White Meadows Primary Academy
Action Tutoring has been working with White Meadows Primary Academy since autumn 2020, supporting its Year 5 and 6 pupils with maths. In the 2022-23 academic year, 38.6% of pupils were eligible for Pupil Premium funding, rising to 48% for the Year 6 cohort.
Deputy headteacher, Jon Parsons, sheds more light on the impact of tutoring on pupils:
Last academic year, the school selected pupils who were not on track to meet expected standard in maths at the start of Year 6 for the Action Tutoring programme. A small number of pupils chosen for the programme were working towards expected standard but many were working at lower than expected standard, with some lagging behind as much as a year from where the school would expect them to be at that stage.
Small group tutoring meant pupils built relationships with their tutors quickly. They loved having an hour a week with an adult that wasn’t a parent or teacher. The instant feedback on areas they needed to work on, addressing misconceptions and supporting their learning were powerful. You can’t underestimate the role that tutoring plays in building confidence.
The impact of Action Tutoring’s maths programme at White Meadows in 2022-23 was truly fantastic. With all 20 pupils achieving the expected standard, it meant the Pupil Premium pupils on the programme reached the same standard as the non-Pupil Premium peers on the programme and therefore closing the attainment gap for the cohort.
Online tutoring has worked really well for White Meadows, enabling us to tap into external provision and provide additional capacity. The pupils find it exciting to log in to their virtual classrooms. The feedback and teaching is just as impactful as it would be face to face and getting used to online learning is a vital skill that these pupils are likely to need in the future.
The tutoring support works well because of Action Tutoring’s dedicated Programme Coordinators, who are crucial liaisons between the school and tutors. They ensure that tutors are really focusing on areas pupils need support in the most and drawing on teacher knowledge. It is great to see how pupils look forward to their tutoring sessions, arriving eagerly and enthusiastically to learn.
