Use of private tutors for children as young as six widening gap in attainment in Hertfordshire, claims councillor
The use of private tutors to coach children as young as six is widening the attainment gap between pupils in Hertfordshire schools, a county councillor has suggested.
Although Hertfordshire children exceed national exam results at every stage, those eligible for free school meals in the county fare significantly worse than their classmates.
On Monday (November 2), Cllr Paula Hiscocks (Conservative, Rickmansworth West) put the spotlight on this attainment gap during a meeting of the county council’s education, SEND and inclusion cabinet panel.
She suggested that some Hertfordshire parents were now paying for additional tuition for their children from the age of six - with some parents opting to buy in additional support rather than send their children to private school.
And she asked what the county council could do “to make sure there is more of a level playing field”.
“My concern is that in Hertfordshire especially […] the gap between our disadvantaged children and our ordinary children is widening,” she said.
“And I think some of this is because children as young as six are having extra tuition.
“And I know they are - because I have seen it. It could be Kumon, it could be a tutor to help them with their reading.
“And this is obviously paid for, because a lot of our families do have the money to do that.
“And especially, also, because some of them are choosing not to send them to private schools, but putting in the extra education privately on top of the State education.
“And what is happening, I think, is that our disadvantaged children are becoming even more disadvantaged.”
Cllr Hiscocks made the remarks as part of a discussion on the latest draft of the Hertfordshire School Improvement Strategy 2026-2029.
In response, head of standards and accountability Tania Rawle said there was no data to suggest that this was having an impact - or not having an impact.
She said it was important to ensure that all children - regardless of their background, regardless of parents’ socio-economic status - could access quality teaching in school.
And she said their needs should be met, tracked, identified and supported in school.
She acknowledged that in Hertfordshire they had struggled to close the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils.
And she said the focus had now shifted, away from closing the attainment gap within the county to looking at how disadvantaged pupils in Hertfordshire could be supported to match the attainment of disadvantaged pupils nationally.
And she highlighted the Every Child programme, which had been piloted in a number of primary schools in Hertfordshire.
Meanwhile Carole Bennett, chief executive officer of HFL Education, told councillors that they could not remove disadvantage or advantage from a child’s life outside of the school environment.
But she said what they were “desperately” trying to do was to offset that impact within a school.
She pointed to the focus on ‘inclusion’ throughout the draft of the Hertfordshire School Improvement Strategy 2026-2029, as well as helping schools target their teaching, learning and practice on those children that need it most.
And she also highlighted GCSE and A-level revision workshops, costing just £10 a session, which could be funded by schools.
But acknowledging the issue, she told councillors: “It is getting really challenging because the advantage barrier is quite a heavy weight on schools and children at the moment.”
According to data published by the county council earlier this year (2026), in 2025 Hertfordshire children exceeded national exam results at every stage.
At the end of primary school, the percentage of Key Stage Two children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was reported to be 63.8 per cent in Hertfordshire - compared to 62.6% nationally.
And at the end of secondary school, the proportion of Hertfordshire schoolchildren achieving a ‘standard’ grade four pass in maths and English was 71.4% - which was 6.9% above the national average.
But according to the data, just 39.7% of Hertfordshire children who are eligible for free school meals reached the same standard at Key Stage Two.
That’s 30.1% lower than the proportion of children in the county not eligible for free school meals and 8.2% lower than children who are eligible nationally.
Meanwhile, at Key Stage Four, just 46.3% of children eligible for free school meals in Hertfordshire achieved a standard grade four pass in English and maths - compared to 78.9% of the county’s children who were not.
By comparison, nationally 47.5% of children eligible for free school meals achieved the same level - which is 1.2% higher than in Hertfordshire.
At the meeting, members of the education, SEND and inclusion panel formally considered the refreshed Hertfordshire School Improvement Strategy 2026-2029.
They recommended that it be approved by the council’s cabinet, which will consider it today (Wednesday).
HFL Education is a not-for-profit company which began to operate in 2013.
It developed from the county council’s standards and school effectiveness division.
It now offers school improvement and business support services, training and resources to schools, educational settings and trusts nationwide.