Following the Government announcement (19.06.2020) that they are allocating funding for schools to provide catch up tuition in small groups to pupils over the next academic year ( See Inspir.ed blog of that date https://inspir-ed.net/post-covid-19-mo…covery-programme/ ) I have been considering how best to help schools with this.
The EEF sees this required change to the way schools will operate as a real opportunity- “a period of rebirth where children regain their habits of learning and are supported to become re acquainted with the rhythms and routines of formal education.”
As a retired Primary teacher with 50 years of experience in English education, I am well placed to go back and join the ranks as a tutor, and do what I love to do, which is teach children! Indeed I have plans to do that locally already as soon as more details become available. However, further research today, in resources signposted by The Chartered College (of which I am a Fellow), reveals that, whilst the EEF acknowledges that the best possible tutors would be trained teachers, the numbers required will in reality have to involve using TAs and volunteers from within the community.
As the stated key to effecting successful catch up will be small groups of pupils or individuals, taught in highly effective ways, with an emphasis on clear explanations, demonstrations and quality assessment and feedback, TAs and volunteers will of necessity require rapid training in the most effective techniques to use with learners. As tutors they will need to be upskilled, and prepared for a new role that will demand they be guided by the school, linked with the planned curriculum, and clearly focused on the areas identified by professionals as the critical building blocks on which to base future pupil learning.
Suffice it to say that, with experience since 2001 as an LA Adviser, and latterly, since retiring from that role in 2009, as a consultant working alongside Head Teachers and other leaders to effect high quality teaching, learning and assessment in classrooms, I am equally able to provide the training required by tutors not trained as teachers in local clusters of schools.
There really is no time to lose. Get together with colleagues, assemble your volunteers and get them organised and trained to do what will become one of the most important jobs in this decade.
Inspir.ed is here to help to do the training as well as to model the methods in classrooms. You just need to ask!
