Action Tutoring News

Achievement in the face of adversity – celebrating GCSE results!

At Action Tutoring we are proud to work with inspirational volunteer tutors, who support disadvantaged children in English and maths. With their help, we work towards our mission to narrow the attainment gap between pupils from low-income families and their peers. 

Education equality is at the heart of our mission, and the achievements of our pupils last year clearly highlight the value of tutoring in supporting this.

GCSE results 2021 – what does our data show about the academic performance of pupils?

Preparing for GCSEs provides pupils with a solid foundation in a variety of subjects. They serve as an educational stepping stone, giving pupils the opportunity to unlock access to higher education.

Pupils who attended at least eight sessions with an Action Tutoring volunteer in 2020/21 out-performed the national GCSE results for disadvantaged pupils.

Thanks to the hard work, resilience and commitment of our incredible school teachers and the continuous support of our volunteers, we are proud to say that 81% of our pupils achieved grade 4 or above in English and 80% grade 4 or above in maths!

These percentages were calculated using the GCSE results we received from 30 out of 49 of our partner secondary schools. This is a lower response rate relative to previous years and so whilst being very positive, these results may not be fully reflective of the overall picture.

Action Tutoring was able to continue supporting thousands of pupils last year, by converting to home-based tutoring when school closures were suddenly announced in January 2021. Online learning has been a valuable tool, allowing us to offer personalised and tailored support during the most challenging times.

Due to Covid-19, GCSE exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 and replaced by centre-assessed grades (CAG) and teacher-assessed grades (TAG) respectively. The different methods of awarding grades means they are not comparable with previous years; however a higher proportion of pupils earned grades 4 and above in each year relative to 2019.

Results for Action Tutoring’s pupils follow this UK-wide pattern: before the pandemic, around 50-55% of disadvantaged pupils passed GCSEs whereas in 2020/21, more than 65% did. From the results we have from the pupils supported by Action Tutoring, the proportion is similarly much higher than in previous years.

These results reinforce the idea that tutoring programmes lead to increased academic performance, and we see on the ground that it improves self- confidence and motivation for learning. This achievement wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our dedicated Programme Coordinators, who ensure that all of our tutoring sessions are well-structured and run smoothly.

We believe good grades have the potential to open doors and provide lifelong opportunities. A grade 4 in English and maths at GCSE is essential to pupils continuing their education, or going on to future employment or training. GCSEs not only assess the academic ability of pupils, but also offer them transferable and significant life skills for their future.

As Action Tutoring CEO Susannah Hardyman says:

It’s precisely because grades open doors that GCSE results matter so much.

Read more: How Ofqual’s exam grading system reproduced the long-standing disadvantage that Action Tutoring exists to tackle

To better understand the importance of tutoring in lowering the attainment gap, watch the video below.

How can you help?

This year’s pupils sitting their GCSEs will still be affected by the disruption of school closures. Your help is vital so we can continue to deliver sustainable and effective support to young people who need it.

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!

How Action Tutoring helps volunteers with their careers

Volunteering with Action Tutoring is an excellent way to contribute in narrowing the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. But that’s not all! Joining our community of inspiring and passionate tutors is incredibly beneficial for our volunteers’ professional development, too.

By sharing your time, you are not only making a meaningful impact on disadvantaged pupils’ lives, but you are also gaining valuable experience and exploring more career opportunities.

How exactly does Action Tutoring help volunteers with their careers?

It is a great place to expand your networking 

Being a part of a volunteering community is an excellent opportunity for professional networking. You will encounter like-minded individuals who support your professional interests and who may be able to assist or guide you in your career. 

They could even end up being your future colleagues, or life- long friends; after all, you selected the same cause to volunteer for! Volunteering can also make social interactions much easier for those who may feel uneasy in social situations.

Charlie White, our amazing Communications and Policy Manager, was a volunteer tutor with Action Tutoring before she decided to join the team. Because of this, she understood what the charity was about, and was increasingly interested in its work.

Charlie subscribed to receive newsletters and job alerts. Upon seeing the communications role she knew she would apply, since she loves writing, design and problem-solving, and knows that great communication is a powerful change-maker.

Volunteering is a low-risk way to explore professional options and discover a new career path. Beyond its community-enriching benefits, it’s an excellent to gain hands-on experience in a field you are interested in, without the long-term commitment.

