Summary of Manning’s Partner Advisory Board Meeting

12th January 2023

WRITTEN BY JULIA SILVER, BA, QTS, NPQH CEO OF QUALIFIED TUTOR

How do students feel about tuition?

TS: The kids are buzzing about it!

GS: One of the many schools I worked with  was so hard to manage. There were lots of students, lots of gangs and violence. Maths was such a challenge. Bringing  something new and fresh like tutoring – the  kids responded so well to it. Tutors helped  so much. We had seven or eight tutors and  the kids started to do really well. Kids would come in on a Saturday morning in their school  uniforms…

Then I went to a school on one of the islands.  When I said, “Now I’m going to give you a  tutor”, jaws would fall on the floor. Students  were shocked. There was nothing on the  island. No ambition. Tutoring changed that.  The tutors had a really positive influence on  students and their families

IS: This year we trialled our Oxbridge group. We  are breaking the cycle of poverty even with  just 1-2 students applying to Oxbridge. We are  offering something so valuable to students  who would never even think of it. It makes  them feel so special.

IS: Another person in their life. For some kids,  there is no one really at home who is pushing  them to strive and succeed. The personal  element is what tutoring can give.

Kids love feeling special. They think “Wow! I’ve got a  tutor”.

A lot of the students doing tutoring are those  who struggle at school and generally have  behavioural problems. This dedicated 1-to-1  time makes them feel valued. Feels incredibly  successful.  We have a lot of refugees now too. Those  students getting extra help is nice.

Manning’s Tutors: For some students this could be the first time linking hard work to success.

QT: What makes ‘good’ in tutoring?

BV: The listening. A teacher does not have  time to do this, but a tutor does.

WS: Connectivity. Students feel like tutoring  time is their own thing: it is for them.

WS: Can they relate? Can they inspire? For my disadvantaged students, all I need is  someone to support them. I’m not that fussed  about grades, I would much rather have  someone who has fire in their belly.

Manning’s Tutors: For me tutoring is about improving confidence.

QT: Mentoring, communication and building  confidence. When students get really confident, they become risk-takers. They are  willing to step into the unknown.

Which tuition delivery models do you prefer?

WS: We have a few different schemes with  Manning’s. Our NTP schemes with Manning’s  run for 45 minutes a lesson. We had to split  down the fifteen-hour requirement into 20  sessions (instead of 15). Manning’s were very  accommodating.

We have a face-to-face maths tutor who  works with KS3. At school, we’ve done some  curriculum modifications. If our boys are not  doing well in one lesson (GCSE), we take them  out of it and fill that slot with tutoring. Originally tutoring was tailored to

disadvantaged boys. Now we have far higher  numbers needing tuition. We value in-person  tuition for those students who are not doing so  well. They get extra help in core subjects. IS: A lot of the students are school refusers  or generally have poor attendance. We’ve  found that when students sign up to tuition  themselves, attendance is great. If we put  them forward for tuition ourselves, they are  reluctant and frustrated. Some tuition takes place in free periods. The problem is that they  don’t come to school then. Some students  with medical issues take online tuition and  they do tend to turn up.

MS: I always question how to use tutoring  more effectively. Lunchtime may be more  effective than keeping kids after school.

How should tuition in schools be  accredited?

MS: I do think it needs to be regulated. I think  there are a lot of issues with getting people  ‘round-the-corner’. How do you assure that  they are providing value for money? It is time  consuming and not possible. It is better to  trust in a product that has been externally  verified; you have to justify the money being  spent.

Both Safeguarding and GDPR are very important. There needs to be a proven track record.

WS: Tutoring should not be just for Pupil  Premium. This disadvantages others students.  You need the flexibility of your fund to be able  to allocate the way you want to.