announcement – which was made during the half-term – does not include plans to lengthen the school day, or shorten the summer break.

The Government’s education recovery commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, is still considering long-term proposals to address the impact of Covid on children.

Sir Kevan said: “The pandemic has caused a huge disruption to the lives of England’s children. Supporting every child to get back on track will require a sustained and comprehensive programme of support.

“The investments in teaching quality and tutoring announced today offer evidence-based support to a significant number of our children and teachers. But more will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge.”

The DfE said the next stage will include a review of time spent in school and college and the impact this could have on helping young people. The findings will be set out later in the year to inform the spending review.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Young people have sacrificed so much over the last year and as we build back from the pandemic, we must make sure that no child is left behind.

“This next step in our long-term catch-up plan should give parents confidence that we will do everything we can to support children who have fallen behind and that every child will have the skills and knowledge they need to fulfil their potential.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “This is the third major package of catch-up funding in 12 months and demonstrates that we are taking a long-term, evidence-based approach to help children of all ages.”

He said: “The package will not just go a long way to boost children’s learning in the wake of the disruption caused by the pandemic but also help bring back down the attainment gap that we’ve been working to eradicate.”