Education Inequality – Is this time for a policy re-think?

Having taught in schools for many years before the pandemic and also during it, I found it both refreshing and hopeful, to detect a discernible shift in media attention away from the usual diatribe of school accountability, to which I had unfortunately become accustomed, to a shift in focus towards issues of educational equity and equality.

As unpleasant as it was for teachers, pupils and parents, the exams fiasco of 2020 and even 2021 served to shift attention towards educational inequality, with the education secretary at the time, Gavin Williamson, claiming that grading would need to be “fair and robust”.

During the course of this period, debates around issues of fairness and equality became increasingly evident. Yet, what was perhaps less obvious to the general public at the time,  was that the problem with the two proposed solutions to cancelled exams was that they would both, in reality,  serve to reflect and highlight existing educational inequalities in the system. 

Teacher assessed grades were problematic because previous research showed that teacher predictions benefit higher performing students from privileged backgrounds and disadvantage higher performing students from disadvantaged backgrounds who suffer from lower predictions; reflecting a systematic bias in relation to gender, ethnicity and low-income families (Kippin & Cairney, 2021). ((https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21622671.2020.1837661))

And the notorious algorithm laid bare stark inequalities when private and independent schools increased their proportion of As and A*s proportionally more than other schools whilst disadvantaged students were empirically shown to be the worst hit by grade reductions (Kippin & Cairney, 2021). The reality here, is that this algorithm actually starkly exposed current inequalities, rather than producing new ones, because it connected current and previous exam results in the same school.

The consequences of the pandemic on education – what do studies show?

Not only did the pandemic expose these existing educational inequalities but it also increased them. Reasons for these increased inequalities are complicated but likely to reflect inequalities in the resources that children need to learn. Much was made of the digital divide, with many pupils unable to access online learning, but also parental involvement in school work has already been shown to have positive effects on educational achievement and outcomes (Wilder, 2014; Engzell et al., 2020). ((https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131911.2013.780009))

Therefore, during the pandemic children from advantaged groups were much more likely to receive parental support and resources to study at home (Engzell et al., 2020). A study in the Netherlands concluded that this was driven by parental ability to help (Engzell et al.,) but other studies also highlight factors such as the differences between those parents who were able to work from home whilst also supporting their children and those who still had to go out to work (Blundell et al., 2020).

In the UK, a study showed that better off families spent more time (about an hour a day more) on almost all educational activities for their children than their peers from worse off families (Blundell et al., 2020). ((https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-5890.12232))

Moreover, the difference in the type of resource available to families was also said to increase the learning gap, with 20% of those in the top-income bracket having access to private tuition.

Therefore, pre-existing inequalities were exacerbated by systematic differences in who has resources; resources of time, knowledge, skills and finance.

And as a teacher at the time, this educational inequality was easy to see and hard to accept. It’s important that the focus on fairness and equality (which gave me a small ray of hope during a challenging time in education) does not fade because these inequalities existed before the pandemic and have now been exacerbated by it.  And for this reason, it’s important that organisations such as Action Tutoring exist; to support and champion disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap, something which is long overdue.

Can you support our cause?

If you could spare an hour each week to help disadvantaged young people receive the academic support they need in English and maths, apply today to join our volunteering group.

#BackToSchool – How Action Tutoring is preparing for the autumn term

The new autumn term is fast approaching and we couldn’t be more excited to continue our work and support more disadvantaged pupils to progress academically around the country this year! 

The summer break was an opportunity to reflect on our work and the impact we had, plan our autumn activities and make sure we are fully equipped so we can support our pupils in the best possible way.

Our teams in action! How are we preparing for the autumn term?

Action Tutoring is made up of multiple teams: the Programme team, Marketing and Communications, Impact and Quality, HR and Operations and our Senior Management Team. 

The Programme team’s role is crucial in ensuring the smooth delivery of tutoring in our partner schools. They work closely with our tutors and are there to support and make sure the programmes run successfully on the ground. 

Here’s what Hannah, our Programme Coordinator in Newcastle, has to say about the new term approaching:

‘’Like a lot of people who work in education, the summer break for a Programme Coordinator is a mix of wrapping up the loose ends from the previous academic year and mapping out what the next will look like. 

I’m moving into my second year working for Action Tutoring, so I feel much more equipped to plan for my upcoming programmes, pulling together everything I learnt last year and all the brilliant tips from my colleagues. 

I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running with schools who are continuing working with us from last year, which will make a lovely smooth transition, as well as getting to know some new schools, including my first secondary school face-to-face tutoring programme!’’

