Affordable Tuition Model receives the ‘gold standard’

Back to: Our impact
In this section: Latest News StoriesCase Studies Twitter

Research shows that a high proportion of school children in England receive top-up tuition at primary school, with maths as the most popular tuition subject. The parents of children from low income homes often cannot afford to access this extra support, and their children are therefore placed at an immediate disadvantage at school in comparison to their wealthier peers.  The Tutor Trust was established to help level the playing field by supplying state schools with trained tutors who can provide tailored, low cost support for less advantaged children.

In 2012 SHINE supported the Tutor Trust with the first of two grants to deliver tuition in primary and secondary schools across Manchester and Leeds. In November 2018, the Education Endowment Foundation published an evaluation into the impact of the tuition. The rigorous, independent trial of the project showed that, after just 12 hours of tuition, pupils who received tuition made an average of three months additional progress in maths per year. Tutored pupils and their teachers also consistently reported increased pupil confidence.

Fiona Spellman, Chief Executive of SHINE said: “We provided early stage investment for this model because we saw the potential it had to dramatically boost attainment amongst children from low income homes across the Northern Powerhouse.

“This is a hugely cost-effective and impactful model that helps to level the playing field for disadvantaged students and supports them to achieve their potential. We are proud to have backed this trial from the start, and we want to congratulate The Tutor Trust for achieving such encouraging results.”

Nick Bent, Co-founder and CEO of The Tutor Trust and Abigail Shapiro, Co-founder and Executive Director, said: “Without the early investment of SHINE we would not have been able to deliver these trials, which have shown such incredible impact in schools in Manchester and Leeds.”

The Tutor Trust has been supported by a range of partners including Manchester City Council, Leeds City Council, The University of Leeds, the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Sir Alan Langlands, SHINE Patron and Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds said: “This is a fantastic example of how organisations that have shared goals to achieve equality in education can work together to make a profound impact on education outcomes. I hope that these excellent results will see the Tutor Trust’s work expanded even further in the future.”