The 6 Most Popular Tutoring Approaches For Secondary Schools

THIRD SPACE
LEARNING
The 6 Most Popular

Tutoring Approaches
For Secondary Schools
An in-depth review for decision makers on what to

expect and which one to choose for your students
SLT Guides
Guide To The 6 Most Popular Tutoring Approaches For Schools
Contents
Introduction
How to fund your tutoring: 3-4
Pupil Premium 3
Recovery Premium 3
National Tutoring Programme
Which of the 6 most popular tutoring approaches are most effective 5-9
One to one vs small grou 5-6
In person vs onlin 7-8
Internal vs external
A more affordable approach to one to one tutoring
10
References
11
Further Reading 11
© Third Space Learning 2022. You may photocopy this page. 1

Introduction
In any class, there are students - often those from disadvantaged backgrounds - who need a little bit
of extra help to catch up. In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular, there are
thousands of students who have missed essential parts of their education and the attainment gap
has widened as a result.
This gap continues to widen as students get older. By the time they reach secondary school,
disadvantaged students are estimated to be 18 months behind their peers.1
Research by the Education Endowment Fund shows that a well designed tutoring
programme is one of the most effective ways to close this gap.
Education Endowment Fund
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) was established in 2020 to provide additional funding for
schools to access targeted academic support delivered by trained and experienced tutors.
However, tutoring is not a silver bullet and it is easy to get it wrong if it is not implemented
effectively. Although funding is available through the NTP, traditional tuition remains one of the more
expensive interventions so it is important that schools get the best value for money.
We’ve been delivering maths tutoring in schools for almost 10 years now as we’ve always believed it
to be the most effective intervention to deliver results in maths at secondary (and primary) level.
We've put all our experience from the last decade into this guide. Inside, you'll find an overview of
the tutoring solutions available for schools - including the pros and cons of each - to ensure you're
making the best decision for your school and pupils.
2
How to fund your tutoring

Before we look into which type of tutoring is best for your school’s needs, let’s take a look at where
the funding is going to come from.
Over and above your usual school budgets, the following funding streams are available:
1 P upil Premium: Per-pupil funding to help raise attainment for disadvantaged pupils.
2 R ecovery Premium: An additional boost to Pupil Premium to help disadvantaged pupils recover
lost learning after the pandemic.
3 N ational Tutoring Programme: Ring-fenced grant funding allocated directly to schools for in-
school tutoring.
Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium funding is allocated based on the number of pupils who fall into the following
two groups:
Free School Meals: In 2023/24 secondary schools will receive £1,035 for every pupil who claims free
school meals or who has claimed free school meals in the last 6 years.
Looked-After Children: secondary schools receive £2,530 for every pupil who has left
local authority care through adoption, a special guardianship order or child
arrangements order.
R ecovery Premium
Recovery Premium is allocated using the same criteria as Pupil Premium, but there is a minimum
payment for all schools, regardless of the number of pupils on roll who are eligible.
Secondary schools will receive £276
per eligible pupil, with a minimum
ample 
Ex
Funding stream AY23/24
payment of £6,000 regardless of the
A secondary school
number of pupils eligible.
with 50 pupils eligible N ational Tutoring Programme £3,375
for Pupil Premium will
receive... Pupil Premium ,
£51 75 0
R ecovery Premium £1 3,800
TOT AL £68,925
thirdspacelearning.com Helping schools close the maths attainment gap through targeted one to one teaching and flexible resources 3
National Tutoring Programme

All mainstream schools in England will receive £67.50 per pupil eligible for Pupil
Funding your Maths Interventions: A Quick Guide for SLT and Maths Leaders
Funding your Maths
Interventions:
hat funding is available
Introduction
A Quick Guide for SL W
T and Maths Leaders
Funding
your Maths
Interventions
In our experience working with schools, the following three funding streams
are most common for Recovery : A Quick
In every maths
class there will be pupils 1
Premium Guide for
SLT and
Maths L
who need a little extra maths interventions:
eaders
for the most experienced help to keep up with
teacher, it’s often difficult theirPpeers.
upil Pre mium: Per-pupil funding to help raise attainment for disadvantaged pupils.
Even
to give those pupils the The Recovery
class of 30.
support they
2
need in a Premium
pupils recover learning was launched
Recovery Premium: An additional boost to Pupil Premium to help disadvantaged after the
Pandemic.
in the 2020/2
1 academic
SPACE
THIRDRNING
Maths interventions are essenti lost learning after the pandemic.
year to
al for making 3 It is allocated help pupils
sure pupils who are struggling
L EA opportunities to consolidate are getting additional using the recover
knowledge and apply National Tutoring Programme: Ring-fenced grant allocated directly to schools
for tutoring. lost
their skills over and above
classroom teaching.
Pupil Premium schools,

