TUTOR for Primaries

TUTOR for Primaries

Why primary schools are using TUTOR

TUTOR is an Intelligent Tutoring System which allows primary schools to offer individualised, targeted teaching to every pupil, regardless of their stage of maths maturation. TUTOR is capable of supporting children and their teachers in a myriad of ways ranging from a totally hands-off approach through to actively integrating TUTOR into classroom learning. Primary teachers often need to develop expertise across a range of subjects — using TUTOR means all teachers can deliver maths lessons with a developmental expert on hand, ready to support groups or individual pupils at the click of a button.

What is TUTOR?

TUTOR is an online maths platform designed to be an affordable, but equally effective, alternative to private tuition. TUTOR covers every level of maths from learning to count, all the way up to calculus.

Once each child has completed the diagnostic in school, TUTOR chooses the right starting point for them and assigns a ‘Stage’ course. Teachers may make and enrol pupils on further courses and, if so, these will appear on the dashboard next to the Stage course. These bespoke courses can be used to set homework in line with the Scheme of Work, support pupils in lessons, and even assign work where the pupil or teacher is absent.

What is an Intelligent
Tutoring System?

Intelligent Tutoring Systems are known to be the most impactful form of supplementary education. It may feel slightly counterintuitive, but ITSs have been repeatedly shown to be even more effective than one-to-one human tutoring. An Intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is a computer system that provides immediate and customised instruction or feedback to pupils, enabling learning in a meaningful and highly effective manner. You can read more about the impact of Intelligent Tutoring Systems here

What is an Intelligent
Tutoring System?

Intelligent Tutoring Systems are known to be the most impactful form of supplementary education. It may feel slightly counterintuitive, but ITSs have been repeatedly shown to be even more effective than one-to-one human tutoring. An Intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is a computer system that provides immediate and customised instruction or feedback to pupils, enabling learning in a meaningful and highly effective manner. You can read more about the impact of Intelligent Tutoring Systems here

“We really wanted to reduce the disadvantage gap and my headteacher wanted all children to be able to access it. We realise that, due to COVID, there are significant gaps in a lot of pupils’ knowledge, particularly in terms of place value, addition and subtraction and mental calculation strategies. TUTOR is helping to address these gaps.”

Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead, Eye CofE Primary School

“We really wanted to reduce the disadvantage gap and my headteacher wanted all children to be able to access it. We realise that, due to COVID, there are significant gaps in a lot of pupils’ knowledge, particularly in terms of place value, addition and subtraction and mental calculation strategies. TUTOR is helping to address these gaps.”

Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead, Eye CofE Primary School

How do primary schools use TUTOR?

How do primary schools use TUTOR?

1. Targeted and supportive home learning

1. Targeted and supportive home learning

Eye CofE Primary School uses TUTOR as its homework strategy so that students are always working on maths at an appropriate level, alongside the maths they are learning in their lessons. In terms of teacher workload, this is a completely hands-off approach, and teachers need only monitor the Goals pupils are completing each week.

Hollie’s team runs class competitions to further encourage pupils to engage with TUTOR outside of school, and reward pupils when they do.

Eye CofE Primary School uses TUTOR as its homework strategy so that students are always working on maths at an appropriate level, alongside the maths they are learning in their lessons. In terms of teacher workload, this is a completely hands-off approach, and teachers need only monitor the Goals pupils are completing each week.

Hollie’s team runs class competitions to further encourage pupils to engage with TUTOR outside of school, and reward pupils when they do.

“We're doing competitions across the year groups - the year five classes were competing to see who could get the most goals as a class effort, and we held a pizza party for the year sixes who completed a certain amount of goals over the holiday.”

Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead, Eye CofE Primary School

“We're doing competitions across the year groups - the year five classes were competing to see who could get the most goals as a class effort, and we held a pizza party for the year sixes who completed a certain amount of goals over the holiday.”

Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead, Eye CofE Primary School

“Parents are very engaged with TUTOR and the children work very quietly on their TUTOR homework. This makes for very happy parents!”

