In October 2018, I was appointed as one of the first full-time tutors for the Tutor Trust after having worked with them for three years.  I was given the opportunity to work on the alternative provision project, the Right Angle, which combines tuition and academic counselling – provided by TLC; Talk Listen Change – to looked after children and children in alternative provision to help boost their educational outcomes.  Whilst working on the project, I have worked with young people across Greater Manchester including Rochdale and Tameside in both schools and homes.

When I first began my role as an Alternative Provision tutor, it was daunting and I didn’t know what to expect but the Alternative Provision Co-Ordinator Beth and Quality Manager Jo have both given me invaluable advice and support throughout the year.

When you imagine working with looked after children or children in Alternative Provision, it’s automatically assumed that they will be difficult, have behavioural issues and that your job will be challenging.  In all honesty, my experience has been the total opposite.  Don’t get me wrong, some of the young people you work with try and push the boundaries, but the majority are polite, kind and hardworking.  The tuition sessions are not only about improving their grades and their knowledge in a subject – yes, it is a large and important part of the job but most of the time, their grades aren’t low because of a lack of knowledge.  In fact, most of the time they aren’t high achievers but 9 out of 10 times this is because their confidence is so low that they feel unable to complete a task before they have even had a go.  These young people need to be encouraged, inspired and be told that the sky really is their limit and if I am able to do that and give them the confidence they need to reach their goals then that makes my job worthwhile.  Working on the project has given me a better understanding of what challenges these young people face and with a little encouragement and quality tuition their potential can be unlocked.