Last modified on Wed 17 Mar 2021 01.11 EDT The government’s flagship programme to help pupils catch up after months of school closures is not yet reaching the most disadvantaged children, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned. In a report which examines the Department for Education’s (DfE) response to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Audit Office said that less than half of the pupils who have started to receive tuition so far are from low-income families eligible for pupil premium funding. The damning conclusion comes in a report which also highlights delays in distributing laptops and routers among children with the greatest needs following the first wave of coronavirus last year.