That’s what Phyllida Jacobs, our incredible Communications Administrator, did when she started to think about teaching as a career option. Volunteering with Action Tutoring, and seeing her pupils’ increased excitement around English, reaffirmed her enthusiasm for getting young people reading and writing.

It increases self-awareness and builds new skills

Charlie mentions how Action Tutoring’s commitment to its organisational values means that everyone is encouraged to stop and reflect.

Specifically, when asked how Action Tutoring helps volunteers become more self-aware, Charlie said that she’s had opportunities to expand her skillset and stretch herself.

Working with welcoming and open-minded people means you feel safe to make suggestions and take a punt on ideas. Our commitment to our organisational values means we’re all encouraged to stop and reflect. This has helped me learn more about what I enjoy and what I’m really good at.

Charlie

When Phyllida started tutoring, she was struck by how organised and friendly everyone was. She was initially quite nervous, having never worked with young people before, but felt reassured by having a Programme Coordinator and a structured workbook to support her.

Action Tutoring provides a friendly and supportive environment, enabling genuine, engaging conversations with people who share similar interests. This is what our lovely volunteer Emma has to say about her experience:

Our fantastic Programme Coordinator in London, Maisie Alderson, started volunteering one hour of her time per week whilst working.

The initial tutor training provided her with an understanding of the organisation, its mission and how it runs. This sparked Maisie’s interest in working in the charity sector.

An opportunity to work on your resume and interview skills

Lastly, the process of looking for a volunteer position and sending an application is very similar to applying for a paid position.

Our volunteers complete an application form to demonstrate their qualifications and previous experience, and apply for an enhanced background check. In going through this process, Charlie could tell that Action Tutoring took quality and commitment seriously, and remembers wondering if she’d get the role.

Volunteering was incredibly rewarding for Phyllida, since the experience helped to secure her first job after university; at the children’s book publisher Tiny Owl. Volunteering is a great way to gain experience and confidence to support students through the tricky transition from university to the working world.

Action Tutoring totally changed Maisie’s mindset, and her career path. As a Programme Coordinator, she feels she is now doing meaningful work that will lead to positive change, and make a real difference in closing the attainment gap.

Identifying our skills, achievements, hobbies, and principles is the foundation of a successful career, as it leads to self-awareness. Tutoring requires volunteers to be patient, empathetic and caring. Do you want to build on these qualities? Volunteering can be a great way to develop and put your skills to the test.

Read more: One of Action Tutoring’s first ever volunteer tutors tells us how this experience helped prompt a career change to becoming a teacher.

Back to school – Join our online or in person tutoring programmes!

Our online tutoring and face to face programmes are operating as normal this term. If you want to become a tutor, you can join our incredible volunteers and help disadvantaged pupils receive the academic support they need in English and maths.

Action Tutoring gives tutors the opportunity to volunteer in schools and meet pupils in person. For those who wish to join our mission but find it difficult due to busy schedules, we offer online tutoring. It’s a great alternative to get involved and make a difference to pupils’ lives.

Online tutoring is the perfect choice if you’re not located near one of our schools or or are limiting your social contact due to the pandemic. Have a watch of our video to hear more about the benefits of volunteering with us:

Your support is needed more than ever. The school closures during lockdown significantly affected pupils from low-income families, increasing the academic attainment gap and, pushing them further behind their classmates.

That’s why we accelerated the development of our online tutoring provision so we could continue supporting pupils who needed our help and reach even more. We wouldn’t be able to achieve this without our inspiring volunteers and collaborative school partners.

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.

If you are a primary or secondary school in England, why not consider partnering with us to provide additional support for your disadvantaged pupils and help them succeed.

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

Online tuition provides additional targeted support to the pupils who need it the most.

How does online tutoring work?

Online tutoring can be a valuable resource for young people who need additional support, to help them achieve better results in school. It enabled us to increase our impact and reach more pupils across the country.

With the right tools, online learning can be both engaging and interactive. That’s why we use VEDAMO virtual classroom, a safe digital platform, to deliver online tuition. We can host live tutoring sessions, regardless of the location, create captivating learning experiences and easily manage the tutoring sessions and content.

Our Programme Coordinators are always on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly in our online and in person programmes.

