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National Tutoring Programme
Subsidised online maths tuition from Third Space Learning
What is the National Tutoring Programme?
The National Tutoring Programme is a government-backed charitable initiative to help to mitigate the impact of school closures by providing schools with access to heavily subsidised one to one and small group tutoring options.
It aims to help the most disadvantaged young people, many of whom will have had fewer opportunities for learning throughout school closures than their peers. The tuition is provided by an approved list of Tuition Partners, organisations who have met the National Tutoring Programme’s strict eligibility and quality criteria.
The programme first launched in November 2020, and subsidised 75% of the cost of tuition during the 2020/21 academic year. This is dropping to 70% in Year 2. The full list of Tuition Partners for 2021/22 has not yet been confirmed.
Third Space Learning worked as an approved NTP tuition partner in the 2020/21 academic year, chosen to deliver high quality maths tuition. While many NTP tuition partners work in specific regions of the UK, Third Space Learning teaches maths through a sophisticated online tutoring platform making it avalable across all regions.
The children love Third Space and it really supports what they do in class, filling in their gaps in learning and building their confidence. The fact that children speak with their tutor and explain their reasoning helps to develop confidence and mathematical vocabulary.
Karyn Astle, Deputy Headteacher, Buckingham Park Primary School, West Sussex
How does the online tuition work?
Pupil and time slot selection
Diagnostic assessment
Weekly lessons
Regular reporting
Whole school resources
Pupil and time slot selection
You decide which pupils to sign up to the catch up intervention programme and choose a weekly time slot. Lessons can take place from school or in pupils' homes, depending on your chosen pupils.
Diagnostic assessment
Each pupil begins with an initial assessment to diagnose their individual learning gaps and identify the best sequence of maths lessons for each pupil. This can be done at any point before their first individual session.
Weekly lessons
Lessons take place in our interactive online classroom and pupils communicate with their personal tutor via a shared screen and headset. We'll send out headsets free of charge before your first session.
Regular reporting
Senior leaders and class teachers are kept up to date with the Key Stage 2 national curriculum topics covered and progress made each week. Longer term progress is mapped over the term, year and end of Key Stage.
Whole school resources
Unlimited access to all Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 resources is included at no additional cost. This means you can target funding on individual pupils whilst still raising maths attainment for every child in your school.
Reliable and engaging tutors
Specialist online maths tutors who have each completed a full-time three week training programme designed in partnership with UCL.
All tutors complete our full time, three week training programme including teaching demonstrations, webinars and assessments.
Tutors are assessed on their ability to deliver student-centred teaching, subject knowledge and familiarity with online tutoring guidelines and safeguarding policies.
Hired tutors receive ongoing CPD, frequent lesson evaluations and personalised feedback.
Tutor application process
Initial application to understand qualifications and experience
Online test to assess technical requirements and maths ability
Phone interview to learn more about attitude, enthusiasm and personality
Online teaching interview to assess teaching ability and subject knowledge
Criminal record checks
3 week training programme resulting in final pass/fail status
Keeping you in control and up to date
Teachers select appropriate learning strands for each pupil and we begin with a diagnostic assessment to identify gaps. Downloadable session reports show how pupils are progressing each week, including content covered and tutor and pupil feedback. Following our end of programme assessment, termly reports measure progress made over time.
Our customer support and communications teams have experience helping thousands of schools, from ensuring pupils are set up for their first one to one session to providing session reports and helping schools measure impact. They’re available to help with any additional support or questions via email, telephone or live chat.
What’s included?
Weekly online one-to-one maths lessons for your target pupils
Regular assessment and reporting
Free headset for each pupil
Full access to all the resources and video CPD in the Third Space Maths Hub
Speak to the team today
Let us know how many pupils you’re looking to support and we’ll be in touch with more information about how we can help.
Target your spending where it's needed
Pricing is calculated according to the number of pupils you’d like to receive the 1-to-1 lessons.
Save on recruitment and training
All our maths specialist tutors receive over 130 hours of initial training and high-quality ongoing CPD.
Free up staff time
Up to 15 pupils can receive personalised 1-to-1 support at once and getting set up is quick and easy.
Enhance teaching across your school
Full access to our library of whole-school maths resources and video CPD is included at no additional cost.
Link spending clearly to impact
Regular reports track learning objectives, show progress made and help inform class planning and teaching.
You can learn more about how we keep your data safe and secure in our privacy policy.
FAQs
How does the National Tutoring Programme work?
