“We were down by 2 maths teachers and needed to address growing gaps in KS3.”

Maths is a focus area for the school, in particular the progress levels for Pupil Premium. This academic year we were down by 2 maths teachers which meant long term supply.
I was conscious of growing gaps – particularly at KS3 – and I wanted to introduce a programme that would help the students that needed it most.

We tried a different tutoring provider just before Christmas but we found it to be very expensive and the sessions to be inconsistent. The feedback from staff was a bit iffy.

What I liked about Third Space Learning was the comprehensive scope of what was being offered.

It felt like I was working with a company that wanted to listen to what we needed and who could be flexible in the support we wanted to put in place. We started with 10 pupils but we’ve since increased to 20.

That initial wave was to limit the damage that had been done by not having a full time teacher. We identified Year 8 as a focus as we felt going into Year 9 we wanted them to be in a stronger position. Now we use it for Year 7 and Year 9 as well.

We did some assessments and identified those with the biggest gaps, which did correlate with our Pupil Premium and SEN students.

I really liked that we could trace back the gaps and so could close gaps from KS2.

We’re now adapting our approach based on what we’ve seen at Third Space Learning. We’re doing more KS2 testing to identify gaps.

The data available on the platform was very easy to pull off. You could see why the interventions were taking place and where the gaps were starting to be closed.

As well as the academic impact, it’s definitely increased confidence which is a massive thing as that’s one of the biggest issues we have, especially with maths. It’s not just ‘I don’t like it’, it’s ‘I can’t do it’.

Those that have been part of the programme have massively increased in confidence in the classroom. They’re more open to doing more complex things as they have the confidence in their skills.

I’ve talked to other schools about my positive experience with Third Space Learning. I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t believe it was having a positive impact on the children

My maths department really wants me to keep this going. The SEN department in particular are jumping up and down asking for more places.

We did exit interviews with the students at the end of the programme and we found that they really enjoyed the relationships with their tutors and they really liked the activities they do together. They feel it has had a positive impact on their learning.

Watch a session in action: