Passing on my love for learning through volunteer tutoring

As far back as I can remember, I’ve had a real thirst for learning. I have vivid memories of my dad obliging in taking me, a far-too-keen seven-year-old, to WHSmith on a Saturday morning to get my hands on those KS2 English and Maths work booklets – the type where you could treat yourself to a gold star upon getting an answer right. I loved my time in school and always tried to achieve my best in class, whether it was my favourite or least favourite subject.

For this love of learning, I’m both grateful and aware of my privileged position – as this is not always the case. Not all children are lucky enough to enjoy learning or to revel in the time that they spend in school, and there are many reasons for this. One of the biggest is that not all children begin at the same starting point in life as not all are able to easily access or utilise the tools that can support them through the education system.

Whilst I’ve never aspired to become a teacher or educator due to writing being my passion, in the six years since graduating from university with a Media and Communications degree and working as a copywriter and content specialist with charitable and educational organisations, I’ve seen from a distance the impact that the pandemic and budget cuts have had on pupils’ education.

In fact, the attainment gap between pupils facing disadvantage and their peers is currently at its widest for ten years, with just 43% of disadvantaged pupils meeting expected standards in reading, writing and maths at primary school.

It’s these stark statistics that encouraged me to do what I could to help give back and pass on my love for learning and language. After hearing about a friend’s experience volunteering with Action Tutoring, I applied to be trained as a volunteer tutoring English in late 2021.

By January 2022, I was supporting two Year 6 pupils to prepare for their SATs at a primary school in Newcastle and it quickly became the highlight of my week. Finding ways to engage the two boys in my group and demonstrate how important strong literacy and writing skills are, not just for school and exams, but to also get more enjoyment out of the content that they might play, read or listen to in day-to-day life was challenging at times – but it was a challenge I definitely relished.

Following their exams, I was delighted to learn in the summer that both pupils had gone on to surpass the marks they needed to ‘meet expectations’ – a real reward for both pupils, who I’d known had possessed the determination and ability to succeed. It’s also great that Action Tutoring shares with you this detail of how your pupils do in their SATs, as this gives you a real sense of fulfilment that you’ve helped to perhaps play a small role in this.

I then moved on and began tutoring two Year 5 pupils throughout the summer months, who I continue to tutor today – the girls are now just three months out from taking their Year 6 SATs. Again, it’s brilliant to see the progress that they’ve made in a relatively short space of time.

Perhaps my favourite thing about tutoring is that not only am I helping the pupils to learn, but they’re also helping me to develop professionally and personally.

They’ve helped me to strengthen my essential skills such as listening, facilitating discussion and giving constructive feedback. They’ve also filled me in on all of the curriculum changes since I was at school – what they’re currently learning or reading, and the reasons why they are important.

Last but certainly not least, they’ve also helped me to substantially improve my hangman skills – a game that is an ever-popular hit as a cool-down activity within our school’s sessions!

I’m grateful that Action Tutoring has provided me with this opportunity to pass on my own knowledge and love for learning to the next generation. After all, knowledge is power – but we must ensure that all children across the country are provided with an equal opportunity to succeed and achieve their dreams.

Author: Samantha Lade

Become a volunteer tutor with Action Tutoring and help disadvantaged children improve their academic strength and build a better future. With just one hour a week, you can volunteer to tutor pupils in English or maths at primary or secondary level, online or in-person. No previous teaching experience is required and we will provide you with all the resources you need.

Volunteering on a placement: five employability skills our student volunteers have learnt

Volunteering on a placement with Action Tutoring

Action Tutoring’s placement students actively support 1-3 young people across 10–20 weeks, building their maths or English subject knowledge, confidence and study skills. Volunteering on a placement, you can flex the number of programmes you volunteer on depending on the requirements of the module. And, additional responsibilities can be built in to ensure the full work experience objectives are met!

This Student Volunteering Week, we want to showcase five employability skills our 2022-23 placement students have learned so far…

1. Presenting topics in different ways to suit your audience

The pupils have taught me patience and creativity go hand in hand. If I can make their lessons interesting, with variation and by relating topics to them, then they will engage more with the subject material and benefit much better overall.

Cam, English Literature student at Newcastle University. Cam is volunteering with us as part of his Career Development Module

Action Tutoring provides tutors with workbooks and session plans, but you’ll still need your initiative and creativity! Tutoring hones skills in adapting your presentation style to suit different audiences. 

These skills are transferable to any role in which you would need to present, pitch or explain an idea. 

2. Empathy and understanding people from different backgrounds

Working with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds has greatly improved my empathy. Throughout my time at school, I was fortunate enough to receive the necessary educational tools to allow me to thrive academically. Volunteering with Action Tutoring has opened my eyes to the attainment gap in schools across the country, and I have become increasingly aware of the academic struggles these pupils face.

Felix, Sports and Exercise student at the University of Exeter. Felix is volunteering with us as part of his Employability Module.

Experience working with people from different backgrounds is something many employers look for. They might ask you how you can relate to others, or for examples of how you’ve adapted your communication style in the past.

Working with children (particularly if you are tutoring pupils in a different area of the country!) is a great way of demonstrating this.

3. Patience, perseverance and motivation

Action Tutoring is a good way to improve your perseverance and patience skills, as every pupil is different and will often take a few sessions to feel comfortable around you.

