Tutor Trust: Affordable Primary Tuition

The Tutor Trust is a Manchester-based charity that aims to provide affordable small group and one-toone tuition to primary and secondary schools. It recruits and trains university students and recent graduates as paid tutors, which enables it to provide tuition at a competitive rate. This project aimed to use Tutor Trust tuition to improve the maths attainment of pupils in Year 6 (aged 10–11) who were working below age-expected levels in maths, as identified by their class teachers. Children received 12 hours of tuition, usually one hour per week for 12 weeks. Schools had flexibility over the timing of sessions and group size. The vast majority of schools opted for pupils to be tutored in groups of three, and for sessions to take place during school hours. One hundred and five schools in Manchester and Leeds participated in this effectiveness trial from September 2016 until July 2017. Schools in the trial had twice the national average of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM). Tuition was delivered between January and May 2017. The programme was evaluated using a randomised controlled trial design, comparing children working below age-expected levels in maths across treatment and control schools. Of a total of 4,436 Year 6 pupils, 1,290 were identified by their teachers to receive the tutoring, should their school be allocated to the intervention group. Attainment was measured using Key Stage 2 (KS2) maths scores. Observations, interviews, teacher surveys, and pupil focus groups were conducted to explore how the programme was implemented and to obtain feedback from participants. The trial was funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)