regardless
same criteria
of the number
as Pupil
For the Premium,
These interventions 2022
to 2023 of eligible but there
cost money, and it’s academic pupils on is a minimum
not always easy to know roll. payment
year:
r
to budget for them and what funding is available,
The Pupil Premium (PP) provides per-pupil funding to help raise attainment for disadvantaged pupils,
how best £145 per for all
Here at Third Space how to maximise your strategy to ensure eligible
Premium specifically to be spent on tutoring. Any unspent NTP funding will be

g You
In this guide, we Learning, we’ve you’re getting as £276 per pupil in
’ll break down everything worked with 3,000+
schools since 2013‘bang forasyour buckshow that these children are less likely to receive the same educational opportunities
studies primary
one to one maths tutoring you need to know to to provide online ’. eligible schools
Fundin
decisions for your school interventions for their ensure you’re making pupil in
target pupils. Over the bestpeers, and as a result they’re more likely to be further behind academically.
thetheir seconda
with tens of thousandsand pupils.
years, we’ve spoken W ith a minimum ry schools
of teachers and senior
's Maths
leaders looking for advice £2,000 payment
fund their interventions about how best to for prima of:
hy are maths interventions

W
and what funding is
available. In many schools, these are the pupils who would benefit most from additional
interventions, and
£6, ry school
an effective use of funding hen and000 for secondary
School
s
s why Pupil Premium exists; to ensure schools have the funding they need to provide these
W
that’? how will or all-through

In maths, unaddressed
thethe to 2023 academic year, funding is allocated based on the number of schools
gaps are especially problematic. pupilsFor
with extra support they need.
2022 There is
no need receive schools
ention
learning needs to build The nature of the sub to apply Recovery
ject means
on a solid understanding children ’s who fall into the following two groups:
pupils authorities for Premium
of essential foundation
What
and academies Recovery Premium,
Interv
for example, not grasped concepts. A pupil who
the values of numbers has,
8 d
you need in four and payments
?
le understanding the concepts

at foundation stages
will struggle much more F M
ree School eals: schools receive £1,3 5 for every primary pupil an to know instalments across will automatically
with about spendingthe school
s availab fall further behind as
of addition and subtraction.
As these gaps escalate, 98
£ 5 for every secondary pupil who claims free school meals or who has
The DfE
recommends year.
your Recovery
be made
to local
g stream for your they struggle to keep
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they cause pupils to
claimed free school meals in the last 6 years.
approaches that schools
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pupils eligible ’.
required will find it harder

primary school without
the maths skills and Service Pupil Premium (SPP) is also available for schools to support children with parents in the Schools
of pupils for Pupil
to catch up in secondary knowledge are free Premium,
school and the attainment is designed to assist the school in providing the additional support that these “Building
on the pupil to direct spending
but can
“Maths skills
gap will widen.
armed forces. This Schools be used