What are the benefits of online tutoring?

In our technology-rich 21st century, strong literacy and numeracy skills are necessary for pupils to be successful later in life. The foundations of these skills are laid early on and tutoring can contribute towards raising confident individuals who go on to actively contribute economically and socially to society as adults.

Location is no longer a barrier to involvement online tutoring. We can now recruit volunteer tutors from across the country and support children so that they can reach their full potential.

We want to make sure we provide the academic support disadvantaged pupils need by working with motivated volunteers and offering a safe learning space for young people. The power of technology can be valuable in helping us close the education gap.

Spotlight on Bristol: Action Tutoring’s third biggest region

Continuing our spotlight series on Action Tutoring cities, we come to the brilliant Bristol. We partnered with our first school in Bristol in 2014 and volunteers from across the city have been joining us ever since to support our mission to help disadvantaged pupils in the city to succeed.

A third of children are living in poverty in Bristol – ten school children out of a class of 30 – according to new data. The city has the highest levels of child poverty across the whole South West region. Evidently, even in areas where there are prestigious universities and more options for young people, the residents of cities are not necessarily benefiting. 

Young people from affluent areas are six times more likely to get places at the most selective universities. In Bristol, only one in 60 disadvantaged young people goes to a highly-selective university.

We believe that increased academic performance and good grades can be one of the most effective ways out of poverty for these young people and this will require a more redistributive approach to spreading education. 

Action Tutoring supports schools right across this hilly city, from Oldland Common to Stoke Gifford.

Fun fact about Bristol: Ribena was invented just outside Bristol. The popular blackcurrant soft drink gained popularity during the Second World War as an alternative source of Vitamin C.

With lots of programmes to deliver, we need plenty of budding volunteers to get involved. We are very fortunate that we partner with several businesses in the city, including DAC Beachcroft and Arup, whose employees volunteer with us. All of our volunteers have a positive impact on the education of disadvantaged pupils across the UK’s first cycling city.

Why volunteer with us?

We’re not standing still. We need more volunteers to ensure we can reach as many pupils as possible this year. There are many benefits to volunteering with Action Tutoring, from gaining professional experience and making your CV stand out to meeting other like-minded volunteers who share the same values as you.

Your help is more essential than ever in reducing the attainment gap and making sure pupils from deprived communities have access to quality education. 

Here you can find the schools we work with in Bristol. If one of them is accessible for you, why not get in touch with us so you can help support pupils who need you?

Nimantha is just one of our many volunteers in Bristol who tutored with us last academic year and has joined us again this year. As a university student, he can easily fit his tutoring sessions around his studies. As well as learning new skills, Nimantha is making a real difference to people’s lives:

I would highly recommend tutoring because you’re making a real difference to people’s lives by helping them reach their aspirations. Whatever level you tutor at, the pupils will be extremely grateful to you for devoting some of your time to pass on your knowledge.

Nimantha, Action Tutoring volunteer tutor, Bristol

If you live in this great city and would like to volunteer, our fantastic team in Bristol consists of Gemma, Alice, Lilah, Matt and Chloe. They will support you every step of the way and ensure that you have the best volunteering experience.

Get on your running shoes – it’s time to make a difference

After what feels like a long time of being inside our homes, for many, exercise events repopulating our calendars has been truly welcomed. The year 2020 saw the cancellation and postponement of events happening left, right and centre, but in 2021, the Asics London 10K and Hackney Half made a come-back, and all of us at Action Tutoring have been thrilled to incorporate these events back into our annual fundraising campaigns.

London 10K

In the height of summer, on Sunday 25th July 2021, five brilliant runners made up of Action Tutoring staff and members of our volunteer community ran the Asics London 10k, raising over £1,400 for our work and pupils. CJ, one of Action Tutoring’s Training and Quality Coordinators, said:

“Running the Asics 10K for Action Tutoring was great fun for so many reasons! I’ve never been a speedy runner but I do enjoy it as a hobby and de-stressor, and having taken a long hiatus from big runs over lockdowns, it was nice to have a motivation to get going again. I was also very spurred on by my friends and family donating to my campaign, and it was a nice jumping-off point for chats with my network about Action Tutoring. Lastly, the day itself was great fun; I got to enjoy some live music, sightseeing and people-watching along the route (my highlights were a steel band, a bubble machine and a runner dressed as Spartacus) and meet up with some lovely Action Tutoring people after the race to go for some well-deserved chips!”

