Download the EEF evaluation of Tutor Trust, November 2018  

The gold standard of evidence of impact is a randomised control trial (RCT), so we were delighted that during the 2016/17 school year the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) funded an RCT of our tuition.  We are thrilled with the results and have been designated as a ‘Promising Project’ by EEF.

The EEF evaluation was a large-scale, high-quality effectiveness study in the form of a randomised control trial, involving 105 primary schools and 1,290 pupils across Greater Manchester and Leeds.  The study examined the impact of Tutor Trust’s Year 6 Maths tuition on KS2 SATS results in May 2017, with KS1 SATS results as the baseline. 

The headline results are very strong: pupils in the intervention group who received our tuition made an additional 3 months of progress in Maths compared with pupils in the control group.  On average, this 3 months of additional progress was the outcome from just 12 hours of tuition, delivered on a 1:3 tutor to pupil basis.  The cost of the intervention was low, at just £112 per child. 

Tutor Trust wants to help close the attainment gap in England’s schools, so we are particularly thrilled that EEF found our tutors made the biggest difference to pupils on Free Schools Meals and pupils with low prior attainment.  The pupils in this evaluation were three times more likely to be on Free School Meals than the national average. 

This ambitious research study was designed to test whether the Tutor Trust intervention worked under everyday conditions in a large number of schools, and we passed this test with flying colours.

In addition to the rigorous data analysis of outcomes, EEF also conducted a process evaluation.  This included observations of tuition as well as interviews with and surveys of Headteachers, classroom teachers and pupils.  The feedback from schools was overwhelmingly positive. 

Sir Kevan Collins, former Chief Executive of the EEF, is encouraging Headteachers to partner with Tutor Trust.  He commented:  

“Schools should consider the Tutor Trust’s model as a cost-effective way to boost attainment for struggling pupils."