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.