We’re proud to partner with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)
Action Tutoring is proud to partner with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and two sector-leading research organisations to evaluate the impact of its cost-effective, evidence-based tutoring programme for young people in secondary schools. This evaluation will use a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design to assess how our innovative approach improves maths attainment and attitudes among pupils facing disadvantage in Years 7, 10, and 11.
All school spaces on the EEF evaluation have now been filled. There will still be the opportunity to partner with us later in the the 2025–26 academic year. You can find out more about our subsidised English and maths programmes for pupils facing disadvantage in Years 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11 here, or express your interest in partnering with us below.
Find out more Express your interestMore about the EEF evaluation maths tutoring programme
The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), a leading independent provider of education research and insights, will be evaluating the programme in collaboration with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), a global research and innovation consultancy.
Find out more about the Evaluation and what that means for schools taking part below.
If you have any questions relating to the trial reach out to hello@actiontutoring.org.uk
What’s involved?
Participating schools receive small-group tutoring from trained volunteers, following a bespoke scheme of work developed by curriculum experts. This is our tried and tested model, developed through 13 years of experience.
Behind the scenes, Action Tutoring provides a high standard of tutoring quality assurance and safeguarding, to deliver the greatest impact for your school. Each school is also supported by a dedicated Programme Coordinator who ensures the smooth delivery of tuition while minimising the workload for school staff.
Tuition may occur in person or online, depending on your school’s location and preferences. Pupils always receive tutoring on the school site, under supervision.
- Year 11: Weekly one-hour tutoring sessions for 20 weeks, preparing pupils for GCSE success. Up to 20 pupils per year group receive tuition.
- Year 10: Weekly one-hour tutoring sessions for 15 or 20 weeks, decided by the evaluator through randomisation, for up to 20 pupils.
- Year 7: Weekly tutoring sessions for 10 or 15 weeks in the second half of the year, supporting a smooth transition from key stage 2 to 3 for up to 20 pupils.
How does the trial work?
Schools nominate between 26 and 40 eligible pupils in each participating year group, half of whom will receive tutoring. After completing an initial assessment, pupils will be randomly assigned to either:
- Intervention group: Pupils receive Action Tutoring support.
- Control group: Pupils continue with usual school support without Action Tutoring.
Your school must be:
- A state-maintained mainstream school in England.
- Serving a pupil population where 18% or more qualify for the Pupil Premium.
- Not working with Action Tutoring or any other external tutoring provider for any year group in 2024–25.
Nimble trial: testing strategies that increase impact
The evaluation will include what is known as a ‘nimble trial’, which may test promising strategies to enhance the impact of the tutoring, for example by testing promising methods for improving pupil engagement in the intervention. If implemented, this should not change or add to what’s required from schools.
Which pupils are eligible?
Action Tutoring’s mission is to support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring more young people leave school with the qualifications they need to progress no matter what their socio-economic background. At least 65% of pupils put forward must be Pupil Premium eligible.
- Year 11: Starting the year working at grade 3–5 in maths.
- Year 10: Starting the year with grades 2–5 in maths.
- Year 7: Narrowly achieved or missed expected standards in Year 6 SATs.
An additional 35% of places can be allocated to non-Pupil Premium pupils if private tuition is not an option for them. Up to 15% of places can be offered to any pupil who meets the attainment criteria.
How will school staff support the trial?
Schools will need to nominate an overall key contact for the evaluation, as well as a link teacher for each year group. The link teacher will be a member of school staff who can support the programme by:
- Sharing any required pupil data with Action Tutoring.
- Communicating with parents and staff about sessions.
- Receiving regular updates from the Action Tutoring Programme Coordinator.
Key dates
- 30 June 2025: Deadline for schools to Express their interest in the trial.
- July 2025: Trial schools nominate participating pupils (current Year 9 and Year 10 pupils who will receive tutoring from September). Schools will distribute information about the tutoring programme to parents and guardians of selected pupils at this point.
- September 2025: Tuition for Years 10 and 11 begins.
- Spring 2026: Tuition for Year 7 begins.
- August 2026: Trail schools share any final data required for the evaluation
- Summer 2027: Evaluation results published.
