There’s no denying that it’s been a strange couple of years for all of us – and for children around the world their sense of ‘normal’ has been turned upside down. We’ve seen schools bend over backwards to try and keep teaching going and encouraging children to focus on learning, no matter what, putting themselves on the front-line throughout the pandemic. Nevertheless, the disrupted year with large chunks of time spent teaching and learning at home, there is no doubt that attainment was impacted across the country.

On the 18th June last year, the government announced a £1billion ‘catch up’ fund to tackle the impact of lost teaching time as a result of lockdown. Schools were able to receive 75% subsidised tuition support with approved NTP Tuition Partners, like Manning’s Tutors, to support teachers throughout these challenging times.

One year on, we thought it worth reflecting on what has been achieved. Since the launch of the NTP programme in 2020, we have partnered with 90 schools and academies to deliver over 30,000 hours of tuition, to support students’ grades and confidence. “Manning’s tutors have had an incredible impact on the progress that our students are making”, says Amy Welch of Lambeth Academy. “The tutors are bright and engaging and show an ability to adapt their teaching methods to the individual students that they are working with. They come with my highest recommendation.”

Naturally, for the Manning’s team, improving students’ attainment is of high importance- but it’s as important for us to be sure that we’re providing students with a positive experience. That’s why we collect ‘ratings’ from students to ensure we’re doing just that. So far, we’ve collected over 54,300 ratings, which showed that not only are students confident in their learning, rating their own confidence at 78%, their understanding is also high, with their tutors putting the students’ understanding of their teaching at 75% (while the students’ themselves put it at 84%. High confidence indeed!) Of course- in order to achieve this, students need to be engaged in their learning, which our ratings show they are. Students and tutors agree that engagement is very high at 84% and 83% respectively, which we consider to be a testament to the high-quality tutelage provided by our staff.

Some Highlights from NTP Last Year

What you need to know about the National Tutoring Programme year 2

So, what will the second year of the National Tutoring Programme look like at Manning’s? A 70% discount is to be made available on 3-to-1 tuition, with one course of funding per pupil covering a 15-hour programme in a single EBAAC subject. In order for your school to qualify, at least 65% of pupils per school must qualify for pupil premium.

If your school doesn’t meet the criteria for the NTP, however, the School-Led Tutoring Grant is another avenue for support. £579million has been made available to schools to provide tuition. While it is targeted at Pupil Premium students, the school can allocate tuition funding at its own discretion, offering some flexibility. Students can also receive multiple rounds of tuition.

4 top tips on how to make the most of the funding

We’ve seen over the past year how successful this support can be, and are excited at the prospect of helping more students achieve their potential. So here are 4 tips on how to make the most of this funding for next year:

1. Don’t leave it too late to secure your funding. Spaces fill up quickly, and funding is limited.

2. Don’t be afraid to outsource your tutoring and additional learning support. Teachers are already over-stretched, so it’s worth making to most of the help available elsewhere.

3. Building on #2, don’t be afraid to ask for case studies or testimonials from people who’ve used tutors in the past. It’s crucial your students get the right support.

4. Ensure the tutors you use are flexible, and can fit around your schools’ schedule. Can they do online and in-person tutoring? Are they able to do tutoring after school, as well as on the weekends and holidays?

One of the reasons we are so highly regarded by the schools we work with, is because of our commitment to flexibility. Even before the pandemic, this was a core aspect of how we delivered our programmes, however with the arrival of Covid-19 providing an adaptable, flexible form of tutoring that worked with the schools’ ever-changing timetables and students’ individual need was of paramount importance. It’s no use to schools if tutors are only able to support children during usual class times, as they’re then going to have to catch up on what they missed in the classroom while catching up!

As we enter the new school year, it’s a fresh start not only for the students, but also school staff. There’s no denying that the past two years have taken a toll on all of us, most especially key workers. However, the resilience and optimism which we all rely on to get us through is something that starts in the classroom. For us at Manning’s, we’re here to support schools every step of the way as teachers hold the torch, leading students across the world towards a brighter future.

Happy New (School) Year!

Johnny Manning