New NFER Classroom guide offers practical, evidence-based, tutoring tips for schools

School leaders and teachers can now get practical, evidence-informed guidance on how to implement effective tutoring for pupils, via a new online ‘how to guide’.

The Covid-19 pandemic has put huge pressure on schools, teachers and pupils. Tutoring is one of the tools available to help schools offer additional support to learners – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

NFER Classroom is keen to support and invest in the growing evidence around tutoring and has produced this practical guide to support schools.

The tool, available on the NFER website, is based on evidence from evaluations of the first and second years of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), conducted by NFER and its partners.

From this research, we have drawn out seven key themes (below) to help teachers implement effective tutoring for children, including those in challenging socio-economic circumstances.

• What do I need to consider when planning tutoring in my school?
• What do I need to consider when selecting pupils and tutors in my school?
• What group size is best for our target pupils?
• Should we choose face-to-face or online tuition?
• How do I best schedule the sessions – when and for how long?
• How can we promote good information sharing and communication with tutors?
• How will I ensure that the tutoring meets my pupils’ needs?

Commenting on the new resource, Dr Ben Styles, NFER Head of Classroom Practice and Workforce said:

“Schools want to engage with the evidence but are incredibly tight for time. We want to make our research easier to read for teachers and leaders by creating outputs which draw out the key implications, specific to them.

“As we conducted the evaluation of years 1 and 2 of the NTP, our researchers have been able to pull out the key evidence-based insights to help schools plan tutoring effectively.”

NFER has also created a poster with key tips from this guide which teachers can download from our website and print out for their staff room.