Guide for primary schools An education charity raising attainment of disadvantaged Year 5 and Year 6 pupils in English and maths through volunteer tutoring. www.actiontutoring.org.uk
Who we are Action Tutoring supports young people facing socio-economic disadvantage to achieve a meaningful level of academic attainment. What those in the know and with the wherewithal to do, take for granted, we should endeavour to make available to those who need it most. One to one tuition can be transformative in the life chances of a young person at a time when a helping hand is needed most. That is why I am backing Action Tutoring. Lord Blunkett Former Secretary of State for Education What we do Who we work with We are an education charity that partners with schools to deliver tutoring programmes for pupils sitting their SATs in maths and English. We work specifically with pupils who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding and at risk of not reaching national standards by the time they leave primary school. We also work with secondary schools supporting pupils to reach a grade 5 standard in their GCSE examinations. We carefully select and train high-quality volunteer tutors who work closely with subject teachers to ensure maximum impact. In 2016/17, through our primary programme pilot, we worked with: Schools We work with non-selective state primary schools where a higher than average percentage of pupils are eligible for Pupil Premium funding. Pupils Within those schools we look to work with pupils who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding (or fitting one of our exceptions*) and have been selected for the booster group at risk of not reaching national standards in the relevant subject they would be tutored in. If you would like to hear testimonies from any of our partner schools please contact hello@actiontutoring.org.uk. 14 schools in three cities 240 pupils 170 volunteer tutors *For more details about our exceptions criteria please email hello@actiontutoring.org.uk. 1 Action Tutoring: Raising attainment through volunteer tutoring To find out more about our work, please call 0207 803 4988 or email hello@actiontutoring.org.uk 2
Why tutoring? How our programme works Tutoring has been shown to be an extremely effective way of raising pupils attainment. The Education Endowment Foundation describe the evidence on the impact of tuition as consistent and strong in their Teaching and Learning Toolkit*. Research shows that pupils make up to five additional months progress during an intensive tutoring programme. (Source, EEF Toolkit*) An external evaluation of Action Tutoring s GCSE results, using a control group, showed that pupils attending 7-8 sessions made up to half a grade extra progress than their non-tutored peers. We aim to complete a similar evaluation of our primary school results in 2018. The main barrier for schools wanting to use tutoring is cost paying for a high-quality tutor can cost as much as 40 an hour. As a charity Action Tutoring sources talented volunteers to provide tutoring that is high-impact and low-cost. Tutoring can benefit your pupils by: Improving their academic attainment in the tutored subject. Boosting their confidence through individual attention. Helping them to develop their independent study skills. Meeting and interacting with new adults, building on their communications skills in preparation for secondary school. Action Tutoring has been our school s preferred tutoring provision this year due to the quality of their tutors, as well as the ease with which they work around the busy life of a working primary school. Camelot School will certainly be prioritising what limited financial resources we have going forward to ensure Action Tutoring stay part of our school life. James Robinson Headteacher, Camelot Primary School (London) *EEF Toolkit (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit/one-to-one-tuition/) Tutoring sessions take place as a group in schools once a week and last for 1-1.5 hours. To ensure maximum impact our schools usually commit to a year-long partnership of tutoring with the same group of pupils. Schools can choose whether pupils work 1:1 or 1:2 with volunteer tutors and typically we work with 15-20 pupils at any one time. Schools can choose to run more than one programme in a term, if they wish to benefit more pupils. Our provision includes: 8 to 10 high-quality, DBS checked and trained volunteer tutors. Structured resources developed by English and maths primary curriculum specialists that can be tailored to support individual needs. A dedicated Programme Coordinator to engage pupils, support tutors and manage the school partnership. Termly progress analysis and reporting for schools. Full enrolment, induction and engagement support for pupils. We seek to work closely with Key Stage 2 teachers to ensure that tutoring complements classroom teaching. All pupils enrolled on our programmes sit a baseline assessment, which is used to develop personalised learning plans. Our tutors use these plans to support their pupils progress in key topic areas and with subject-specific skills. Pupils are then re-assessed to measure progress and map impact made, closing gaps in knowledge. Cost Our tutoring programmes are subsidised by over 70% through grants and donations, significantly reducing the amount we ask schools to contribute. Further discounts are available for schools signing up to work with Action Tutoring for three terms. Costs vary depending on a school s preference for 1:1 or 1:2 tutoring and if both subjects are offered to all pupils. The programme can cost as little as 7.50 per pupil, per session. A minimum of ten pupils are required for us to deliver a programme and usually we would work with no more than 20 at any one time. 3 Action Tutoring: Raising attainment through volunteer tutoring To find out more about our work, please call 0207 803 4988 or email hello@actiontutoring.org.uk 4
Who are our volunteers? Impact Our volunteer tutors come from a range of different backgrounds, including students who are interested in a career in teaching, recent graduates, professionals, and retired individuals who are looking to give something back to their community. All of our volunteers go through a strict selection process which focuses on their academic credentials (degree educated, or studying for a degree, and an A or B at A Level in the subject they wish to tutor) and core tutoring competencies. We also complete DBS checks for them. I have worked as a maths and economics tutor since graduating six years ago. I have seen the benefits of 1:1 tuition many times and it s brilliant that Action Tutoring ensures that many more young people can access this type of tuition regardless of the financial situation of their families. Pip Reeve Volunteer tutor I have been volunteering with Action Tutoring for several years. It can be challenging at times but also very rewarding, especially when you see improvements in the pupils. As a tutor you are well supported. The materials are simple to follow and allow for good interaction with pupils. Jim Freeman Volunteer tutor It has been so positive to see the children grow in confidence and talk about their tutors what a great preparation for future life for them. I also know the results are looking so much better. This kind of work has real life-changing value and the volunteers were great role models to have in the Academy. We re looking forward to the next year of collaboration. George Franks Executive Principal, Oasis Academy Connaught (Primary) and Oasis Academy Marksbury Road (Primary) (Bristol) 13,000 hours of tutoring delivered in 2016-17 7 / 10 pupils agreed or strongly agreed that their confidence in the subject had increased as a result of the tutoring 1,500 pupils supported this academic year 94% of teachers said they would recommend the programme to another school Using a control group, an external evaluation showed that pupils attending 7-8 sessions made up to half a grade extra progress than their non-tutored peers. 97% of teachers were satisfied with the quality of the volunteer tutors 5 Action Tutoring: Raising attainment through volunteer tutoring To find out more about our work, please call 0207 803 4988 or email hello@actiontutoring.org.uk 6
Tutoring is good because I m now more confident in my work. Pupil Camelot Primary School (London) I would recommend these tutoring sessions because they explain things really well if you don t understand something. Pupil St Mark s Church of England Primary School (London) Action Tutoring works with both primary and secondary schools. To find out more about our work please get in touch. Call 0207 803 4988 or email hello@actiontutoring.org.uk www.actiontutoring.org.uk @ActionTutoring Registered charity number: 1147175 Registered company number: 8015978