The Third Space Learning Impact Report 2019: Breakdown For SLT & Governors

The start of a new school year is always a time for reflection and reboot. In 2019, over the summer we spent some time reviewing what we had achieved in 5 years of teaching primary school children 1-to-1 maths tuition, and taken a closer look at everything we have learnt.

We created our 2019 Impact Report to see how the sessions here at Third Space Learning have helped to close the attainment gap in the schools that are using our weekly tuition sessions.

The report discusses all elements of our maths interventions, from how we are helping to close the attainment gap through to the whole school impact we have had on many UK primary schools. 

We’ve taken 10 key points from the report and broken them down to give you a chance to learn a little more about how Third Space Learning works, and what we could do for your school. 

2022/23 Update: As of 2022/2023, we have now worked with over 3,000 primary and secondary schools in the UK over the past 9 years and we continue to grow our programme and reach to support even more pupils. You can download the most recent Impact Report here.

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Further Reading

• What do Third Space Pupils Think Of Their Sessions?
• How We Support Pupils Before, During And After Our Interventions
• How Pupils’ Attitudes Towards Maths Can Affect Lesson Outcomes

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TSL Impact Report 2019: The 10 Key Takeaways For SLT 

With the impact report being very comprehensive, we’ve taken the 10 things you need to know at a glance and broken them down here: 

1. We’ve Transformed Maths Attainment In Over 1700 Schools

It is well known that 1-to-1 tuition is one of the most effective methods of making rapid maths progress in KS2 thanks to its personalised nature, but the issue that many schools come up against when it comes to 1-to-1 is the cost. 

The average cost of traditional 1-to-1 tuition is £30 per hour, and this amount is out of the reach of many schools whose budgets are already stretched to breaking point. 

To overcome this and help as many children as possible reach their true potential in maths, we’ve made personalised 1-to-1 tuition affordable.

Want to see the entire 2019 Impact Report? You can download it here.

On average, our 1-to-1 maths tuition sessions only cost £15 per hour.

Thanks to the online nature of our tuition sessions, we have been able to bring down the cost of tuition whilst keeping the quality of teaching high. This has enabled us to help over 50,000 children grow their maths confidence.

“It provides an opportunity for groups of children to receive personalised maths tuition, and if we were trying to do that, we wouldn’t have the manpower or the budget to be able to. The fact that you can get a fairly large group of children all having one-to-one, personalised tuition is a real plus point.”

Rachel Haig, Assistant Head, St Marys Cray Primary Academy

2. We’ve Helped Schools Of All Sizes, Across The UK

Each and every one of our maths lessons is aligned with the national curriculum, and this means that we have been able to help transform maths attainment in schools from Northumberland to Jersey via Cardiff! 

In 2019, we delivered 152,766 1-to-1 lessons to 15,413 pupils in 818 different schools, and some of the highlights include: 

3. Our Impact Has Been Proven By Rising Stars

In a trial of Third Space Learning completed alongside Rising Stars, schools taking part chose pupils who they identified as on the cusp of meeting Year 6 expectations. The pupils then received 14 weeks of one-to-one intervention with Third Space Learning and were assessed at the start, mid-point and end using PUMA tests.

Pupils made an average of 7 months progress in just 14 weeks by using Third Space Learning’s interventions.

“There’s definitely been an improvement – all of our children did really well. All of them achieved 100 and above. Pupil A, for example, achieved 119 out of 120; Third Space definitely played a part in that. Some of our pupils got a real confidence boost. The format (interactive, on screen) engages the children. Our boys in particular really, really, really liked it.”

Carla Holmes, Senior Leader, Tennyson Road Primary School

4. Both Pupils And Teachers Love Our Interventions

Here at Third Space Learning we pride ourselves on being able to help both pupils and teachers when it comes to KS2 maths. Alongside our 1-to-1 maths interventions we also offer a library of high-quality maths resources to teachers to help them when planning and teaching lessons.

What Pupils Say About Third Space Learning

What Teachers Say About Third Space Learning

5. Year Round Support Is Best For Pupil Progress

Our data shows us that pupil’s progress and attainment is best when they have a minimum of 12 weeks of 1-to-1 sessions. 

It is for that reason our tutors deliver lessons all year round following a structured three-phase approach:

“The pupils are very enthusiastic, the sessions are well planned and the tutors explain well. All the staff I have contacted are extremely friendly and helpful and it is good value for money.”

Becky Cain, Deputy Headteacher, Cranbourne Middle School

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6. There Are A Wide Range Of Outcomes From A TSL Intervention

Whilst is is the biggest part of what we do, it isn’t just an increase in attainment that comes from our tuition sessions. There are a range of other outcomes that schools have seen thanks to Third Space. They are:

1. Maths Progress Is Sped Up

On average, pupils cover 100 lesson objectives over a term of the interventions, with each objective being chosen by our assessment or a teacher selection as a gap in the child’s learning. 

