The Future of Tutoring: Bridging the Gap in Education

The coronavirus pandemic was transformative for many sectors, but perhaps none more so than education. Delivering lessons during the height of the pandemic forced the education sector into a new world. 

It has necessitated a rethinking of teaching and learning methodologies, and brought to the fore the potential of tutoring in supporting students' educational journeys.  

A recent report, "The Future of Tutoring," offers invaluable insights into this changing dynamic. Produced by a consortium of tuition providers, education charities and other funders, the research shows how tutoring can create equal opportunities, improve attainment, and benefit pupil mental health.  

The report has been designed to educate policymakers on why tutoring needs to be embedded in the UK education system, beyond the National Tutoring Programme, which is set to end next year. 

In the foreword, Dame Rachel De Souza, Childrens Commissioner for England, writes: 

“From a standing start, the National Tutoring Programme has helped deliver over three million courses of tutoring over the last three years. This is nothing less than a tutoring revolution, giving more schools access to quality tutoring that is proven to help their pupils succeed!  

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have the most to gain. They are only half as likely as their better off peers to pass their GCSEs, leaving school on average about 18 months behind. This is a longstanding problem, worsened by the pandemic.  

This report also shows, for the first time, the effects that tutoring can have on improving children’s wellbeing. It is essential that we all work together to improve children’s mental health and attendance at school. Tutoring can play an indispensable role in reengaging children in education.” 

Let's explore the key findings of this report and their implications. 

The benefits of tutoring 

The research found that tutoring was hugely popular. They report that parents, pupils, and teachers all shared a positive view of tutoring.  

Pupils valued the experience of having an independent expert they could build a learning relationship with outside of the school system. Parents felt that tutoring not only benefited their children academically but with their confidence and anxiety. Based on their experiences, over 75% of parents would be supportive of an increase in tutoring provision. 

Teachers identified that tutoring was most effective when targeted at disadvantaged pupils or in areas with higher levels of deprivation. They also agreed that tutoring benefited their pupils in more than just an academic sense, saying it improved engagement and confidence in their classrooms. 

However, the biggest impact of tutoring was in levelling the playing field for disadvantaged pupils. The pandemic caused the attainment gap between these pupils and their peers to widen even further. It also significantly impacted their mental health. But dedicated tutoring helps to close the attainment gap and support disadvantaged pupils in growing in confidence and reducing anxiety. 

With a burgeoning mental health crisis in the UK, funding for tutoring could be justified on this point alone.  

How the UK can get the most from Tutoring 

The research outlines the contributing parties’ ideas on exactly how tutoring initiatives should be delivered to ensure maximum benefit. They state that tutoring works best when: 

“1. It targets the pupils who would benefit the most.  

2. It can be accessed by every school and college, across the length and breadth of England.  

3. It is embedded from 5-19, to ensure learners are supported across their education.  

4. Provision is consistently high quality.  

5. The model is flexible in order to meet the needs of the school or college, and the pupils.  

6. Communication between teachers and tutors is effective.  

7. …but the burden on teachers is reduced wherever possible.  

8. All providers are committed to measuring impact, evaluating implementation and consistently improving based on this evidence.  

9. It is able to continue to scale in order to support schools, colleges and reach the pupils who would benefit most. “

DBS Checks for Tutors 

Enhanced DBS Checks are the baseline requirement for nearly every job role in the education sector and tutors are no exception. 

Tutors generally have close contact with children, and this contact is often unsupervised, even if it is delivered in the home. 

The Enhanced DBS Check shows an individual's full criminal record history. This includes cautions, warnings, reprimands, spent and unspent convictions, a search of the Children’s Barred list, as well as any relevant notes from the police. 

But there are certain instances where an Enhanced DBS Check isn’t appropriate and you could even be breaking the law by trying to gain one.  

If you’re looking for more information on DBS Checks for your tutoring business or for yourself, click here.