to support
have a profound long approaches must use premium, where they
-term impact children may need and is currently worth £310 per service child. for supportingtheir Recovery this funding
clawed back at the end of the academic year.
Without
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5
Guide to Funding
Your School’s Maths
This can be used to cover 50% of your tutoring costs, up to a maximum of £18 Interventions2
per hour.
THIRD SPACE MATHS HUB
National Tutoring Programme funding covers tutoring is delivered via the following 3 routes:
1 Tuition Partners
These are external tutoring organisations that have passed rigorous quality assurance checks from
the Department of Education. Tuition Partners vary in their level of experience, specialisms and
whether they offer in-person or online tutoring.
As an approved Tuition Partner, thousands of schools have chosen Third Space Learning to
deliver personalised online one to one maths tuition through the NTP.
Third Space Learning is an example of a provider with an innovative approach and they are
proving popular with English schools.
The National Tutoring Programme,
March 2021
2 Academic Mentors
These are full-time, salaried in-house staff members who work alongside teachers to provide one to
one or small group tuition. Academic Mentors may not have a specific background in the subjects
which they are tutoring, but there are minimum qualification and training requirements.
Schools should apply to Cognition Education, one of the three NTP providers for 22/23, to be
assigned an Academic Mentor.
3 School-led tutoring
This route allows schools to identify and pay members of a school’s own personnel to deliver
tutoring. Staff must either be currently employed or specifically engaged for this purpose and
tutoring. Free training from the Education Development Trust is mandatory for all school-led tutors
without qualified teacher status (QTS).
The requirements of the NTP state that tutoring must be in addition to a member of staff’s core roles
and responsibilities, so it’s worth considering your staff workload before choosing this option.
Which tutoring approaches are the most

effective?
When it comes to tutoring, there are three core choices your school will need to make:
1 Group size: One to one or small group?
2 Delivery method: In-person or online?
3 Type of tuition: Internal or external?

In this guide, we use evidence and research to compare these options to inform your decision.
One to one vs small group

One to one tutoring
Most effective tutoring
+5 months’ progress
One on one tutoring provides the most targeted level of support for students as tutor and student
work together in a hyper personalised manner.
Strengths Weaknesses
Impact: Most impactful delivery method and Cost: Traditionally expensive to deliver.
low attainers are particularly likely to benefit.
Hyper personalised: Lessons are tailored to Scale: Difficult to scale to a large group of
meet the needs of the student and students without multiple tutors, making it
misconceptions can be addressed as they occur.
challenging to deliver in person.
Student confidence: Many students feel more Diagnostic assessment: Requires accurate
confident working one to one, away from their adaptive diagnostic assessment to ensure the
peers.
right content is chosen for each student.
Rapport: Easier to build rapport with students.
Online one to one tutoring combats some of the traditional weaknesses listed above. By
taking tuition online, schools choosing Third Space Learning benefit from personalised, one to
one tuition for roughly one third of the cost of traditional one to one.
O ne to many tutoring (also known as small group tutoring)

Moderately effective
+2 months’ progress1
One to many tutoring is done in groups of up to 6. Evidence suggests that the impact of tutoring one
to many is significantly weakened beyond 1 to 3 delivery.
One to many tutoring is significantly less impactful in secondary schools than in primary schools.
This means that secondary schools should strongly consider one to one tutoring.
A nother key thing to remember is that it’s really important that you match students based on their
learning gaps - you can’t group three students who need different areas of support together and
expect them all to make progress!
Impact: Still an effective evidenced intervention. Impact: Less impactful than one to one tutoring
and less effective in secondary schools than
primary schools
Cos t: Generally cheaper than one to one Diagnostic assessment: Requires complex
tutoring. student matching to ensure students are
working on learning objectives that they need
extra support with.
Peer le arning: Opportunities for peer learning. Group size: The larger the group, the more
impact drops off (evidence suggests groups to
be no larger than 1 tutor to 3 students).
Recruitment: Still needs lots of tutors so

difficult to recruit in person staff.
Training: Tutors typically require more training

to be effective as more challenging to deliver.
Tech: If delivering online, a tech issue for one

