Tutoring update

Now that a spring return of schools fully re-opening seems increasingly likely, we thought we would give you an update about tutoring programmes in general and in terms of our agency. This comes as a new report was published from the Education Endowment Foundation about the National online Tutoring Pilot.

A total of 1,425 pupils across 65 schools took part in the pilot; the headline summary is:

• The downside
  48 % of schools reported that the lack of appropriate equipment – such as laptops and reliable internet connections, posed a challenge for learning.
  some disadvantaged learners who would have benefitted were not able to take part due to difficulties contacting parents and carers.
• The upside
  home-based delivery was found to be more flexible than first thought and unaffected by Covid restriction on movement and it was possible to reach high numbers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
  29 out of 33 tuition partners have now been approved to deliver remote tutoring from pupils’ homes (an increase from 14).

  Online tutoring was felt to be ‘easier’ in school with teachers having more control of technology and pupils faced fewer distractions.

The effects of lost learning have now thought to result in having an impact for years, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, where an academic divide already existed prior to the pandemic. The tutoring programme partnered by us, along with FFT and Success for All – ‘Tutoring with Lightning Squad’, has run for years so has longitudinal studies to support its efficacy and is the only evidenced based programme in the UK.

We have been busy recruiting a variety of tutors, not just for the Lightning Squad, but for a range of subjects and year groups; all cleared, briefed, trained and ready to support pupils with learning. Get in touch of you need added resource to give your pupils the best learning experiences possible on their return, as well as for summer classes, or if you have tutoring experience, go to our registration page as we have lots of opportunities in the months ahead.