Our Marketing and Communications team work to raise our profile and recruit  high-quality volunteers through partnerships, social media, our website and localised recruitment. Once a tutor has applied, they ensure through communications that volunteers are able to progress through their tutoring journey as smoothly as possible.. 

Summer for the Marketing and Recruitment team is a chance to reflect on our volunteer recruitment strategies for the first six months of the new school year and start putting them into action. 

We’re working towards attracting as many volunteers as possible to take part in our autumn term programmes, and make the transition into the new year as smooth as possible for all of the pupils who are excited to meet their tutor! 

How do we ensure our programmes have impact? That’s where our Impact and Quality team come in. They ensure that our programmes meet our high standards and are making a measurable impact on the pupils we work with. They create and tailor the maths and English resources volunteers use, lead tutor training sessions, and develop our online programmes.

Our Senior Training and Quality Coordinator, CJ,  says:

‘’Over the school summer holidays, I’ve been leading on a project to refresh our online tutoring resources, giving them a new look for the new academic year. 

As well as adding Action Tutoring’s new branding, we’re implementing good practice we’ve learned about dyslexia and visual accessibility, which we hope will improve the pupil and tutor experience of using our resources. 

I’m really proud of the project team who has made this happen – mostly our brilliant Programme Coordinators, who have picked up the design skills needed for the task really quickly. I’m looking forward to seeing pupils and tutors using the new resources in action!’’

Leo is our Online Programmes Manager and also part of the Impact and Quality team.

When asked how he is preparing for new academic year, he said:

I’m using feedback from our volunteers and staff to make small changes to the online programme and our platform, Vedamo, to try to make our online offering effective as possible for pupils. 

‘’I’m feeling positive about the new academic year and confident that we can use the learnings from last year to have an even more impactful year. I am most looking forward to visiting our online programmes to see how pupils are engaging with the new design of our online resources.’’

Last but definitely not least, our Hr and Operations team ensures that we are fully equipped and supported when it comes to safeguarding policies, finances, organising internal and external events and keeping everything up to date.

Our HR & Operations administrator, Sav says:

‘’In the run up to the new school year, the HR and Operations team are often busy with the onboarding of new Programme Coordinators and ensuring that our operational processes are up to speed. This summer has been particularly hectic in this regard with numerous aspects needing updating to reflect the organisational growth! 

As a result, I would say that the area of my job that I am most looking forward to is all of the calls from prospective tutors looking to get signed up to new programmes. These calls regularly give me an opportunity to slow down and enjoy a conversation with someone that is really passionate about volunteering. This often leads to the sharing of tutoring experiences and classroom stories, which is a welcome change from being faced with logistical challenges and red tape!’’

Our focuses this term

Build solidarity in our communities 

The ultimate goal is to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged young people and their peers. 

Evidence suggests that tutoring is highly effective in a pupil’s learning progress, but only 18% of disadvantaged young people have been able to receive tuition support during the pandemic, compared to the 43% of pupils from more affluent backgrounds.

We want to make sure our work has an impact on the lives of the pupils we work with, and that we can support as many pupils as possible. That’s why this term we want to build solidarity in our communities, inspire more to join our cause and grow our volunteering group so that more disadvantaged young people can receive high-quality additional support.

Expand our reach by partnering with more schools 

In addition, we are looking forward to expanding our partnership with more schools across the country. Since 2012, when Action Tutoring was registered as a charity, we have provided tutoring for over 6,700 primary school pupils and over 12,500 secondary school pupils.

We understand the demands and pressures that schools are under, especially after the pandemic. Get in touch with us to learn more or apply by completing this form. 

Be there for our pupils 

The new autumn term is another opportunity we have to be there for our pupils. We want to make sure our volunteer tutors have the support and resources they need so that sessions are not only educational, but also welcoming and safe for all pupils. 

Our volunteers are not only educators, but also serve as role models, motivating pupils to overcome learning barriers and achieve their potential in life. As they come from a whole range of backgrounds, including university students, working employees and retired professionals, tutors can empathise and understand the additional struggles of pupils from low-income families.

At Action Tutoring we believe the emotional well-being of pupils is as equally important as their academic progress. 

Get involved 

At Action Tutoring we believe that inclusive and equal education opportunities for all children, no matter their socioeconomic status, leads to a brighter future for everyone. 

We are proud to have created a strong community of inspiring volunteers, who are crucial in our mission to reach more disadvantaged pupils and offer tailored academic support. All our volunteers receive mandatory induction training, complete the necessary safeguarding checks and receive additional resources and ongoing support from the team to help them develop as tutors.

Read our FAQs to learn more about our charity and how we work.