student can ruin the lesson for all students in
the group.
1This is often quoted at +4 months’ progress but that effect size is predominantly seen at primary school; at secondary
small group tuition is less effective than at primary and delivers on average +2 months’ progress.
I n-person vs online
There is currently no evidence to suggest that one or the other is more effective so it comes down to
the school’s preference. Here’s a summary of strengths and weaknesses for both to help you make a
decision for your school’s needs.
In-person tutoring
In-person tutoring offers a tech-free tutoring experience where tutors may be able to more easily
build rapport with students, however it is expensive. Many schools choose in-person sessions with
small groups of students to keep costs down, however evidence suggests that this can ‘dilute’ the
experience for the students and reduce its impact.
Easier rapport building: Face to face Cost: More expensive than online as it requires
communication with a tutor can make it easier increased travel and time from the tutor.
to build rapport.
No technology needed: Not reliant on access to Recruitment: Challenging to recruit tutors - you
computers. are limited by availability in your local area.
A ccess to physical manipulatives: For students Resources: Each tutor and student will need a
who need it, in-person tutoring allows for the separate area to work as they will be
use of manipulatives to help demonstrate communicating aloud - this limits the amount of
concepts. sessions that you can run at once.
Reporting: Reporting can be more challenging as
you have to keep records of who has had which
sessions whereas online providers often provide
all of this data automatically.
Sch eduling: Restricted to the time slot
availability of the local tutors so sessions may
not fit the school timetable.
Online tutoring
Online tuition can offer a cost effective alternative to in-person tuition. Alongside cost benefits, it is
easier for schools to manage as online tutoring allows for an entire class to benefit from personalised
support in the same room at the same time.
Cost: More cost effective solution as saves on Technology: Reliant on access to wifi and
travel and time expenses for the tutor. technology in school.
Scale: Easier integration with school timetable - Usability: Ensure the online classroom has
you can run 50 tutoring sessions all at the same been built with your subject in mind - eg. if
time and in the same room. teaching maths, the online classroom should
have adaptive tools for mathematical symbols.
Recruitment: Much wider access to tutors - you
are no longer limited to your local area so you
can be more particular about tutors having
experience tutoring your chosen subjects.
Reporting: Automated capture of tutoring
hours, impact, and student experience for
reporting purposes.
Scheduling: Easier to schedule and reschedule
sessions via online platform - typically online
providers have more flexibility on timings.
How does Third Space Learning counteract the

challenges of online delivery?
Sarah
You do
Third Space Learning’s online classroom has been You
a The table shows the length of 5
Student Length (cm) Rounded Value
designed with maths teaching in mind - it has quick click

students’ hair. Alistair 8.5862
Round each measurement to Boris 1.3198
buttons to generate mathematical symbols, and our

1 decimal place:
Cynthia 65.9872
Dipesh 15.229
tutors have a library of high quality curriculum aligned
You
Emily 9.972
materials to support students.
b Complete the rounding table:

Length (cm) 6.1299 85.1092 609.0082
Nearest whole number
1 decimal place
Third Space Learning provides every school with free 2 decimal places
headsets throughout the duration of their programme.

3 decimal places
This means that you don’t need to have to find a Select Point Symbols Text Shapes Draw Erase Clear all Undo Redo
reputable headset provider or incur additional costs.
Internal vs external
There are benefits to both internal and external providers for in-school tuition. For schools with extra
staff availability, suitable rooms and who are looking to target a small, select group of students, an
internal provider may be the right choice. However, many schools do not have the time or resources
and so external providers can offer benefits for both staff and students.
Internal provider
Easier rapport building: Students may already Cost: As tuition provided internally is often in
know their tutor so may develop rapport person, fewer students can take part due to
quickly. costs and staffing requirements.
Collaboration: Easy tutor-teacher collaboration, Staff workload: Increases staff workload by
particularly if the teacher is also the tutor. using non contact time for tutoring.
Set up: Can be logistically difficult to set up and

responsibility for this will land on the school.
External provider
Less impact on staff workload: Using external Quality issues: Quality of tuition and useability
providers frees up your teachers to do what varies between providers. However, if using
they do best and focus on quality first teaching. NTP funding, Tuition Partners have passed
rigorous quality assurance checks from the DfE.
Better monitoring and reporting: It’s in an Recruitment difficulties: If looking for in person
external provider's interest to provide detailed tutoring, it may be difficult to recruit local
progress reports to clearly show their impact. tutors. Online alternatives overcome this issue.
Easier to manage: A good external provider

will take care of managing the intervention with
minimal disruption to the school.
A more evidence-based approach: External
providers will have data from thousands of
students and schools to inform the most
effective intervention approach.
More ratings and reviews: Case studies and
reviews from other schools who’ve used the
provider will help decide if they’re right for you.
Third Space Learning: a more affordable