Nick Williams, Assistant Headteacher, Coten End Primary School

This is echoed at Coten End Primary School, where 75% of pupils are engaging with TUTOR consistently each week since implementing TUTOR as their homework strategy. Rather than taking a completely hands-off approach, Coten End teachers use a Bespoke Course to set homework which they edit to include the ideas they want the pupils to be working on. Their teachers find this a really quick and easy way to set homework.

This is echoed at Coten End Primary School, where 75% of pupils are engaging with TUTOR consistently each week since implementing TUTOR as their homework strategy. Rather than taking a completely hands-off approach, Coten End teachers use a Bespoke Course to set homework which they edit to include the ideas they want the pupils to be working on. Their teachers find this a really quick and easy way to set homework.

“Parents are very engaged with TUTOR and the children work very quietly on their TUTOR homework. This makes for very happy parents!”

Nick Williams, Assistant Headteacher, Coten End Primary School

2. In-school TUTOR time

2. In-school TUTOR time

At Bromham CofE Primary School, pupils use TUTOR during registration to access their TUTOR courses. Pupils could be working on a teacher-assigned or TUTOR-assigned course — teachers can use this time to secure the prerequisite knowledge that they will be teaching in their maths lesson later that day.

At Bromham CofE Primary School, pupils use TUTOR during registration to access their TUTOR courses. Pupils could be working on a teacher-assigned or TUTOR-assigned course — teachers can use this time to secure the prerequisite knowledge that they will be teaching in their maths lesson later that day.

“It's nice because they all use headphones for it, so it's a quiet space for them to think, and actually some of them said they don't usually get homework help from their parents so it really helps them. I think some parents are often a bit afraid [of maths homework].”

Gurjit Virk, Headteacher, Bromham CofE Primary School

“It's nice because they all use headphones for it, so it's a quiet space for them to think, and actually some of them said they don't usually get homework help from their parents so it really helps them. I think some parents are often a bit afraid [of maths homework].”

Gurjit Virk, Headteacher, Bromham CofE Primary School

How can I introduce TUTOR to my pupils?

How can I introduce TUTOR to my pupils?

Whenever pupils have a device with internet access, they have a teacher available to support them with maths that’s not too easy, not too hard but at just the right level! Pupils first complete a ‘diagnostic’ which decides where they should start learning. Then, TUTOR guides them through the maths universe — by completing each step, they master the maths in each goal and open up more possibilities for growing in their mastery of maths. Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead at Eye CofE Primary School, took inspiration from the Thinking Deeply about Primary Education podcast and introduces TUTOR by using an analogy of a ‘Maths house’ with her pupils.

Whenever you have a device with internet access, you have a teacher available to support you with maths that’s not too easy, not too hard but at just the right level! You complete a ‘diagnostic’ which decides where you should start learning. Then, TUTOR guides you through the maths universe — by completing each step, you master the maths in each goal and open up more possibilities for growing in your mastery of maths. Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead at Eye CofE Primary School, took inspiration from the Thinking Deeply about Primary Education podcast and introduces TUTOR by using an analogy of a ‘Maths house’ with her pupils.

“When I introduced TUTOR, I wanted the children to first imagine a maths house, what they would like to have in their maths house. Then, I asked them what we need for our house to be stable - houses have piles in the ground, the foundations. I liken these to, for example, number bonds and times tables as these are fundamental foundations of maths. In order for us to have brilliant rooms in our maths house, like for example, algebra and percentages, we really need to have a good understanding of the things that come before them. Then, I introduce TUTOR and I tell them it is a tool that's going to help them to get these foundations really firmly in place before they can have a really super maths house!”

Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead, Eye CofE Primary School
“When I introduced TUTOR, I wanted the children to first imagine a maths house, what they would like to have in their maths house. Then, I asked them what we need for our house to be stable - houses have piles in the ground, the foundations. I liken these to, for example, number bonds and times tables as these are fundamental foundations of maths. In order for us to have brilliant rooms in our maths house, like for example, algebra and percentages, we really need to have a good understanding of the things that come before them. Then, I introduce TUTOR and I tell them it is a tool that's going to help them to get these foundations really firmly in place before they can have a really super maths house!”
Hollie Stafford, Maths Lead, Eye CofE Primary School