The Department for Education has provided a fund of £76 million to fund the delivery of high quality tuition via the National Tutoring Programme in 2020/21. Schools are able to access this heavily subsidised catch-up support from an approved list of Tuition Partners, with up to 75% of the cost paid for by the National Tutoring Programme fund. Schools are free to use additional catch-up funding to cover the remaining 25%. The NTP will continue for the 2021/22 academic year, with Randstad as the new delivery partner chosen by the Department for Education.
Who is the National Tutoring Programme for?
The National Tutoring Programme is available to all state owned primary and secondary schools in England. The programme is targeted to reach pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds eligible for Pupil Premium funding, but schools are able to exercise their professional judgement to determine which pupils are in most need of support.
How have the tuition organisations been selected?
All approved Tuition Partners have passed a strict set of eligibility and quality criteria, including tutor training, safeguarding ensuring DBS or equivalent, quality assurance, history working with schools, experience working with disadvantaged pupils, secure evaluation standards, and evidence of impact.
How much will tuition cost?
The cost will depend on which Tuition Partner your school chooses. Because Third Space Learning is delivered online, it’s often a more cost-effective solution for schools. The total cost for a 15-hour block of Third Space Learning maths tuition is just £275; with the National Tutoring Programme subsidy this now comes to £68.75. This price would include initial and ongoing assessments, regular reporting, headsets for each pupil and full access to our online resource library, The Third Space Maths Hub.
What age groups does Third Space Learning support?
We have high quality tutoring programmes available for KS2, KS3 (for Year 7 pupils working below Age Related Expectations who need support to secure outstanding gaps from KS2) and for KS4 with our GCSE maths revision programme.
How does Third Space Learning compare with the other Tuition Partners?
The tutoring organisations selected to be part of the National Tutoring Programme have all been through a rigorous application process and are all providers of high quality tuition. It is an explicit National Tutoring Programme aim to offer as wide a variety of tuition as possible; some partners are providing small group tuition, some face to face, some online. At Third Space Learning we are specialists in online maths tuition. All lessons are delivered one to one as this is the teaching method with the most extensive evidence for accelerating progress and plugging gaps among disadvantaged children. We’ve long been committed to closing the maths attainment gap and our online maths intervention programmes have been running since 2013. Working directly with tens of thousands of pupils in thousands of schools over the last 7 years has helped us refine and improve our intervention programmes to ensure the best possible maths support for the pupils who need it most.
Can the tuition continue during school closures?
Following the return to remote learning in January 2021, Tuition Partners have undergone a rigorous process to ensure they are able to deliver tuition online to pupils in their homes safely. Third Space Learning has been approved by the National Tutoring Programme to deliver sessions at home throughout school closures. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the initial period of school closures, we've been able to continue supporting the schools signed up to our online intervention programmes. This is because our maths tuition is delivered online so pupils can continue their sessions from home. Where this is not possible, schools can switch pupils and/or continue the sessions from school for those pupils still attending.
What do I need to do next?
A full list of approved NTP Tuition Partners is available from The National Tutoring Programme website. School leaders are able to choose which organisation they would like to use and get in contact with them directly. If you’d like to book subsidised spaces with Third Space Learning, get in touch with us today.
Third Space fills in little gaps that can really hold children back. The customer service is fantastic every time and they couldn't be more helpful. The children love doing Third Space and their confidence rockets!
Mandy Spivey
Maths Coordinator, Oxley Primary School, Leicestershire
Third Space Learning provides targeted support for the children which is personalised to their own level and helps them to make progress and achieve Age Related Expectations.
Catherine Clayton-Young
Headteacher, Griffin Park Primary School, Blackburn
Our children all really enjoy taking part in the programme and we have seen increased confidence and progress in their maths learning.
Gemma Blunt
Maths Leader, Priory Primary School, Dudley
The one to one tuition is a great addition to our support for pupils receiving Pupil Premium, and the resources are high quality and up to date with recent research.
Abi Hann
Deputy Headteacher, Holy Trinity Primary School, Merton
The resources on the Maths Hub are great, the sessions for the children are good and they enjoy them. The one to one sessions have been very good and have helped the children to progress with their maths.
Daniel Nelson
Headteacher, Choppington Primary School, Northumberland
My staff love the resources and are helpful to their teaching and assessment. Most importantly, the impact upon learning for the pupils receiving the one to one lessons is highly effective. It’s such great support to teaching and learning.
Maria Wilson
Headteacher, St Pauls Middle School , Northumberland
Children are thoroughly enjoying their sessions and the resources we have access to are great. I have already recommended the intervention to a friend teaching at another school.
Liz Smith, Year 6 Teacher
Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary School, East Sussex
Further information about the National Tutoring Programme and its charitable partners – the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), The Sutton Trust, Impetus, Nesta and Teach First – is available from the NTP website.