Bristol resident 66 year old retiree Sarah Barnes is calling on local residents from all walks of life to join her as volunteer on-line tutors and to help ‘bridge the gap’ for the UK’s 27% of disadvantaged pupils at risk of not achieving national standards in maths and English at SAT or GCSE level. Sarah, who volunteers with Action Tutoring – a not-for-profit charity that works in partnership with UK primary and secondary state schools – says urgent action is needed to prevent the 18 month attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged counterparts from widening further as a result of the lockdowns.

“Whilst exams have been scrapped for the second year running, learning is for life and not just for exams,” she said. “Good standards in English and maths in particular are crucial to progressing well in further education, employment or training.

“With many of us having experienced time out from our hectic lives to pause and reflect, why not do something positive for the community and sign up to join Action Tutoring as a volunteer tutor? Within the next few months the charity’s target is to build a 1,500 strong workforce of DBS-checked volunteers across the country, trained to provide online tutoring and small-group, face-to-face tutoring. Together we can positively impact the life chances of the 75,000 disadvantaged children that currently leave school every year without basic qualifications in maths and English.”

Sarah, a former headteacher, who joined Action Tutoring as a volunteer in 2019, said it was one of the best things she has done. “Having spent 24 years in teaching – 12 as a headteacher in primary schools in Shoreham, West Sussex and Totterdown, Bristol – it felt like I had lost my identity when I first retired. I loved my career in teaching and missed the day to day interaction with young people.  Tutoring opened up a new opportunity for me to make a difference to young people’s lives, help them learn and watch them grow in confidence.

“I also longed for a challenge so when I signed up for tutoring I opted to work with secondary students rather than primary pupils and focus on English – my main subject when I trained as a teacher.  I now teach one Year 11 girl from St Bedes Catholic College in Lawrence Weston, Bristol, and two year 11 girls from a school in Sydenham, South-East London.  My three students are lovely young people, they know I tutor for free and are always polite and grateful.  One of them asked why I do it for free – I said because I can see the potential in you and there is nothing more satisfying than bringing that out and seeing you progress.  It means a lot to me.”

“Engagement is crucial when teaching and learning remotely,  so I always start by establishing some common ground and then each time we meet we  have a quick catch up –  I tell them about the badgers that are digging up my lawn in search of insect larvae and they tell me about their pets, interests,  favourite football team etc so it feels like a personal experience to them.”

“Children learn in different ways and the trick is to understand what works for each student. I enjoy the fact that I need to be creative and always in tune to what works best for them. It’s being open as a person and listening to the pupil that counts. I so enjoy seeing them succeed.

“Action Tutoring makes such a positive impact – if more of us did it, just imagine what a difference we could make to the life chances of these children. You don’t need to be a English or maths genius, or completely up to speed with the latest GCSE syllabus! As long as you are prepared to address the small gaps in your knowledge and have the confidence to work with a young person, you too can go for it!”

In 2020, 1,098 volunteer tutors ranging in age from 18 to 82 delivered nearly 21,600 hours of tutoring in partnership with 95 schools across the country. With 90% of Action Tutoring’s 2020 pupil cohort eligible for Pupil Premium funding, the charity works hard to deliver outcomes-led tutoring programmes proven to drive up attainment, ensuring that young people from all backgrounds achieve their goals in a socially mobile society. Volunteer tutors are generally required to be educated to degree level or studying for a degree, and to be able to commit to one hour a week of tutoring across the course of a school term.  Action Tutoring currently partners with six secondary schools and nine primary schools in Bristol.  New schools interested in working with Action Tutoring are welcome to get in touch.

To sign up to join Action Tutoring as a volunteeer or to learn more, please email hello@actiontutoring.org.uk or call 0203 872 5894.