The pandemic has been challenging for us all, and some turned to trying new things and challenging their comfort zones. Heather Taylor, our Director of Finance and Operations, took up running as a hobby during the pandemic, and like CJ, challenged herself with the London 10K.

Hackney Half

As the weather began to cool down and leaves started to change around us, autumn was in the air. It was time for our staff and supporters to dig out their running shoes and Action Tutoring t-shirts again, in preparation for the Hackney Half, a half marathon which took place Sunday 26th September.

The Hackney Half takes runners through some key London sights, ranging from the Town Hall to the historic Broadway Market and Hackney Wick, with music and celebrations coined the ‘carnival of sound’ taking place across the running route’… just what the Doctor ordered after over a year of uncertainty and four walls! The team again consisted of Action Tutoring staff, including Adam, Director of Delivery, and a variety of Action Tutoring volunteers, with some even travelling from the Isle of Wight and Lancashire to support us! The event raised over £1,500, helping us to support even more pupils in need.

Mollie, one of our Partnership Coordinators, said:

“I got into running in the first lockdown in 2020. Only being able to leave the house once a day, I found running became a staple part of my routine and has now become crucial for my mental health. When the option for running the Hackney Half came up, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to put my running to good use for an achievable challenge, whilst raising money for something I’m passionate about!”

Combined, our fantastic runners and fundraisers raised over £2,900, with each donation contributing towards supporting our work to close the attainment gap and help pupils catch up with lost learning through the pandemic. Did you know that £2,900 has the potential to provide 116 pupils with access to our online classroom for an entire academic year? It could also provide 290 pairs of workbooks for pupils and tutors for in-school programmes!

We’d like to thank all of our London 10K and Hackney Half runners for their dedication, training, perseverance and fundraising, in addition to all their generous donors who supported them, and us, through these inspiring events. Thanks also to Limelight Sports for their organisation of these runs.

Do you fancy a challenge for 2022? Get in touch with our Partnerships and Fundraising Manager, Hannah O’Neill, to secure your place at these two key events next year. Don’t fancy the run but you’re interested in making a donation to help our pupils? Contact Hannah: hannahoneill@actiontutoring.org.uk.

Together, we can all be the difference that makes the difference.

Spotlight on Chester: Going from strength to strength in one of Action Tutoring’s newer cities

We want to reach as many pupils as possible to progress academically and so we were thrilled to expand into Chester earlier this year.

Chester is a vibrant city with important history (the best surviving Roman wall in Northern Europe), entertainment (Chester Zoo is the most visited wildlife attraction in the UK) and the oldest racecourse in the country and Britain’s oldest sporting venue in continual use.

As one of our newer regions, we started supporting young people in the area in early 2021 during the midst of the second Covid lockdown. It wasn’t an easy start as all the programmes had to begin online and with pupils logging in from home, while schools were such. However, delivery has gone from strength to strength since then.

Free school meals are available to children who have parents receiving benefits or are on incomes of less than £7,400 – so an increase in the number of children on free school meals can be an indicator of declining living standards. Evidence shows that pupils from low income families are less likely to perform well in school, since there are more obstacles in the way of their academic progress (such as lack of access to technology or extra resources).
Accessible tuition in areas like Chester is more important than ever. Our volunteer tutors are committed to making a difference and helping young people reach their full potential. With the help of our Programme Coordinators and the workbooks we provide, they are equipped to make tutoring sessions interesting and engaging.
We pride ourselves on our evidence-based approach to supporting pupils, using baseline assessments and progress checks to monitor the impact our tutoring is having and capturing the final exam results of our pupils and comparing against the national average for disadvantaged pupils.

The first schools we supported were in Helsby and Leftwich rather than in Chester city centre and because the programmes were online, it allowed pupils in these slightly more remote locations to experience the benefits of tutoring.

Fun fact: James Bond was born in Chester, well the current one was, Daniel Craig was born on 2nd March 1968.

Working with multiple schools across England has helped us recognise the needs of schools and better understand the demands and pressures that schools are under, especially after the pandemic. We are excited to continue building stronger relationships with schools and help them provide sustainable academic support to those who need it.