After 45 minutes of teaching, 88% of pupils show a solid understanding of the concepts they have been learning, and 35% of these pupils are able to complete greater depth tasks. 

2. Pupils Engagement And Confidence In Maths Is Transformed

Between September 2018 and May 2019 we consistently increased pupils’ effort in maths by almost 50%. Schools then tell us that this translates very positively to the effort they make back in the classroom.

“It’s great for those children that are working below where they need to be, but also for the children who benefit from the confidence building of the one-to-one. Third Space has certainly helped with those children that had more of a barrier to learning than others.”

Tracy Hart Assistant Headteacher, Aveley Primary School

3. Pupils Become Adept At Explaining Their Reasoning & Problem Solving

By the end of a term, each pupil on Third Space will have spent an additional 540 minutes talking through their maths reasoning. 

Each lesson consists of one pupil and one tutor talking together to work through a carefully curated maths programme, and this approach helps to build knowledge and understanding

“I struggled a bit today but my tutor helped me and now I understand the question I was stuck on and it is clear to me what I have to do next.”

Year 6 Pupil

4. Pupils Achieve Higher SATs Scores

92% of Third Space School surveyed in 2018 felt that the intervention provided effective SATs preparation for their target Year 6 pupils.

“The SATs results for our pupil premium children have historically been very low, and we were really looking for something that could fill a gap. With Third Space, our maths progress has improved a lot, and we’ve gone from 40% ARE to 70% ARE this year!”

Louise Hopcroft, Deputy Headteacher, Parson Street Primary School

Want to see the entire 2019 Impact Report? You can download it here.

7. We’ve Saved Teachers A Ton Of Time!

Identifying target pupils, planning a programme of lessons and preparing resources for any intervention increases workload. Add in the time required to deliver the intervention and to report back to the class teacher and for 10 pupils this can take up to two days of work.

This is not the case with Third Space Learning:

8. Getting Expert Primary Maths Tuition Is Now A Breeze

All of our tutors are maths specialists by degree or training, and thanks to our online tuition platform we have been able to connect 1255 tutors with primary schools all over the UK, making finding expert maths help simple. 

All of our tutors receive:

• 135 hours of initial training
• 32 hours of CPD every year
• 26 lesson observations per tutor per year 

And all of this equates to an understanding that the children in your class are in safe hands.

“Children enjoy the personalised 1:1 tuition with the adults. Tutors are always patient and will take them back to their prior learning before moving them on.”

Maria Kiniari, Deputy Headteacher, St Paul’s Church of England Primary School

9. Our Lessons Are Continuously Evaluated And Improved

Pupils are taught structured, carefully designed lessons that align with a mastery approach to maths. Data on the quality of each lesson and the progress made by pupils is fed back into a continual improvement loop to ensure we keep refining and improving our lessons, for the greatest impact on the learners we support.

10. It’s Not Just Interventions…We Have A Whole School Impact

All schools who sign up to Third Space have the opportunity to use over a thousand maths videos, downloadable lesson slides, reasoning activities and assessments from our Maths Hub. 

This means that we have had a whole school impact in schools across the UK thanks to the wide range of resources available to educators. Stats about the Third Space Learning Maths Hub include: 

“The resources are first-rate. They are extremely well-focused, and are certainly based on recent and relevant developments in the teaching and learning of Maths.”

Ron Naylor, Headteacher, Forefield Junior School

It’s Been Busy, But There Is More To Come

Whilst we are able to look back with pride at the impact we have had on pupils, schools and teachers here at Third Space we are not going to rest on our laurels. 

We are constantly looking at ways we can bring more value to cash-strapped schools, whether that be in the form of even more tutor training, adding more resources to the Maths Hub or even CPD blogs from leaders in the field of primary maths. If you want to see the entire 2019 Impact Report you can download it here.

So, stay tuned for more updates on what’s going on here at Third Space, or, if you would like to secure slots for the permanently popular Autumn term, find out more about our tuition here. 

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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
• 20 Maths Strategies To Guarantee Progress AT KS2

Do you have pupils who need extra support in maths?
Every week Third Space Learning’s maths specialist tutors support thousands of pupils across hundreds of schools with weekly online 1-to-1 lessons and maths interventions designed to plug gaps and boost progress.

Since 2013 we’ve helped over 130,000 primary and secondary school pupils become more confident, able mathematicians. Learn more or request a personalised quote for your school to speak to us about your school’s needs and how we can help.

Maths intervention programmes with a dedicated and trained tutor who works on pupils’ individual gaps.