Volunteer in Coventry school for one hour a week
Action Tutoring is delighted to announce its first face-to-face programme in Coventry!
This academic year we’re partnering with Whitmore Park Primary School to provide disadvantaged pupils with support in maths and English.
We’re looking for four English tutors and four maths tutors to volunteer at Whitmore Park Primary School for one hour a week. Read on to find out what your support would mean, and how to get involved.
Why volunteer in Coventry?
Approximately 31% of Coventry children live in low income families (after housing costs). Children from low-income families are statistically less likely to achieve a passing grade in their maths and English GCSEs. They’re also less likely to achieve the grades at the end of primary school that will help them stand a fighting chance of keeping up in secondary school.
Action Tutoring first expanded its reach to Coventry in 2021 as part of its strategy to support children outside of bigger urban centres, like London and Birmingham.
We have an ambition for 30% of our delivery to be happening in these locations through our online model in three years’ time. To be able to provide face-to-face tutoring opportunities for these children, we need to engage local volunteers.
What difference can I make?
That’s where Action Tutoring volunteers come in. Disadvantaged pupils supported by our volunteers consistently outperform the national percentage of this group achieving expected standards in their SATs exams.
In 2021-22, pupils supported by Action Tutoring were 8 percentage points more likely to achieve expected standards in maths and 8 percentage points more in English, too.
“Our children have gained so much confidence and enjoyment of maths thanks to Action Tutoring. Children talk so positively about their sessions and we have had very positive feedback from parents. We can see the children making progress in their sessions and the impact it has on their work in the classroom.”
Deputy Headteacher, London primary school
How do the volunteer programmes work?
Our volunteer tutors support between one and three pupils for one hour a week. Usually the sessions take place before, during or after school.
Action Tutoring provides tutor workbooks, which contain everything you need to plan and tutor each session. For in-school programmes like Whitmore Park, a staff member (Programme Coordinator) will be there to oversee the session and provide any support needed.
What kind of volunteer community would I be joining?
We’re proud that our diverse group of volunteers range in age from 18 to 82, and are a mix of university students, retired professionals, working professionals and many others.
As well as having access to our tutor workbooks, you’d have access to our ongoing training sessions, called “Bright Ideas”. We want to foster a community of volunteers where we learn from and grow with each other.
“Since starting my volunteering, I have learnt that you are never too old to learn new skills. I now have greater confidence with technology and a greater understanding of how to communicate with children and young people in an academic environment.”
Elaine Mitchell, retired volunteer from Wolverhampton
How can I sign up to volunteer in Coventry, or elsewhere?
You can sign up on our volunteer page. Once you’ve expressed your interest, you can get started in three simple steps:
- Complete the application form (this should take around 15 minutes)
- If accepted, we’ll invite you to an online training session to share all the introductory information you need
- We’ll then process a DBS check for you (you need this to work with children in the UK).
Once that’s processed, you’ll be all set to sign up to a programme of your choice. We also partner with schools in London, Bristol, Sussex, Birmingham, Nottingham, Merseyside and Cheshire, Sheffield, Newcastle and County Durham. If you’re not based in any of these locations, you can volunteer as a tutor online.
Questions?
Contact our friendly team at hello@actiontutoring.org.uk.