Looking for a cost-effective way to support your pupils facing disadvantage?
We work with primary and secondary state schools across England to deliver heavily subsidised, high-quality tutoring for pupils facing disadvantage in Years 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, in English and maths.
FAQs
Each participating school will need to nominate an overall key contact for the evaluation to act as the primary contact for the evaluators (NFER) and Action Tutoring in relation to the evaluation.
You will also need to designate a link teacher for each year group who will support the programme by sharing the necessary pupil data, communicating with parents, pupils and school staff about the tuition, and receiving regular updates from the Action Tutoring programme coordinator. This ensures smooth programme delivery and maximises pupil engagement.
Our sessions have a tutor-to-pupil ratio of no larger than 1:3 in a face-to-face or online setting.
On our face-to-face programmes, both pupils and tutors are in the school for the sessions, with an Action Tutoring programme coordinator.
On our online programmes, tutors connect via our online platform, Vedamo. Depending on the location of the school, Programme Coordinators may oversee and quality assure the programme in-person at the school or remotely.
All of our tutors are volunteers. We believe in harnessing the potential of social power to ‘do good’ without financial reward. It is central to our mission. We have an inspiring pool of tutors who support us because they believe what we do and share our values.
Our tutors range in age (from 18 to 84) and in background: undergraduates, former teachers, corporate volunteers and retired professionals. We are incredibly proud of the diverse range of volunteers we engage, who bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the pupils they support.
We work hard to ensure all of our tutors are supported by providing compulsory and optional training, providing all tutoring resources and monitoring CPD. Read more about our commitment to ongoing quality assurance.
Action Tutoring ensures advanced DBS checks for all tutors and both staff and volunteers adhere to robust safeguarding policies.
Read some of our volunteer tutor stories.
Previous partner schools can participate so long as they haven’t worked with Action Tutoring or any other external tutoring provider in 2024–25.
Action Tutoring’s mission is to support pupils facing disadvantage to unlock their full potential. At least 65% of pupils participating in the programme must be eligible for the Pupil Premium grant.
Schools may allocate up to 35% of places to non-Pupil Premium pupils if private tuition is not an option for them. Up to 15% of places can be offered to any pupil who meets the attainment criteria, outlined below.
Year 11 pupils must begin the year working at grades 3–5 in maths. Year 10 pupils must start the year with grades 2–5 in maths. Year 7 pupils should have narrowly achieved or missed expected standards in their Year 6 SATs.
For example:
Your school enrols the maximum number of 40 pupils to the trial.
– 26 of these pupils would need to be Pupil Premium (PP).
– 10 of these pupils could be non-PP, but unable to access tuition due to their background and circumstances.
– 4 places can be offered to any pupils, regardless of background or circumstances.
Tutoring sessions can take place either before, during or after the school day depending on your timetable and preference. Popular spots may fill up quickly so make sure to book a call with us early on to avoid disappointment and reserve a time slot that works for your school and your pupils.
Our Curriculum team creates resources which are built on an evidence-based approach, reflecting current educational research and established pedagogy.
Our specialist Curriculum Leads are fundamental to this, bringing a wealth of knowledge from their experiences as lead practitioners in schools.
Pupils nominated by the school are randomly assigned to either the intervention (tutoring) or control group by independent evaluators, after pupils have completed a baseline assessment and survey (administered by Action Tutoring).
The randomisation process ensures a fair and unbiased evaluation.
Schools are encouraged to maintain engagement, but some dropouts are expected.
Schools must inform Action Tutoring of any changes.
Data collected during the trial will be used to ensure effective programme delivery, meet safeguarding requirements, verify programme eligibility, and support a rigorous evaluation of tutoring impact.
Schools can review Action Tutoring’s privacy notices to understand how data will be collected, shared, and used throughout the process.
The requirements of our volunteers tutoring across participating schools will be no different to those tutoring in non-participating schools.
Tutors will deliver structured, small-group tuition to pupils facing disadvantage, following a curriculum designed by our in-house experts.
When you sign up to volunteer on one of our programmes, we will let you know if the school is taking part in the EEF evaluation and how this affects you.
Read our school staff privacy notice and our privacy notice for pupils, parents and carers.