We do more than just tutor. Our volunteers also serve as role models, motivating pills to overcome learning barriers and achieve their potential in life.

‘’The flexibility and desire to accommodate and work with our staff and pupils prior to and throughout the pandemic has been first rate. Communication and clarity of intent have always been clear and acted on swiftly, ensuring staff and pupils have been brilliantly supported. The commitment and desire to develop and advance our pupils has been superb.’’

Bohunt Worthing, Assistant Headteacher 

We’re committed to ensuring more and more pupils can receive the education they deserve. Here you can find more information about schools partnering with us.

As one of our newer regions, we are working hard to grow our volunteer tutor community in the area and are keen to engage more volunteers locally to support on our face-to-face programmes.

Are you interested in finding out more about volunteering with Action Tutoring? Read Nichola’s experience here!

Working closely with teachers, our Programme Coordinators are on hand to oversee delivery, manage any issues that may occur during our online or in-person tutoring sessions. They are all passionate about educational equality and work hard to ensure pupils gain the most from their tutoring sessions with our volunteers.

We are well represented in the region by our programme coordinators in Chester, the excellent Cathy, who has been with Action Tutoring since August 2020 and the awesome Anna, who also joined us in 2020. Cathy grew up in the North West and is a fully qualified teacher whilst Anna was previously a trainer in safeguarding.

Always welcoming, Cathy and Anna need your support. So, if you live in Chester, are passionate about supporting young people and looking for a new and rewarding volunteering opportunity, sign up to tutor in our schools today.

Spotlight on Nottingham: The birthplace of Torvill and Dean and where Action Tutoring has been supporting disadvantaged pupils since 2019

Nottingham. Birthplace of Torvill and Dean. Home to Raleigh Bikes. And since autumn 2019, where Action Tutoring has been supporting disadvantaged pupils to reach their potential.

Do you want to read more about how our tutoring programmes work? Here you’ll find all the details! 

Many people believe there is very little child poverty in the UK today, but this is not the case.

Over the past two years, we have been working with schools in Nottingham to support the city’s disadvantaged pupils. Sadly, Nottingham has high levels of deprivation. It ranks eleventh out of the 317 districts in England – we wanted to help tackle this issue.

Children who grow up in poverty lack many of the experiences and opportunities that others take for granted. Providing quality education to disadvantaged pupils can greatly increase their chances of breaking the poverty cycle and create a better future for themselves and their families.

There is a growing concern that the disadvantage gap in education may increase even more in schools as more and more pupils fall into longer term poverty.

Early intervention is important to ensure pupils have the right learning foundation to continue their education. That’s why we are delighted to partner with schools in Nottingham and help them best support primary and secondary pupils.

Studies have shown that Government efforts to “level up” funding for education have resulted in Nottingham schools missing out. The report found almost 60% of the most deprived fifth of schools had seen a real terms reduction in Government funding since 2017-18.

Our tailored tuition supports partner schools in Nottingham to provide further academic support in maths and English to their disadvantaged pupils.

Our volunteer tutors have been going into schools and working directly with pupils from a range of backgrounds, who have greatly benefited from small group tuition.

Fun fact about Nottingham: The UK’s first radio phone-in took place on Radio Nottingham in 1968. It’s ‘thought topic’ was on pest control. 

Those who have been joining us for face-to-face tutoring have expressed not only how much they have enjoyed supporting our pupils, but also how much they have also benefited from volunteering with Action Tutoring. Tutors have learned new skills, gained tutoring experience and had the opportunity to give back to their local community.

Our work has even drawn the interest of local Nottingham MPs. Year 6 pupils at a local primary school were awash with excitement when Alex Norris, MP for Nottingham North, visited their programme last year. Being able to demonstrate the progress they had made in subject knowledge; study skills and confidence was a fantastic opportunity.

In 2021-22, we will be continuing our work, supporting young people across eight schools over 15 programmes.

“We can’t wait to get started. As programme coordinators, we love seeing the progression pupils make throughout the year – our end of programme celebrations are always a highlight. We come together – pupils, staff and tutors – to celebrate everything that has been achieved.”
Sam Paterson, Programme Coordinator for Nottingham

We couldn’t be more proud of our volunteers in Nottingham who are committed to our cause and help us reduce the attainment gap one pupil at a time. The help of our tutors can have a significant impact on the pupils’ academic performance, which has been affected by school closures during lockdown.

