What is Action Tutoring?
Action Tutoring is a targeted secondary maths tutoring programme that aims to improve pupils’ maths outcomes, as well as confidence, motivation and self-perceptions towards maths learning.
This project will engage pupils in Years 7, 10 and 11. Pupils will receive small-group tuition, delivered by a team of trained volunteers, through weekly one-hour sessions for 10, 15 or 20 weeks.
Who is leading this project?
The project is delivered by Action Tutoring, an award-winning charity that delivers high-quality tutoring. Their mission is to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who are at risk of not achieving at least a grade 4 in maths at GCSE.
Action Tutoring will work in partnership with schools to identify pupils to receive tutoring. All tutoring sessions are overseen by a dedicated Action Tutoring Programme Coordinator.
What will this project look like in your setting?
Schools select between 26 and 40 eligible pupils from each participating year group to take part, half of who will receive tutoring during the 2025 – 26 academic year. After completing an initial survey and maths assessment, selected pupils will be randomly allocated to either the control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution. (supported by your school as normal, without Action Tutoring) or the intervention groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the intervention group will receive the programme being tested. (who will take part in tuition). Year 11 pupils in the intervention groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the intervention group will receive the programme being tested. are guaranteed to receive tuition for 20 weeks, while the length of tutoring for Years 10 and 7 will be determined randomly (either 15 weeks for both cohorts, or 20 and 10 weeks respectively). Tutors deliver a bespoke scheme of work developed by curriculum experts for small-group tuition.
Schools will be required to nominate a link teacher for each year group, who will support the success of the programme by sharing pupil data with Action Tutoring, distributing information to parents, and communicating with the Action Tutoring Programme Coordinator each week.
Tutoring may take place online via a virtual classroom or in-person, depending on the school’s location. Pupils always receive tutoring at the school site, under supervision from either an Action Tutoring Programme Coordinator, or the school link teacher.
All schools who sign up to this research project will access some tutoring across Years 7, 10 and 11. Schools will contribute £2,250 for the programme for this year. As this is a research evaluation schools will be asked to complete some evaluation requirements during the project. This will include supporting Action Tutoring to carry out pupil baseline and endline assessments,assisting NFER with some pupil survey administration, andproviding pupil GCSE data for Year 11 pupils at the end of the project, as well as engaging in surveys and/or interviews with the evaluators.
Who can take part?
All state-maintained, mainstream secondary schools in England with pupils in Year 7, 10 and 11 can take part in this trial if they:
- Have a school-wide Pupil Premium eligibility rate of at least 18%
- Have not have partnered with Action Tutoring or any other external tutoring provider in 2024 – 25
- Are not taking part in another maths-focused EEF trial for the same year groups in 2025 – 26
At least 65% of pupils selected by your school to take part in the trial must be eligible for Pupil Premium and all pupils must meet the following maths attainment criteria:
- Year 11 pupils must start the year working at grades 3 – 5
- Year 10 pupils must start the year working at grades 2 – 5
- Year 7 pupils must have narrowly achieved or missed the expected standard in their maths SATs
All pupils must meet the attainment criteria, but your school can offer up to 35% of places to pupils who are not eligible for the Pupil Premium, if you confirm the pupils would not otherwise access private tuition. Up to 15% of the places may be offered to any pupils meeting the maths attainment criteria.
The EEF toolkit (EEF Toolkit, Small Group Tuition) suggests that small-group tuition interventions in maths result in an average of three additional months of progress annually, with even greater benefits for pupils eligible for free school meals.
Action Tutoring’s secondary maths intervention was independently evaluated by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) using a quasi-experimental design. The results suggest that Action Tutoring has a positive impact on pupil outcomes. This programme represents an opportunity to fill a gap in the existing evidence by demonstrating impact through an RCTAn RCT is used evaluate an educational programme by assigning settings to one of two groups: the intervention group, who receive the programme or the control group, who continue with business as usual. This ensures that any differences in outcomes can be confidently attributed to the programme, providing a robust estimate of the impact and contributing to the evidence for what works in improving educational outcomes. of a specific model of small-group tuition in England.
The EEF is working with XTX Markets to support the development and evaluation of secondary mathematics programmes and practices with promising evidence. This project will be part-funded through this initiative.
This project will be evaluated by a team at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), using a randomised controlled trialAn RCT is used evaluate an educational programme by assigning settings to one of two groups: the intervention group, who receive the programme or the control group, who continue with business as usual. This ensures that any differences in outcomes can be confidently attributed to the programme, providing a robust estimate of the impact and contributing to the evidence for what works in improving educational outcomes. (RCTAn RCT is used evaluate an educational programme by assigning settings to one of two groups: the intervention group, who receive the programme or the control group, who continue with business as usual. This ensures that any differences in outcomes can be confidently attributed to the programme, providing a robust estimate of the impact and contributing to the evidence for what works in improving educational outcomes.) and implementation and process evaluationAn IPE is used to understand how and why an intervention has (or has not) been successful. Data is analysed to explore programme quality, reach, adaptation and differentiation, as well as setting fidelity and responsiveness to the trial design. (IPE). The independent evaluation will be an effectiveness trial, meaning the programme will be tested to see whether it worksunder real-world conditions.
The evaluation incorporates 3 x 2‑arm randomised trials, with 5,208 pupils individually randomised to either receive Action Tutoring’s small-group tuition programme for maths, or act as a control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution. where they will not participate inAction Tutoring and continue with learning as usual. The outcomes of interest are GCSE maths attainment for Year 11, and overall maths attainment for Years 10 and 7. The trial will also look at pupil attendance and pupil confidence, motivation and self-perceptions towards maths learning in Years 7, 10 and 11.
There will be an accompanying implementation and process evaluationAn IPE is used to understand how and why an intervention has (or has not) been successful. Data is analysed to explore programme quality, reach, adaptation and differentiation, as well as setting fidelity and responsiveness to the trial design. that will focus on contextualising the impact evaluation findings and exploring pupil engagement and perception of impact, as well as the implications of the flexible (hybrid/online/in person) delivery model, and costs to schools.
In addition to evaluating the impact of tutoring on attainment, the trial will include a ‘nimble trialA nimble trial is a small-scale experimental study used to test and refine an intervention. This provides early insights into feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact, allowing for adjustments before larger-scale evaluation.’ to test whether improving pupils’ sense of belonging within tutoring sessions, particularly for disadvantaged students, has an impact on pupil engagement in the tutoring sessions, and whether this has an impact on maths attainment or self-perception for maths. This nimble trialA nimble trial is a small-scale experimental study used to test and refine an intervention. This provides early insights into feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact, allowing for adjustments before larger-scale evaluation. is being evaluated as a separate strand to the wider trial and is led by the Behavioural Insights Team, working closely with the trial evaluator, NFER.
The evaluation report will be published in Summer 2027.