How We Support Schools Before, During And After Our 1-to-1 Maths Interventions
Running over 1,300 online maths interventions each day across 600+ schools and connecting them with 220+ tutors in locations all around the globe begs the question “How does the Third Space Learning support team keep things running smoothly?”
Well, with each of our 1-to-1 maths intervention sessions having a lot of moving parts, we wanted to take some time to sit down with the support team to see how they help schools and pupils across the UK receive the best learning experience possible.
We managed to grab a few minutes with Ciara, Manpreet, Michelle, Mickel and Millie from the Support Team to answer some of the burning questions teachers often have about Third Space Learning’s 1-to-1 maths intervention programmes.
Here’s what they had to say!
How Do You Make Sure Schools Are Set Up And Ready For Their First 1-to-1 Sessions?
“The first thing we do here at Third Space Learning (TSL) is to get a member of our team to take part in a training call with whoever will supervise the sessions in school.
We can also arrange to have these calls with multiple staff members if needs be, as schools often like to have 2 or 3 staff members with the ability to run the sessions.
During the call we run a test intervention to demonstrate to the school supervisors how the platform works, and to show the different functions and tools pupils can use on-screen.
We also go through troubleshooting at this point, as this gives us a chance to answer any other questions supervisors might have too!
“Next we contact the school’s IT team with the steps they need to take to make sure the audio settings are ready for the first session, but it is worth noting that our tech team can be contacted at any point if the school needs to check any details.” – Millie
Ciara added:
“We’ll also send schools a short series of emails detailing anything else they need to do to get set up, like adding staff members or pupil’s info onto the platform.
Schools can always reach our team over the phone, via our live chat, or send us an email – just in case they need any more guidance getting set up. We are always happy to help!”
Primary School Maths Intervention Checklist
Wondering if you need a maths intervention in your primary school? This intervention checklist will help you make the decision. 
How Quickly Can Schools Begin Their 1-to-1 Maths Tuition Sessions?
“It doesn’t take long at all for a school to start sessions once they have decided to join the Third Space family.
From booking in a time slot to having their first session, the whole process takes just 7 working days, and that includes time for a training call and time for a schools in-house IT technician to work their magic with their network provider.
We’ve deliberately tried to make things move as quickly as possible as we know the difference 1-to-1 support can make to a pupil who needs that little bit of extra help, so we want them to begin sessions as quickly as they can. The impact our 1-to-1 tuition can have on pupils is often swift, with pupil’s confidence in maths normally rising after only a couple of sessions!” – Michelle
SATs Are Never Far Away, So How Do You Make Sure That Schools Using Third Space Learning Are Prepared For Them?
“We know how busy all primary schools are in the run up to SATs, and we do our utmost to support all schools using Third Space interventions during this time.
Our KS2 SATs Intervention programme is extremely popular, and with 100’s of schools signed up to it we are in constant discussions with each and every one of them to ensure that they are getting the most they can from it!
Want to add more pupils…no problem.
Having an issue logging in for one child…we can solve that!
We are here to help, and we’re more than happy to do so. – Michelle
“Even if a school wants to sign up 6 weeks before SATs begin to give that last minute confidence boost to their pupils they can do just that without any hassle at all. We’re keen to support as any school as possible through this hectic period of the school year, so get in touch with a member of the team, book a demo and you can begin using our 1-to-1 maths interventions very quickly.” – Mili
If you are looking to bring our 1-to-1 interventions into your school and take advantage of the wonderful support on offer from the team here at Third Space Learning, get in touch today to find out how we can help turbocharge the maths results in your school and help improve pupil’s confidence in maths in the run up to SATs.
Book your no commitment 10 minute demo to discover the impact our 1-to-1 interventions can have for your pupils – it’s never been easier or more affordable. Call us on 0203 771 0095 or contact us here to learn more about how we can help turbocharge maths in your school!
What Happens If A School Has An Inset Day, Or A Pupil Is Absent And Can’t Make The Lesson?
“We always ask schools about inset days when they sign up!
This means we can assign them ‘session credits’ to use on a different date when their pupils are in school. With enough notice (ideally 24 hours or more) we are always happy to rearrange interventions and find a more suitable time that works for the school.
However, we know that schools can’t always let us know in advance, especially if a pupil is absent. That is why most of our schools keep extra pupils registered on their Third Space account, so they can swap these pupils into a session if their usual Third Space pupil is absent.
We understand the nature of primary schools and that things don’t always go to plan so we are as flexible as possible!
We’ll always award replacement session credits when schools give us enough notice and there’s availability for their sessions. We want to help schools get the most from their already stretched budgets, and with every Third Space session making a difference to pupils confidence in maths it is important to us that every one that can possibly be attended is.” – Michelle
My T.A That Normally Runs The Sessions Has Phoned In Sick This Morning. How Easy Is It For Me To Run The Session Instead?
