You can read our latest impact report here: Action Tutoring 2018-19 Impact Report
The report was launched in April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflecting on its contents, Action Tutoring is even more determined to weather the crisis and ensure it can continue to deliver its impactful academic support to the pupils who will so desperately need it.
The pandemic will hit disadvantaged young people incredibly hard, but this report shows how relevant and necessary Action Tutoring is in helping them get back to where they should be.
Key headlines from this latest report demonstrate the value of the charity:
- Of the primary school pupils the charity supported, 74% met the expected standard in reading and 81% in maths (12% and 14% higher respectively than the national average for disadvantaged pupils).
- Of the secondary school pupils who attended ten or more Action Tutoring sessions, 61% achieved a grade 4 or above in GCSE English and 58% reached this level in GCSE maths, both exceeding the national average for disadvantaged pupils.
- All pupils supported by Action Tutoring were at risk of not achieving these standards when they began the tutoring programme.
- In 2018-19, 1,150 inspiring volunteers supported over 2,500 disadvantaged pupils in 84 schools across seven UK cities.
Many families have the means to provide their children with an effective education at home, or pay for a private tutor, whilst schools are shut. For the young people Action Tutoring supports this is simply not an option. These are pupils who are already struggling academically and the absence of education, and any other means of support, will simply leave them further behind. It is highly likely the attainment gap will widen further as a result.
For these reasons it’s imperative that we, as a charity, can survive and continue supporting disadvantaged young people.
Ways to support: apply to volunteer, fundraise or donate to help us weather the storm and spread the word about our work so that others can get involved. If you haven’t done already, you can sign up to our newsletter to keep up-to-date with our developments.
Our previous Impact Report was launched in March 2019, at an event held in Westminster and attended by Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, where he shared his support for the charity, “this Impact Report shows that it is possible to close the attainment gap and Action Tutoring has had huge success raising attainment. The pupils are proof that regardless of your circumstances it is possible to get crucial English and maths qualifications. Action Tutoring offers a practical, structured solution. Action Tutoring’s vision is one that I fully endorse.” He also remarked on the “huge potential for more volunteers to use their knowledge and experience in this way to support young people”.
You can read the full press release from the event here and view our video of the event highlights below. If you’re watching this video on your phone, please use headphones.
Sadly, the academic attainment gap is still a stark reality across the country but we are passionate that with targeted interventions like ours we can make an impact on reducing it, and ensuring that no pupil’s life chances are limited by their background or circumstances.
Action Tutoring has worked with partner schools and volunteers since 2011. It has supported thousands of pupils across the country to succeed, despite the barriers they face in life. We are committed to making a measurable impact and continually seek to learn and improve the work we do.
For the academic year 2014-15 an external evaluator, NIESR, carried out a control group evaluation of our results, comparing the performance of just over 700 pupils tutored with Action Tutoring against a matched control group of pupils with very similar characteristics, using data from the National Pupil Database. This work was funded by NESTA as part of the Social Action Innovation Fund. During this academic year pupils on the programme had on average 6-8 tutoring sessions. A full copy of the report, including detail about the methodology, can be viewed here.
The headline results suggest that:
- The programme has a positive impact on GCSE point scores equivalent to 1/3 of a grade.
- For those pupils who attend at least seven sessions an additional 1/2 a grade progress was found.
We are delighted that in September 2016 we were validated as having achieved level 3 on Nesta’s Standards of Evidence. They state, “This means there is strong evidence of Action Tutoring’s impact. Rigorous evaluation techniques have been used to show a positive change in one or more key outcomes among the programme’s beneficiaries, and to show that this change was caused by the programme itself rather than other factors.”
View our certificate here: Action Tutoring Standards of Evidence Certificate
Action Tutoring is currently aiming to offer pupils around 12-16 sessions per academic year, to ensure we stand the best possible chance of enabling pupils to reach a grade 4 in their tutored subject at GCSE level and meeting expected standards in their Year 6 SATs.
Key stats and facts
- Since 2012, the charity has continued to grow and now operates in eight cities and areas across England: Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Sussex.
- In 2018-19, 1,150 inspiring volunteers supported over 2,500 disadvantaged pupils in 84 schools across seven UK cities.
- Last year 74% of primary school pupils supported by Action Tutoring met the expected standard in reading and 81% in maths (12% and 14% higher respectively than the national average for disadvantaged pupils).
- And of the secondary school pupils who attended ten or more Action Tutoring sessions, 61% achieved a grade 4 or above in GCSE English and 58% reached this level in GCSE maths, both exceeding the national average for disadvantaged pupils.
- All pupils supported by Action Tutoring were at risk of not achieving these standards when they began the tutoring programme.
- Research carried out by the Education Endowment Foundation showed that pupils make up to five months additional progress, during an intensive tutoring programme.
- The average cost of a private tutor in the UK is £26 per hour. Action Tutoring is able to deliver this to a disadvantaged pupil completely free of charge through the use of volunteer tutors. Donations, grants and school partnership contributions fund the cost of delivery and the Action Tutoring staff team.
- There are almost 800,000 young people leaving school each year without the qualifications to go on to education, employment or training.
- Individuals not in education, employment or training are estimated to cost the UK economy £120,000 over the course of their lifetime.
Read our current annual report and financial accounts here: Action Tutoring Annual Report and Financial Accounts (Year ending August 2019)
Every year Action Tutoring helps hundreds of young people across the country to improve their life chances with tailored tutoring support. Hear from one of these pupils, Malyoon, below about how she has benefited and from some of the other young people our generous funder Impetus has helped.