To reach even more pupils, we need more volunteers. 

GCSE results – Celebrating our pupils’ hard work!

GCSE results day is here! As a charity committed to having a measurable impact on its beneficiaries, these results are crucial evidence of our work.

Every achievement counts, and we are incredibly proud of our pupils’ hard work, engagement and resilience through another challenging year.

GCSE results day matters so much because it opens doors. For pupils to progress into further education, employment or training, they need at least to meet national standards in English and maths. Pupils who do not achieve GCSEs are more likely to become NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) at 16+.

We’re excited to pause today and celebrate the successes of pupils around the country.

Tutoring remains an impactful intervention for young people to make progress, and as an EEF report indicates, small-group tuition leads to an average impact of four additional months of academic progress over a year. 

Action Tutoring’s mission is to enable pupils facing disadvantage to make meaningful academic progress in school. Our trained volunteer tutors support them to make academic progress and achieve the grades they need in their SATs and GCSEs in order to open doors to future opportunities. 

In 2021, 80% of the disadvantaged pupils supported by Action Tutoring achieved GCSE grade 4+ in English or maths. 

We are pleased pupils have been able to return to some degree of normality in sitting their exams this year after two years of disruption caused by the pandemic. However it has nevertheless been a challenging year for this cohort. Covid and resulting school closures had  a significant impact on their learning, especially those facing disadvantage.

The EPI report shows that the gap in GCSE grade attainment between pupils from low-income families and their peers has not improved in the last decade. Instead, poverty levels have now risen due to the pandemic and more disadvantaged young people are unable to receive the academic support they need in order to catch up.

For this reason, we need even more volunteer tutors to help us reach more pupils and make a real difference in their lives. 

Our decade of experience has enabled us to refine our powerful tutoring provision to help improve the academic outcomes of pupils facing disadvantage. We’re keen to partner with more schools next academic year to reach more pupils who could benefit from our support.

If you’re a school interested in finding out how we might be able to support you, do get in touch or complete our initial enquiry form if you’re interested in partnering with us.

Read more: How Action Tutoring’s partner schools benefit from our volunteers?

Be part of the change 

We couldn’t have made this all happen without the support and commitment of our passionate volunteers, who have given their time so generously and been with our pupils every step of the way in another year.

The autumn term is fast approaching and we are looking forward to working with more pupils and volunteers in the coming months. 

Could you volunteer for an hour each week and join our volunteering community? Your contribution is more important than ever.

Do you know someone who can volunteer with us? Spread the word by sharing our blog on social media!

The impact of our Virtual Programmes – a step closer to reaching more pupils!

School closures in 2021 had a hugely negative impact on young people across the country. The absence of in-school education and other means of support at home, like private tutoring, has pushed disadvantaged pupils further behind and widened the attainment gap to an even greater extent. 

During these school closures, Action Tutoring gained a huge amount of experience in managing sessions remotely when pupils were based at home. This experience has been invaluable in pivoting to pilot a virtual model where pupils are in school but Action Tutoring staff and volunteers are supporting remotely.

With the average cost of a tutor at £26 an hour, private tuition is simply not an option for the pupils that we support. As more and more young people access private tutors, the gap in attainment between disadvantaged young people and their peers will grow.

We want to support as many disadvantaged pupils as we can, across as many regions as possible and outside of urban centres. So, in 2022, we launched our virtual tutoring programmes to reach even more pupils!

What are Action Tutoring virtual programmes?

Thanks to the support of our determined volunteer tutors, partner schools and staff team, Action Tutoring has made tutoring more accessible for  children from disadvantaged backgrounds with our new virtual model. In this model, pupils log in to the session from school and Action Tutoring staff and volunteers support them remotely. 

Some of our current virtual volunteering opportunities take place with pupils from the partner schools in Luton, Corby, Portsmouth and Rotherham. 

Here are some of the schools where our virtual volunteering opportunities take place! 

How do virtual programmes work?

With the help of technology and the right resources, our virtual programmes work exactly like our in-person ones. One to three pupils are supported by a volunteer tutor, for an hour per week across the course of 10-20 weeks. Pupils receive English or maths tutoring from the comfort of their classroom (or IT suite!), usually before, during or after the school day.

Our Training and Curriculum team has worked hard to create the learning materials that volunteers need for their tutoring sessions. These are carefully tailored to the national curriculum, and what pupils need to know to pass their SATs and GCSEs.

Our online learning platform, Vedamo, and online tutor workbooks enable our volunteers to spend the maximum amount of time on tutoring during the one-hour session, rather than preparing or addressing tech issues.

