Positive impact of school-based tutoring revealed in ImpactEd’s Final Evaluation Report of the National Tutoring Programme

EDT delivered training as part of the NTP, which supported schools in England with funding for academic support delivered by trained and experienced tutors and academic mentors.  

Our training helped to ensure that all school-led tutors and academic mentors employed by schools had the right skills and knowledge to provide high-quality tuition to their pupils, and that schools understood how to embed tutoring effectively within their own contexts.  

School-led tutoring and academic mentoring shown to have positive impact on pupil progress, attainment, and attendance  

In the evaluation report, commissioned by EDT, ImpactEd explores the evidence around the impact of school-led tutoring and academic mentoring, and what tutoring best practice looks like.  

The report shows that school-based tutoring had a positive impact on:  

• Closing the attainment gap: In particular, pupils with pupil premium eligibility achieved better learning outcomes as a result of tutoring.

• Attendance: Teachers noted that increased confidence, as a result of tutoring, had led to less absences in school.  

• Progress: Pupil attainment improved in English and maths at both primary and secondary level. 

• Self-efficacy and confidence: Tutoring boosted pupils’ academic confidence, encouraging them to ask questions, seek clarification, and understand they could make mistakes. 

• School engagement: The average school engagement score of pupils in the comparison group showed a decrease of 2.3%, in comparison those participating in tutoring, which saw only a marginal decrease of 1%. 

Key recommendations for policymakers and school leaders  

The report provides clear recommendations for policymakers and school leaders to support the implementation of school-based tutoring and maximise outcomes for pupils. These recommendations highlight the importance of:  

• Selecting tutors and the flexibility schools had to choose their own tutors, with no difference in outcomes between a tutor with or without qualified teacher status (QTS). 

• The value of small group tutoring and one-to-one tuition when necessary for the pupil.  

• Session format and scheduling with shorter, more frequent sessions being valuable for the pupil and tutoring being preferred in addition to classroom learning rather than the pupil being taken out of class.  

• Tutoring should be integrated into the teaching offer at school, and not treated as an add-on. 

• Engaging pupils and parents was important for tutoring to be a success, with research finding that if tutoring was presented as a positive opportunity, pupils were more engaged.  

“It has been such a privilege to work on such a far-reaching and impactful programme. This final evaluation report really highlights the fact that in-school tutoring is an intervention that can be used to address multiple issues facing pupils, beyond simply Covid catch-up.  

“Having three years’ worth of research is invaluable for both school leaders and policy makers: this final report and our own summary paper pick out key takeaways for both stakeholder groups, but there are also many lessons to be learnt beyond just tutoring itself. For instance, the findings show that there is no difference in impact between a tutor with or without QTS, which emphasises the role that support staff can play on pupil outcomes. We know schools are facing tight budgets and need to make difficult decisions, but the value of training support staff and utilising them strategically has really been brought to light through the evidence gathered in this research project in particular. We hope that this report and our summary document will support schools to consider how they can continue to use existing resource to maximise pupil outcomes. 

“Despite the programme coming to an end, we hope that the legacy of the National Tutoring Programme will live on. The programme offered schools the opportunity to think about how to create different teaching offers within their contexts, enabling them to have a positive impact on the pupils who needed the support the most.” 

Fiona Rutherford, NTP Programme Director