Katie, Sociology student at Liverpool John Moore’s University. Katie is volunteering with us as part of her Sociology degree.

Perseverance is linked with motivation. Sometimes, your tutoring session might not run as smoothly as you’d like it to. A great way to demonstrate your motivated attitude is to explain how you overcame obstacles in your tutoring sessions. 

Did you have to try three different ways of framing your explanation before you got that “lightbulb moment” with your pupil? Did you bring in a game to help them understand better the next time? 

Tutoring experience can demonstrate that you are proactive and don’t allow challenges to keep you, or your pupil, from making progress.

4. Communication and confidence

The main thing that I have drawn from my pupils is communicating effectively. Before tutoring I felt that I had issues with my communication, regularly feeling anxious, however their desire to learn gave me confidence in my communication.

Madeline, English Literature student at the University of Liverpool. Madeline is volunteering with us as part of her Arts placement.

There are four fundamental skills involved in communicating effectively in any job: writing, speaking, listening and presenting. Tutoring can help you develop in all four areas. 

Speaking also includes the use of body language, gestures and facial expressions effectively to aid communication. Tutoring is a great way to consciously practise these, as it can make you appear more approachable and help you connect with your pupils more. Read more tutoring tips!

5. Problem-solving

Developing my problem-solving and communication skills whilst teaching my tutees English has been both beneficial and seriously rewarding. The ability to actively engage tutee’s attention whilst providing a fun learning environment has been a skill and experience I wouldn’t usually use.

Tom, Human Geography student at Newcastle University. Tom is volunteering with us as part of his Career Development Module.

Employers value those who can problem-solve; it improves efficiency and increases the productivity of the organisation. When tutoring, you may need to use initiative and think outside the box. 

How can you help your pupil understand how you got to the answer? How can you engage their attention if they’re distracted? Solving these small problems is key to an effective tutoring session. 

More information on volunteer placements

You as an individual become more employable and in my case, a more fulfilled person too. It’s the best of both worlds!

Tom, Human Geography student at Newcastle University.

For more information on volunteering as a student, visit our student volunteering page. 

Are you interested in completing your placement with us? Read our Placement Pack, or contact volunteer@actiontutoring.org.uk to be put in touch with our University Partnerships Coordinator. 

Are you ready to hone your employability skills by volunteering for one hour per week? 

Our 2021-22 Impact Report demonstrates the effectiveness of tutoring in improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils

We have released our 2021-22 Impact Report, with the aim of highlighting the scale, and impact of our tutoring programmes in our mission to unlock the potential of disadvantaged young people and help tackle the attainment gap. The report details the growing expansion in our tutoring delivery to hard-to-reach areas, the relative improvement in the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils receiving our tutoring support, and the challenges of Covid-19 on education.

In the 2021-22 academic year, we supported the highest number of pupils in the charity’s history, with 6,159 pupils receiving 67,800 hours of tutoring, delivered by our volunteer tutors. A total of 586 pupils received tutoring support in both maths and English.

Through our inspirational volunteers, we are devoted to positively transforming the future prospects of pupils facing disadvantage who need our support the most, in a challenging climate of stretched school budgets, high pupil absences, the widest attainment gap in a decade, and the rising cost of living, among others. We’ve expanded geographically via our virtual programmes to new areas including Portsmouth, Corby, Chester, Middlesex, and Rotherham.

Susannah Hardyman, founder, and CEO of Action Tutoring

Key highlights of the Impact report include:

• 2,345 volunteer tutors delivered tutoring in partnership with 147 schools
• Compared to the 53% of disadvantaged pupils who passed GCSE maths nationally, the report shows that 72% of disadvantaged pupils tutored by the charity passed their GCSE maths – despite these pupils having been through two challenging years of pandemic disruption and being at risk of not achieving a passing grade.
• Our analysis shows that primary pupils supported by the charity were more likely to achieve the expected standards than other disadvantaged pupils across the country — by 8 percentage points in maths and reading.
• Pupils who took Action Tutoring sessions in Year 10 were more likely to pass in that subject at GCSE, compared to other Action Tutoring pupils who did not — 11% more likely in English and 27% more likely in maths.
• 69% of pupils Action Tutoring supported were eligible for Pupil Premium funding – a government grant given to reduce the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils

According to the Department for Education, the attainment gap is at its widest in a decade at both primary and secondary levels. Tutoring remains one of the tangible solutions to help narrow that gap, as our Impact Report effectively shows.

Volunteer tutoring is at the heart of the substantial impact of Action Tutoring in the last year, as it seeks to bolster access to equitable and inclusive education. Since officially registered as a charity in 2012, about 11,500 dedicated volunteer tutors have supported over 26,000 primary and secondary school pupils.  The impact report is released on the heels of our receipt of The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award in December, which recognised the service and impact of its inspiring volunteer tutors on disadvantaged young people across England.

Against the backdrop of the long-term challenges from the pandemic, the report also draws attention to the significant impact of Covid-19 on education and how it has hit disadvantaged young people the hardest. We are dedicated to reaching more disadvantaged pupils by partnering with schools and ensuring tutoring is embedded into the education system to give all pupils facing disadvantage, the opportunity to succeed academically.