News & Insights 23 July 2021

Action Tutoring’s end of year report: Thanking volunteers and supporters for contributing to a remarkable year for the charity

As the 2020-21 academic year comes to an end, we reflect on what has been achieved at Action Tutoring over the last year, in the face of huge challenges, and look ahead to being able to deliver tutoring sessions to even more pupils in the future.

2020-21 has been a remarkable year for Action Tutoring. It has seen the charity double in size, reaching more pupils and engaging more volunteers than ever before; it launched and rolled out its online delivery, which became the predominant delivery method, and it managed the significant disruption of Covid-19, including national school closures.

The charity would like to recognise these achievements but, more importantly, take an opportunity to thank all of its volunteers and supporters for remaining resilient and delivering so much in the face of such challenges.

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Action Tutoring Interim CEO, Jen Fox, said, ‘We have launched in new cities, reached our ten-year milestone, and continuously developed and expanded our new online provision with the tireless support of tutors. For four weeks in February and March, we even brought Action Tutoring into pupils’ homes.

‘We have forged more new relationships than ever and, as part of the National Tutoring Programme, opened the classroom doors to more than 5,400 pupils in nearly 160 schools up and down England. This year alone, 2,700 tutors have taken part, either stepping back into the classroom or logging into one from afar.’

‘We would like to thank everyone involved for the part you’ve played, and for your unwavering belief in pupils’ potential and the power of tuition to help them get there.’

To hear more from Jen about what has happened at Action Tutoring over this academic year please and subscribe for future newsletters, to keep up to date with what’s happening Action Tutoring.

Academic year 2020-21 review:

When the autumn term began in September 2020, we were able to return to schools and begin delivering tutoring both online and in person to help disadvantaged pupils catch up.
As more Covid-19 restrictions were introduced, with national lockdowns imposed in November 2020 and January 2021, Action Tutoring made the decision to pause all in-person volunteering during this time. We had to adapt our tutoring delivery to ensure that our pupils were still able to receive academic support, despite the restrictions.

Action Tutoring was able to offer online sessions to pupils based at home after a successful pilot programme in the summer and approval from the National Tutoring Programme. With the introduction of online tutoring, 84% of our sessions were delivered online over the course of the year, compared to 0% in the previous academic year.

The ability for our programmes to reach so many pupils was made possible by support from the National Tutoring Programme, which has meant that we have been able to grow more than ever before. Being an NTP Tuition Partner for this academic year has enabled us to support many more disadvantaged pupils; those who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

The last year has been an uncertain one, with school closures and further disruptions to learning having impacted disadvantaged pupils significantly. As a charity, we are proud of what has been achieved in response to the pandemic and are committed to helping pupils make up for the time lost.


Looking ahead

Over the next year, we plan to expand our reach further, meaning that we are able to support even more disadvantaged young people in additional regions across the country.

We look forward to submitting our application to continue as an NTP Tuition Partner over the next three years, which will allow us to offer more schools access to our programmes, while ensuring that this growth is manageable.

This expansion means that we need more tutors than ever before. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer tutor for next academic year, please apply now.

We are also looking for more schools that would like to get involved. If you are interested in partnering with us as a school, please complete our initial enquiry form.

Partner as a school         Become a volunteer