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    The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is part of the government’s recovery programme for schools following their closure for parts of 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a subsided scheme providing 1:1 or small group tutoring for pupils who have had their learning affected by the impact of the school closures and the pandemic. Although disadvantaged pupils should be targeted, schools, on occasions, are able to use their professional judgement to determine which pupils are in most need of the support.
     
    The pandemic has affected our school community in different ways, some children benefited from being at home with parents, some children became disengaged, there were families who lost their income through redundancies and others who struggled with childcare due to work commitments.
     
    At Markeaton Primary School our aim is to provide the very best learning experiences that we are able to and we believed by taking advantage of the NTP we could access valuable, additional support for our pupils. We are proud that we were the first primary school in Derby to join the scheme and some of our pupils began small group (1:3) tuition in October, 2021 with tutors from one of the Department for Education’s (DfE) agreed tuition partners and this has continued throughout 2020. Tutors are qualified and experienced teachers/tutors who liaise closely with school staff.
     
    Throughout the school, staff identified Writing and Maths as being the two areas that required the most support. As a year group, teachers put children with similar needs into groups of three and shared their areas for development with tutors, who then in turn planned relevant activities.
     
    “ I am amazed at the positive response I have had from Markeaton Primary School pupils. They are resilient and adaptable, accepting me as an additional member of staff to support their learning needs. All of the children who have taken part have benefited in some way.” – Caroline Roberts, Tutor
     
    Tutors were able to identify gaps in learning and support pupils to make progress. The outcomes and benefits are numerous, some pupils made progress in problem-solving, times tables, phonics and writing, others gained in confidence in attempting new tasks or asking for clarification. Many had an improved attitude towards learning in general, finding tutoring a positive experience. Being in small groups, pupils were able to work on individual targets with the tutor, consolidating and mastering previous concepts and learning new skills and knowledge.
     
    “I now know my number bonds and it has helped me when I do column addition.” – Year 3 child
     
    School closures in January 2021 led to our tutoring going online, initially we thought a concern, however, after a few sessions of navigating the online learning platform our Year 4s engaged positively with Maths and Writing.
     
    “ I thought tutoring online would be tricky but it helped me with my times tables and my spelling.” - Year 4 child
     
    “Tutoring has helped me to be more confident in class and ask questions when I don’t understand. I can write in sentences now.” – Year 4 chiild
     
    School reopened and the tutoring continues with other year groups and provides opportunities for pupils to progress at their own pace and in their preferred learning style often through practical activities e.g. using Maths equipment and role play.
     
    “It has helped me concentrate on my work and not look at other people.” – Year 2 child
     
    “I now have more ideas to work on my own instead of keep asking the teacher for help.” - Year 5 child.
     
    Due to further funding and the success we have had this year, we will continue to offer small group tuition through the NTP in the 2022-23 academic year.
     
    “I don’t want to finish tutoring, can we do it again next year? It has helped me with everything, maths has definitely helped me with my times tables and English has helped me not to interrupt when other people are talking.” – Year 5 child