More studies from the EPI annual report reveal that disadvantaged secondary school pupils in Nottinghamshire are more than 18 months behind their better-off peers.

Researchers at the EPI said a rise in persistent poverty had stunted progress in closing the gap nationally over the last five years, with the poorest GCSE students still an average of 18.1 months behind.

There is now abundant evidence that poverty and social vulnerability require urgent action both in and outside of school.

Jo Hutchinson, report author and director of social mobility and vulnerable learners at the EPI

And we need your help to make all this possible. The pandemic has had a massive impact on young people’s education and here in Nottingham, we need your support with face-to-face tutoring.

Sign up today to be an in-person tutor and be part of something special or recommend us to a friend.

Do you want to read more about volunteering as a tutor with us? Read Sam’s experience, a student volunteer from the University of Nottingham here and learn how supporting others can also be highly rewarding for you! 

Action Tutoring confirmed as National Tutoring Programme Tuition Partner for a further three years

Action Tutoring is thrilled to have been successful in its application to continue as a National Tutoring Programme (NTP) Tuition Partner for the next three years.

The charity has been proud to play its part in the catch up drive, and the support from the National Tutoring Programme in 2020-21 enabled the organisation to double its delivery, benefiting more pupils than ever before.

Following a successful pilot year of the National Tutoring Programme, the Government committed to a further three years of funding and appointed Randstad as its supplier. The process then began to recruit the approved Tuition Partners to deliver over this period.

With the support of the NTP, Action Tutoring hopes to increase its reach by an additional 60% this academic year and provide vital tutoring support for nearly 8,500 pupils. The charity aims to help those pupils who have been the hardest hit by the crisis, building their confidence and academic knowledge to enable them to reach their potential.

Action Tutoring can’t achieve these goals by itself, it needs the support of over 3,500 volunteer tutors to deliver the sessions.

With hundreds of opportunities to get involved across the country and online, it’s never been easier to give back. Just an hour a week of tutoring will help support a pupil to progress academically and make up for the time they have lost through the pandemic.

Apply now to become a volunteer tutor to start tutoring this academic year. Similarly, if you are interested in partnering with us as a school, please complete our initial enquiry form.

DAC Beachcroft strengthens support to Action Tutoring through a grant to fund our expansion across northern regions

International law firm DAC Beachcroft announced it is providing Action Tutoring with a multi-year grant to fund a national expansion project.

The grant will support a ‘northern-belt’ programme, which will help us expand the offer of tutoring support to more disadvantaged school pupils across the north of England.

DACB first formed a corporate partnership with Action Tutoring two years ago, to provide English and Maths tutoring support to disadvantaged pupils in primary and secondary schools.

When we were named as one of the government’s National Tutoring Programme Tuition Partners to help disadvantaged school children to continue learning during lockdown, DACB expanded its support and today has 100 Action Tutoring volunteers in Bristol, London, Birmingham and Newcastle.

This constitutes five per cent of Action Tutoring’s UK-wide volunteering pool and makes DACB one of our largest corporate volunteering partners. In addition, the firm took proactive steps to donate laptops to schools for children without access to computers for home-learning.

Jen Fox, interim-CEO at Action Tutoring, says: “Throughout the pandemic it has been especially difficult for children who have not had the means to continue learning from home. During this time there has been a clear gap across the ‘northern belt’ of the UK, so we are keen to increase the number of tutoring programmes we’re delivering in this area to support more of the pupils who’ve been impacted. This grant is vital in helping us to realise our strategy of increasing the number of schools we work with by 60%, and will provide funding security as we move closer towards our vision of a world in which no child’s life chances are limited by their socio-economic background.

“DAC Beachcroft already has a large number of colleagues volunteering with us, ranging from recent graduates to members of the firm’s senior management team, who have delivered hours of invaluable support to disadvantaged pupils across our regions, and we would like to thank the firm for its ongoing support. Corporate partnerships are an important part of what allows us at Action Tutoring to make our programmes work effectively.”

Virginia Clegg, Senior Partner at DAC Beachcroft, volunteers as a tutor on one of our English programmes, delivering online sessions to pupils in London. She says: “Our work with Action Tutoring is an important part of our commitment to Corporate Responsibility and Inclusion and is enabling us to directly support our communities by helping disadvantaged children across the UK.