“It’s very easy to take over a session at the last minute if the normal session supervisor is away.
You’ll just need to ensure you either have a profile that gives you access to the platform and/or know the pupils’ usernames and passwords.
If you don’t have either of these just get in touch with our customer support team on 0203 771 0094 and we can run through how to log the pupils in to ensure that they can still have their session as normal.” – Mickel
How Simple Is It To Add Or Remove Pupils To/From Sessions?
“It is very easy to add pupils to Third Space Learning interventions. You can get in touch with our customer team on 0203 711 0096 or drop us an email, and we will be more than happy to help you out.
Assuming you have enough headsets and laptops/computers in your school, you can add pupils and they can have a session on the same day you get in touch!
Once we’ve added the additional place to your account you just need to set up the new pupil, and it can all be done on the platform and should not take much longer than 5 minutes!
If you’re removing pupils because they can no longer do the intervention you’ll just need to get in touch to set up a new pupil on the platform so that they can take their place. Again it only takes about 5 minutes to do and can even be done if the pupil in question is only absent for one day.” – Michelle
How Do You Ensure That Communication Between Pupil And Tutor Is Clear During The 1-to-1 Sessions?
“For pupils to learn as much as possible during interventions, it’s of the utmost importance that they can hear what their tutor is saying!
Our tutors also need to be able to understand pupils clearly, so they can hear the explanations pupils give and answer any questions that may come up as a result of this.
So when schools join we send them free headsets to ensure that the audio quality in each session is high.
These headsets have a built-in microphone, and we selected them specifically due to their reliable nature.
Audio connection problems are rare, but to make sure everything’s ready before each session, pupils are prompted to do a quick on-screen audio and mic test. This simply involves speaking into the microphone and then listening back to the recording, and this enables us to spot any audio issues that may occur and deal with them before they become a problem.” – Manpreet
“Our team can also see live reports that rate the session’s audio connection. This means that any issues that might crop up can be spotted and dealt with quickly.
We’re able to listen in to make sure any problems are solved at both the pupil and tutor end, and we can help by doing things such as selecting the correct microphone for pupils should they choose the wrong one.” – Mickel
Is It Easy Is It For A School To Get In Touch If They Have A Query?
“The answer is yes, it is very easy as we have a dedicated live support team.
They can be reached by phone on 0203 771 0094, email or by live chat during the sessions, and if there is an issue outside of session time schools can call 0203 771 0096 instead or use the live chat available on our website.” – Mickel
What Can I Do If I Have A Comment About The Platform And How It Works?
We’re always trying to improve our platform so that everything schools need is easily accessible, and so we can continue supporting you and your pupils as much as possible.
This means that we love hearing your feedback!
We often ask schools for feedback throughout the term but if you have something else you’d like to discuss with us you can get in touch with the customer team at any point and we’ll pass your feedback/ideas on to the appropriate teams. – Mili
What’s The Best Thing About Supporting Schools With Their Interventions?
“Having the chance to speak to the TAs who run the sessions is fantastic. Even when they have called in to ask a question or two, they are very happy that a large group of pupils can be getting the 1-to-1 maths tuition they need quickly and easily.” – Michelle
“On the rare occasion a pupil can’t hear their tutor properly, we’ll usually listen in from both ends and guide them through what to check and how to solve the issue. It’s really great to hear the pupil’s excitement when they can hear the tutor and are able to begin their maths lesson!” – Mickel
“The best thing for me is when we are monitoring sessions and hear a pupil’s light bulb moments when they understand a new concept. I also love hearing pupils getting on with their tutors and the rapport they’ve built up as a result of having the same tutor for each term. – Michelle
As you can see, our support team are there to help you out whenever you need them, regardless of the query. If you have a question that you would like to ask them then please don’t hesitate to get in touch using one of the methods above.
However, until then they are ready and waiting to help out the 100’s of schools and thousands of pupils that are already signed up to our 1-to-1 maths tuition sessions, and with this number always growing it is clear that there is no rest for the wicked!
If you liked this post, you will enjoy So You Think Your KS2 Pupils Need A Maths Intervention?
Further Reading:
• Does Your Primary School Still Believe These 5 Myths About KS2 Maths Interventions?
• Pupil Premium Strategies to Support Your KS2 Pupils
• Your Maths Intervention Must-Have: Formative Diagnostic Assessment Tests
DO YOU HAVE STUDENTS WHO NEED MORE SUPPORT IN MATHS?
Every week Third Space Learning’s maths specialist tutors support thousands of students across hundreds of schools with weekly maths intervention programmes designed to plug gaps and boost progress.
Since 2013 these personalised one to one lessons have helped over 150,000 primary and secondary students become more confident, able mathematicians.
Learn how we can teach multiple pupils at once or request a personalised quote for your school to speak to us about your school’s needs and how we can help.
