Continuing your sessions during school closures

Everything you need to know to ensure as many pupils as possible can continue to benefit from their sessions

• What do pupils need to access sessions from home?
• How do I set up my pupils for their sessions?
• How do pupils access sessions from home?
• Is there any information I should provide to pupils’ parents?
• What if my chosen pupils can’t access their sessions from home?
• How do I swap pupils?
• How do I change the scheduled session times?
• How did Third Space Learning support schools during the first lockdown?
• What else can I send to parents to support home learning?
• My school isn’t currently booked in for the weekly sessions, can we still sign up?

What do pupils need to access sessions from home?

Pupils will be able to access sessions from home if they have a laptop or PC and a stable internet connection. Please note, sessions cannot take place on iPads or tablet devices.

Sessions will work best when a headset with a microphone is used, but this doesn’t have to be a Third Space Learning headset. If your pupils do not have access to a headset, they can use their device’s built in speaker and microphone. If this is not possible, they can use the text chat function within the session. Sessions should ideally be run on Google Chrome but are compatible with other browsers, with the exception of Internet Explorer.

This video provides more information for pupils around logging in and accessing their weekly sessions from home.

How do I set up my pupils for their sessions?

There is no additional set up required to enable your pupils to access their sessions from home, so long as your school has completed the standard steps within the Third Space Learning platform:

• Create pupil profiles for each of your pupils having sessions.
• Select a programme for each pupil to follow. We recommend the Diagnostic Programme as this will automatically select lessons each week to plug each pupil’s individual knowledge gaps.
• Assign your pupils to their timeslot.
• If they haven’t already, remind your pupils to complete Mission Zero. This is their termly initial assessment which helps to shape their personalised learning journey. This can be done at any point by the pupil logging in and clicking ‘Start Mission Zero’.
• Ensure your pupils are aware of their session day, time and login details.

This video shows these steps in action.

How do pupils access sessions from home?

To access the sessions from home, pupils (and their parents) will need to know their regular session day and time as well as their login details. When the day and time of their session comes around, parents will simply need to:

• If applicable, plug their child’s headset into the computer
• Go to thirdspacelearning.com and click ‘Log In’
• Enter their child’s login details (We recommend logging in a couple minutes prior to the start time) and clicking the ‘Start Session’ button

The video below clearly shows how to access sessions from home:

Is there any information I should provide to pupils’ parents?

This Parent Information Sheet has everything parents need to know to support their child with their sessions. This video also clearly shows how to access sessions from home.

Our support team will be monitoring sessions as usual and parents can ring 0203 771 0094 if they need any support with setting up their child’s sessions.

If a pupil’s sessions are being subsidised through the National Tutoring Programme, parents or guardians will also need to complete this short consent form and return directly to the school.

What if my chosen pupils can’t access their sessions from home?

We appreciate that not all pupils have access to a laptop or computer at home. In this case, we recommend identifying other pupils in the school who do and swapping them on to the sessions. As long as you are able to contact these pupils to provide instructions, you’re free to choose any pupil across the school and do this at any time.

If this isn’t feasible, you are welcome to swap the sessions over to pupils who will still be in school throughout school closures.

If you would like to learn more about ensuring your pupils can access their sessions from home, The Department for Education is providing laptops to help children and families access remote learning during school closures. They are also helping disadvantaged children who need an internet connection to get internet access.

How do I swap pupils?

To swap new pupils on to the sessions, you just need to create a new profile and replace them in the chosen time slot. 

• Log in to your account and click “Pupils”
• Click “Add pupil” and save their details
• Navigate to the relevant date and time on the plan sessions page
• Click on “replace pupil” and follow the steps from there

This video shows these steps in action.

How do I change the scheduled session times?

Whilst we recommend keeping to your scheduled session times to ensure each pupil learns with the same tutor each week, we appreciate this might not always be possible. If you would like to change your session times please do contact our support team on 0203 771 0096 or email [email protected] and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

How did Third Space Learning support schools during the first lockdown?

During the period of school closures last year, we worked closely with our schools to help set thousands of pupils up for sessions at home. During this time, 5,034 pupils across 504 schools continued to benefit from their weekly one to one support. Many schools told us how much of a positive impact the consistency of this regular one to one session had on their pupils’ learning and wellbeing.

What else can I send to parents to support with home learning?

As well as continuing the weekly sessions for the pupils you choose to take part, the resources in our online resource library, The Third Space Maths Hub, are available free of charge to parents of all pupils at your school. We’ve created a dedicated ‘Home Learning’ category to make it really easy for parents to find free resources to support them during this time. You can also filter by year group and topic. You can learn more about what parents can find in the Home Learning section of the Maths Hub here.

Parents can sign up for their free accounts here. You can share this PDF with parents to help them get started.

The Third Space Blog also contains lots of activities, tips and advice to support parents with home learning. This home learning blog is a great place for parents to start.

My school isn’t currently booked in for the weekly sessions, can we still sign up?

Yes, we welcome any new schools who are looking to provide additional one to one maths support to their target pupils. You can choose to target pupils who are still coming in to school or those who’ll be learning from home, or a mixture of both. As long as your pupils have access to a desktop or laptop and an internet connection, they’ll be able to take part.

Depending on your region, your school may also be eligible for subsidised spaces as part of the National Tutoring Programme. Let us know how many pupils you’re looking to support here and we’ll be in touch with a personalised quote and more information about getting set up.