“We are delighted to extend our support for Action Tutoring through long term funding. We are providing the charity with the certainty needed to enable it to continue to grow.”

If you are interested in getting involved as a corporate partner, please contact our Partnerships and Fundraising Manager, Hannah O’Neill hannahoneill@actiontutoring.org.uk

Seven connections to help us create change

Learn about Action Tutoring’s conversations with local MPs this summer.

We know that what happens on programmes is important. But in an average session, do the pupils and their tutors feel how significant their actions truly are?

Extra marks are gained, concepts are grasped for the first time, new future chances open up slightly more each time a pupil turns up and tries. But beyond individual growth, what happens matters on a greater scale. Everyone involved in our programmes is part of a nationwide movement, where people show up in the belief that a great education can make a more equal society.

Sometimes an opportunity arrives to show pupils and tutors that their efforts are being noticed. At 12pm on Friday 2nd July our Programme Coordinator, Sam, was about to set up for the usual afternoon session at Heathfield Primary School in Nottingham. Things felt a little different, though; two journalists and a camera person were expected at the school reception. The Member of Parliament for Nottingham North, Alex Norris, and our Interim CEO, Jen, would soon be arriving.

Not long after our first programme launched in Nottingham in 2019, Alex agreed to visit an Action Tutoring partner school to see the work being done. When the pandemic closed school doors, the visit couldn’t go ahead. Alex still helped us to get the word out to others at a crucial time via his newsletter.

It was an exciting moment, then, to finally welcome Alex to a session at Heathfield Primary School in July this year. Sam told us about the atmosphere on the day. “The pupils buzzed with a mixture of excitement and nervousness at the opportunity. Their heads were down and focused despite copious distractions. Some were even more studious than usual in a bid to impress their local representative!”

This was a chance for everyone to celebrate the admirable effort pupils had made since November. Sam could see how motivated they were to show off their work and quiz the MP. “The challenging questions they posed to Alex were certainly testament of this, as well as their working-strewn whiteboards which they returned to me at the end of the session.”

Less than a week later, a similar moment was about to happen at Ark Victoria Primary Academy in Birmingham. The committed MP for Yardley, Jess Phillips, had already witnessed local tutors working with pupils at another partner school back in 2017. But this time, circumstances were quite different. At 8am on Thursday 8th July, just before Jess arrived, tutors were logging in from Birmingham, Cambridgeshire, Exeter and beyond, ready to lead a productive and joyful final session with the Year 6s at Ark Victoria.

Justina has been tutoring at the school since last November and helped her pupils formulate questions to ask Jess Phillips during the visit. “It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to volunteer and support the learning of year six pupils remotely, at a primary school local to me in Birmingham.

“Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic over the last year, my pupils have shown enthusiasm, been willing to learn and have continued to make progress. I’m really looking forward to next year.”

This was the last session for Year 6 at Ark Vitoria after a big year. Another exceptional tutor, Elaine, has been on this journey with the pupils whilst living elsewhere in the country. “As the school year draws to a close, I am really reflecting on how lucky I have been to be able to work with the pupils at Ark Victoria Primary. They have been so cheerful and worked so hard – a great reminder to try our best when sometimes things seem too difficult. I work with Action Tutoring because I want to help young people achieve their best and am always amazed by how receptive the pupils are to the tuition – they always make me want to do more.”

Action Tutoring is hugely grateful to Alex Norris and Jess Phillips for their time and support for these pupils. Their active interest in our work locally has provided a special end to a year of hard work by all involved in our programmes. It has also already helped Action Tutoring forge new connections in the wider community.

Action Tutoring reaches out to local leaders each year, to highlight the benefits of our work and seek support in raising awareness of what we do. This summer, Action Tutoring has met with seven MPs nation-wide to share the progress its pupils are making in their constituency, despite the additional barriers these pupils face. This seven includes two members of the House of Commons Education Select Committee. Programmes succeed because of the hard work of people in the community – whether that’s the young people themselves, volunteer tutors or the essential school team. These conversations have helped us celebrate and showcase these efforts. Going forward, we hope that deepening these connections will help us to sustain and grow the impact of our work for the unique and vibrant children and young people on our programmes.

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