approach to one to one tutoring
For many schools, the best possible tutoring option is the one in which each student receives targeted
one to one support from their own dedicated tutor.
This is also often the most expensive option, and often not something that schools can realistically
provide, even with the additional tutoring funding. This means schools often have the difficult choice
between diluting the students' experience and having to limit the number of students who are eligible
for support.
Since 2013, we’ve worked with thousands of schools to help make one to one maths tutoring
more accessible and affordable.  
Third Space Learning tutoring is delivered online via our highly-skilled and extensively-trained
global tutor community, so we can offer schools personalised one to one tutoring for the
price other providers charge for group sessions. Schools can then use their NTP funding to
further reduce the cost.
We are proud to have provided online one to one tutoring to over 120,000 students across
3,000 schools. We’d love to support your schools too. Get in touch today to find out more
about how it works and the impact we’ve had in schools like yours.
Your turn...
A 10 metre ladder rests against a

H
wall. The angle between the ladder O
and the floor is .
me
eso Can you identify which
Aw rt
effo sin(20) = of each of the sides on
your triangle are
adjacent, opposite or
How far up the wall does the hypotenuse?
10 sin(20) =
ladder reach?
Give your answer to 3 s.f. 3.420201... =
= 3.42
........................................................................
(3)
Our online interactive classroom is designed to drive engagement and promote maths talk.
References
1https://post.parliament.uk/covid-19-and-the-disadvantage-gap/
2https://mathshub.thirdspacelearning.com/resources/3308/Guide-to-Funding-Your- 3
School%E2%80%99s-Maths-Interventions
Further Reading
COVID-19 and the disadvantage gap - post.parliament.uk
One to one tuition | Teaching & Learning Toolkit - Education Endowment Fund
National Tutoring Programme: guidance for schools, 2022 to 2023 - gov.uk
Do you have a group of students who

need a boost in maths this term?
Each student could receive a personalised lesson every week from our
specialist 1-to-1 maths tutors.
Raise attainment
Plug any gaps or misconceptions
Boost confidence
93% of teachers feel Third Space Learning lessons helped their

pupils achieve higher assessment scores
Speak to us
thirdspacelearning.com
0203 771 0095
hello@thirdspacelearning.com
THIRD SPACE
LEARNING

The 6 Most Popular Tutoring Approaches For Secondary Schools

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THIRD SPACE

The 6 Most Popular

An in-depth review for decision makers on what to

How to fund your tutoring: 3-4

National Tutoring Programme

One to one vs small grou 5-6

In person vs onlin 7-8

A more affordable approach to one to one tutoring

© Third Space Learning 2022. You may photocopy this page. 1

How to fund your tutoring

local authority care through adoption, a special guardianship order or child

National Tutoring Programme

Pupil Premium schools,

Premium specifically to be spent on tutoring. Any unspent NTP funding will be

hy are maths interventions

that’? how will or all-through

le understanding the concepts

required will find it harder

armed forces. This Schools be used

clawed back at the end of the academic year.

as pupils moveare struggling will continue nce on

a particularly maths through their education. Thisto struggle.

an urgent need to tackle

learning loss in maths, is therefore 3

Which tutoring approaches are the most

1 Group size: One to one or small group?

2 Delivery method: In-person or online?

3 Type of tuition: Internal or external?

One to one vs small group

Rapport: Easier to build rapport with students.

O ne to many tutoring (also known as small group tutoring)

to many is significantly weakened beyond 1 to 3 delivery.

Recruitment: Still needs lots of tutors so

Training: Tutors typically require more training

Tech: If delivering online, a tech issue for one

How does Third Space Learning counteract the

designed with maths teaching in mind - it has quick click

Round each measurement to Boris 1.3198

buttons to generate mathematical symbols, and our

materials to support students.

b Complete the rounding table:

headsets throughout the duration of their programme.

reputable headset provider or incur additional costs.

Set up: Can be logistically difficult to set up and

Easier to manage: A good external provider

Third Space Learning: a more affordable

A 10 metre ladder rests against a

Give your answer to 3 s.f. 3.420201... =

National Tutoring Programme: guidance for schools, 2022 to 2023 - gov.uk

Do you have a group of students who

Plug any gaps or misconceptions

93% of teachers feel Third Space Learning lessons helped their

0203 771 0095

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