What impact does tuition have?

Download our 2018 Impact Report here  

Download the EEF evaluation of Tutor Trust, November 2018  

There is a mass of evidence - academic and anecdotal - that a good tutor can make a big difference to a child's achievements, confidence and aspirations.  Tuition also rates highly on the EEF/Sutton Trust 'Teaching and Learning Toolkit'.  

We believe that great tutors should not be the exclusive preserve of pupils who have parents who can pay for private tutors at home.  We also believe that tuition is most effective when it is delivered in schools in partnerships with teaching professionals, and we know that extra tuition is a proven and respected way to spend Pupil Premium funds.

Here, you can read about the significant positive impact our 300 tutors had during the 2017/18 academic year and you can also see the impressive results of the major independent evaluation of Tutor Trust that was carried out in 2017 by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).  The EEF report was published on 2^nd November 2018 and the headline result is that pupils who received our tuition made an additional 3 months of progress compared to pupils in the control group.

The Tutor Trust exists to 'transform tuition' and support busy teachers, so that every pupil can achieve their potential.  Absolutely everything we do at Tutor Trust is designed to ensure that every single hour that one of our tutors spends with a young person gives that tutee the maximum possible benefit.  Through our growing team of Quality Managers (all qualified teachers), quality assurance and impact assessment are tightly woven into the fabric of the charity.  In this way, we are transforming tuition so that the attainment and aspirations of the young people we serve can be transformed.

We seek to achieve positive outcomes for all of the pupils we work with, regardless of their family background or where they are starting from academically.  Every pupil is different and so the desired outcome can change from assignment to assignment; for some pupils, the target is to reach Age Related Expectations at SATs or achieve a Grade 4 or 5 at GCSE.  For others, the aim is simply to boost their confidence, in the subject and also in themselves.  And for more able pupils, a tutor can provide the extra challenge and stimulation they need to excel in their work and reach for the stars.

The Tutor Trust has also become an important new vehicle for high calibre graduates to enter the teaching profession, having already secured invaluable classroom experience through us. 

Randomised Control Trial, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)

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.  

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, 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." 

The EEF, Impetus-PEF and Tutor Trust are currently discussing how to bring the benefits of this model to an even larger number of schools in the North of England. 

2018 Impact Report

Our 2018 Impact Report showcases the positive impact on attainment and aspirations that all our tutors have across the full range of our work: English, Science and Maths across Primary, Secondary and FE.  Our Impact Report is not just about better outcomes in exams, important though that is.  The Impact Report captures pupil voice, case studies and the views of school leaders and classroom teachers, as well as demonstrating the impact on GCSE and SATS results from our personalised tuition.

Tutor Trust is unique as a charity in offering high quality, professional tuition services at a cost schools can afford.  As talented undergraduates, our tutors are great role models as well as effective academic tutors.  Most of the pupils we support would not otherwise be able to access tutors.

During the 2017/18 academic year alone, we served 154 schools and tutored over 3,000 children and young people.  58% of our tutees were on Free School Meals, and 5% of them were Looked After Children.

The individualised support that pupils receive from our tutors makes a real difference; before tuition, 23% of our Primary school tutees were working at the expected level for their age; by the end of tuition, that figure had risen to 77%.

At GCSE level, too, our tutors improve outcomes for young people: 74% of our Year 11 Maths tutees and 73% of our Year 11 English tutees received a grade 4 or above in their tuition subject. 

The full EEF evaluation report, along with our 2018 Impact Report, are both available for download at the top of this page.  As always, we would welcome any questions or comments on our quality and impact work. Feel free to email the Co-Founders of Tutor Trust, Nick Bent and Abigail Shapiro: [email protected] and [email protected]