Working closely with teachers, our Programme Coordinators are on hand to oversee delivery, manage any issues that may arise during virtual sessions, support tutors, and monitor the quality of the tutoring.

They are all passionate about educational equality and work hard to ensure pupils gain the most from their tutoring sessions with our volunteers.

‘’I have been so impressed with the work of Action Tutoring. Their tutors are so well trained and were able to forge positive working relationships in the first session. Their online platform, which we have moved to recently, is incredibly easy to use and the move from face-to-face tutoring to online has been seamless. If you are lucky enough to partner with Action Tutoring – don’t ever let them go!’’

Deputy Headteacher, London

Be part of our volunteering team!

Our vision as a charity is a world in which no child’s life chances are limited by their socio-economic background.

 For this, we use the power of volunteer tutors to bridge the gap and ensure that tutoring support can be accessed by every pupil who needs it, not just those who can afford it.

As a volunteer, your help could make a difference in allowing pupils to catch up on vital learning and help them improve their academic performance in English and maths.

The benefits of volunteering in retirement with Action Tutoring

At Action Tutoring age isn’t a barrier when it comes to helping others and making the world a fairer place! Our volunteers range from 18 to 80, and we welcome all individuals from different backgrounds to join our volunteer team as a tutor in English or maths and make a real difference.

Most importantly, our education charity is proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities organisation for its volunteers. Our tutors come from a whole range of backgrounds, including university students, working employees and retired professionals, inspiring pupils to consider future pathways and exposing them to a range of role models.

Retirement can be one of the most wonderful times of your life! More time to spend with loved ones, start a new hobby, explore new places – and perhaps to find a particular cause you’re passionate about.

Join our volunteering group, and be part of our mission to help more disadvantaged pupils receive the academic support they need to progress in life. 

What will you be doing?

You’ll deliver tutoring sessions to pupils eligible for Pupil Premium and help them progress academically in English or maths, depending on your qualifications and experience. 

The academic support your pupils will receive will make them more engaged in the classroom and you’ll be able to watch their confidence grow with every session!

To join our cause, all you need to commit is one hour a week for 10-20 weeks, either online or in-person. The sessions run at the same time and day each week, so if you enjoy volunteering with us, we’d love it if you continued supporting the same pupils with their progress!

“Before I started tutoring I didn’t feel great about English as I felt like I knew nothing.  Now I feel much better as I can write more.  I know how to answer the exam questions with the right structure.  My tutors were really nice and went the extra mile for me.  In the future I want to be an electrical engineer and I know my tutoring has helped me with my English so that I can get the grades I need to study for this career.” – Secondary school pupil, Birmingham

Click here if you are interested to learn more about the schools we work with and check if their locations are convenient for you! 

What are the requirements to join our volunteer community?

Our amazing volunteers care about the wellbeing of the pupils, and not just their general academic success.  That’s why we look for qualities such as patience, empathy and good communication skills in order to effectively pass on their knowledge to their pupils.

We are proud to work with many retired individuals (they are one of our main groups of volunteers!) since they are dedicated volunteers who want to give back to their community and share their knowledge with the younger generation. 

This can help bridge the gap between the older and the younger people, offering both sides the opportunity to learn and grow from each other. 

A retired IT technician, Phil found himself at a loose end and wanted to give something back to his local community. He believes maths is crucial for all pupils to master and so began volunteering with Action Tutoring.

He says:

‘’As a retired person with a lot of free time, I wanted to do something where I felt I was being active and contributing. I think everybody wants to feel that they are using their time in a positive way, which is more of a challenge when you’re retired. For me, tutoring has made me feel as though I am continuing to contribute.’’

What support will you receive from us?

Our Training and Curriculum team has worked hard to create the learning material volunteer tutors need for their tutoring sessions. They also provide an initial training which will help volunteers understand more about how our charity works, our values and further training opportunities that tutors can use.  

Our goal is to offer our pupils personalised academic support through our workbooks and resources. We provide our volunteers with these, so we just ask for 15-30 preparation time per session, to familiarise yourself with the materials and the topic you’ll be tutoring.

Whether you choose to tutor online or in-person, our Programme Coordinators will be available to support you throughout your tutoring experience and manage any issues that may occur.

Curious to see who we are? Here’s our team! 

What will you get in return?

Our volunteer tutors have not only made a positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged young people, but they have experienced positive benefits for themselves too.

Volunteering is all about feeling fulfilled and making a difference at the same time. Beyond how your physical health improves by voluntary work, your mental wellbeing is improved too. In particular, The National Institute on Aging reported that participating in activities that are meaningful and productive may lower the risk of dementia and other health problems in seniors.

