Nicola Glover, Headteacher
Wilnecote Junior
Once I saw a session in action at a school, I knew it was a programme that would really help our school.Â
At my previous school, I was invited to watch a session at a local school whoâd been using Third Space Learning. They were really keen to show how much progress their pupils had made, and after seeing the confidence these children had in speaking to their tutors, I went back to my Headteacher and said âweâve got to get this, itâs the most amazing thing!â. Shortly after I moved to Wilnecote, we heard about the National Tutoring Programme and the subsidised pricing they were offering for Third Space Learning, so we signed our school up immediately.Â
The one to one support was invaluable during and after school closures.
During lockdown, the clear instructions and support provided by Third Space Learning, meant that the sessions ran smoothly and all the children were able to receive that one to one with their individual tutors from home – a real-life person there to teach them maths, a novelty during the school closures!
Out of the 17 Year 6 pupils signed up, 16 of them made accelerated progress and met their expected targets by the end of the academic year. For the Year 3 pupils that we signed up to help with their catch-up learning, the confidence it provided them for the return to the school environment was fantastic, it has really helped to support them with the transition back to school.Â
The children have loved getting to know their tutors.Â
They were all very excited to find out where the tutors were based and wanted to see where they were on a map. It is great to see the kind of relationships that form between the children and their tutors and how rewarding it is for both the pupils and teachers, in terms of pupil confidence.
Once sessions had started any initial doubts about safeguarding were dismissed.
Some staff members were initially hesitant about online tutoring and potential safeguarding issues, but the fact that all tutors are background-checked and all the sessions are recorded put them more at ease. Any concerns were quickly resolved once sessions began. Near the start one pupil had shared with their tutor that they werenât feeling very happy. Within half an hour of that session finishing, weâd had a phone call from somebody at Third Space Learning explaining that this had been reported by the tutor. This tutorâs reaction showed us how observant and vigilant the tutors are and the extent of their training.
For the children who are quiet or shy and arenât necessarily brave enough to put their hand up in class, the sessions are so beneficial.
As it’s the same tutor working with each pupil every week, they definitely become comfortable within their sessions. There is no pressure for them to get everything right when the tutors are there. The tutors talk through the problem and give the child time to work through it without the pressure that sometimes comes with the classroom environment.
For teachers considering using Third Space Learning, see if you can watch a session in action!Â
Thatâs what worked for me. You have to see it in action to understand the amazing impact Third Space Learning has. It really does achieve the desired effects and the increase in childrenâs maths confidence is amazing, thank you Third Space Learning!
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Maths is a focus area for the school, in particular the progress levels for Pupil Premium. This academic year we were down by […]
Read full case studyRob Davies, Deputy Headteacher, Kent
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