Help for SS students ahead of exams

[Arkadia]

I am in Scotland, but I am trying to understand how things work in England.

Yesterday an Edinburgh university professor (Lindsay Paterson) said on the BBC that in England there is a scheme (can't remember what it is called) to help disadvantaged students (because of COVID or something else). He says that it is working well, but because the Scottish Government refused to take part in it, we never heard of it.
Can someone tell what this is all about?
This is all stemmed from the SG cancelling all SS exams this year too.

The interview is here:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000q3sm?fbclid=IwAR3s7GmyZterjgAwe1PA-W8o2bTlkBdkYj8SDwFHYO-SK7M-JDvrzcxFSSY
Assuming the link works, it is from approximately from 2h 37m and it is about 5 mins long tops.

I think I heard that piece. I wouldn't be so sure that the English scheme is as wonderful as he said. It took them quite a while to set up, and the schools have to contribute to the cost (although it's subsidised). The tutors are recruited by the agencies that bid for the contract, and I don't think there's any guarantee on qualifications. The government had already given money direct to the schools to spend on catch-up support, but because it took a while for the scheme to be set up, some schools had already budgeted for using that money in different ways, perhaps using local tutors known to them. Possibly Scotland also gave money to the schools, but left it to them to find tutors locally, rather than buying into the national scheme.

It’s not great. A lot of schools have chosen not to bother. Why take a student out of their lesson with a qualified teacher to work with an unqualified (in terms of teaching!) tutor? I volunteered for this kind of thing as an undergraduate and, in hindsight, although far more noble than just drinking for three years, with the benefit of a PGCE and 15 years teaching experience, I really was crap and the kids would have been better off with their teacher!!