Spending more time at home reduces the chance of meeting new people, something we’ve all learnt in recent years! To avoid feeling lonely, you can be part of our group and put your skills and knowledge to good use.

In addition, volunteering with Action Tutoring can be a brilliant way to interact with people of different ages from different backgrounds, cultures and experiences in new situations. This will be an easy way for all retired professionals to socialise and maybe make new friends while giving back to the community!

More information on volunteer opportunities for retired professionals can be found here. If you can’t find the answer to your question, get in touch with us by sending an email at volunteer@actiontutoring.org.uk.

Do you want to learn more about the impact of our work? Watch the video below!

Volunteering is free, and comes with a complimentary sense of fulfilment. Ready to take the next step? 

My experiences as a student volunteer with Action Tutoring

In May 2021, Georgia from Durham University started volunteering with Action Tutoring, an education charity which connects volunteer tutors with pupils across England who are facing disadvantage.

Since delivering her first tutoring session over a year ago, she has supported ten pupils across primary and secondary level with the development of their reading comprehension skills, helping them to become more confident in their academic abilities whilst enhancing her own leadership and communication skills along the way.

As her fourth term of tutoring has drawn to a close, she would like to take the opportunity to reflect on her tutoring journey so far and to share some of her experiences as a student volunteer.

Interested in learning more about volunteering while you’re studying? Click the button below to find out more:

How did your first tutoring session go?

Before my first session, it’s fair to say that I was nervous! Whilst I had worked with young people before, I had no previous tutoring experience and therefore did not know what to expect from the session. How would I keep my pupils engaged? What would I do if my session didn’t go to plan?

Read more: Nervous about your first tutoring session? These tips will help!

However, with the support of my Programme Coordinator and the training and resources provided by Action Tutoring, I soon eased into my role as a tutor and left my first session feeling confident that I could make a difference to young people within my community.

The session templates provided by Action Tutoring were particularly helpful to me as a new tutor, as they saved me from having to find my own resources and plan the session from scratch. Instead, I simply had to decide how best to deliver the template provided, meaning that I could dedicate more time to building a rapport with my pupils – a vital part of the initial sessions.

How was your interaction with your pupils – was it challenging or did it come naturally?

At first, my pupils seemed nervous and reluctant to engage with the activities I had planned for the session. However, by spending some time getting to know my pupils and telling them a bit about myself, too, I was able to make them feel more comfortable in my presence and more willing to contribute to our sessions.

We got to know each other through a combination of icebreaker tasks and English-based games, which helped to facilitate discussion. In addition to this, I made sure to ask my pupils a few simple questions about their favourite books, films and sports so that I could learn a bit more about their personalities and interests (and tailor my tutoring sessions accordingly).

Having now worked with four different groups of pupils over four programmes, I find that whilst interaction with certain pupils comes more naturally than with others, all pupils benefit from you taking the time to get to know them so as to establish a comfortable learning environment.

What was your biggest surprise about volunteering with Action Tutoring?

When I first joined Action Tutoring as a volunteer tutor, I assumed it would be difficult to motivate my pupils to want to learn given the challenges they had already faced at school – how wrong I was!

In my experience, most pupils enter their first tutoring session with an open mind and are willing to give you as their tutor the chance to support them in improving their core English/maths skills. During the first couple of weeks, pupils often just want to listen and learn from you whilst they build up the confidence to contribute to sessions.

Once they feel comfortable, they start to engage more proactively in group tasks and discussions, even expressing their own opinions on the topics covered in sessions. This was certainly the case with the group of Year 5 and 6 pupils from a primary school in Birmingham I tutored for two terms last year.

In each session, they participated enthusiastically in the tasks at hand, asking perceptive questions about the texts we read in class and even competing to be the first to give a correct answer or finish a task. They consistently showed enthusiasm, drive and intellectual curiosity, and it was wonderful to see them develop both academically and socially over the course of the programme.

Would you suggest more people volunteer? Why?

Most definitely! Volunteering with Action Tutoring has been an incredibly rewarding experience which has enabled me to make a valuable contribution to the fight against educational inequality.

I have also developed valuable skills in leadership, organisation and communication through my role as a tutor, which will be useful for my future employment.

Whilst I joined Action Tutoring to make a difference in society and to gain experience beyond my university studies, everyone’s circumstances and reasons for volunteering are unique – so whether you are employed and hoping to bring some variety into the working day, or retired and looking for a new challenge, there are so many benefits to becoming a volunteer tutor with Action Tutoring.

Guest blog by our student volunteer Georgia Allen