The THF Opportunity Fund - helping to narrow the attainment gap
What is the attainment gap?
The attainment gap measures the educational outcomes of those eligible for free school meals (FSM) and compares them with the proportion of pupils who have never received free school meals. During the early 2010s, the attainment gap across all school stages had been gradually narrowing until 2017. However, the 2020 pandemic altered the landscape considerably, with 10 years of progress in closing the gap wiped out in just a few years.
Since the pandemic, the attainment gap and the number of pupils eligible for pupil premium have increased. This gap develops in the early years and is already measurable by age 5 (4.6 months’ gap), increasing throughout a pupil’s school years (19.2 months’ gap after GCSEs). Ultimately, the attainment gap results in many 19-year-olds underperforming and leaving education without qualifications in English and Maths which in turn greatly limits their options for further education and work opportunities. The 16-19 years’ gap was measured at 3.2 grades in 2023, back to the level recorded pre-pandemic in 2019.
SEND pupils
The attainment gap for pupils with special educational needs (SEND) and their peers is more than twice as large as it is for disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Often, the resources and additional support required is costly and unaffordable for schools — even with pupil premium funding. For pupils with SEND, the gap at the end of Reception amounted to one school year. For those at the end of reception, the gap between SEND supported and non-SEND supported pupils was one school year and the at the end of primary education, 17 months. At the end of secondary education, this gap widened to 22 months. However, attainment gaps are wider still for pupils with more complex needs. In 2023, for children with an EHCP, the gap in 2023 was 19.9 months in reception and 27.4 months at the end of Year 6. By the end of secondary school, the EHCP gap was wider still, at almost 40 months in 2023, representing over 7 grades behind students with no identified SEND across their best three qualifications.
How can the attainment gap be reduced?
The EPI’s 2024 report acknowledges that tutoring is a key method of boosting learning, although there are significant socio-economic gaps in access to private tutoring. While these gaps have been levelled out by the National Tutoring Programme, with 27% of FSM pupils reporting they received tutoring from school in 2023, the NTP ended in the summer of 2024, removing a vital tool to address the attainment gap. NFER research suggests that 91% of senior school leaders participating in the NTP believe that tutoring plays a huge role in supporting disadvantaged pupils, with 76% of them believing that tutoring has improved attainment levels.
The THF’s Opportunity Fund
As part of our Opportunity Fund education programmes, THF is this year working with around 20 primary and secondary schools where both online and in-person tutoring is being delivered to an estimated 1,718 disadvantaged pupils (such as FSM and SEND) in key subject areas. Tutoring sessions are specifically tailored to different year groups by the schools. For example, younger primary pupils are enjoying working with their existing teachers on literacy and numeracy and on online platforms such as Times Tables Rock Stars which help make learning fun and accessible, whereas the older secondary pupils are primarily making use of the key subject tutoring via online platforms such as MyTutor. For older students, THF has also funded career advice, mentoring and opportunities to help them bridge the gap between education and the workplace.
Ark Academy, Putney
THF has been working with Ark Academy, Putney, a secondary school based in Wandsworth with FSM rates of 53.5%. Over the last school year (September 2023 to July 2024), a cohort of Year 11 students received weekly online tutoring via the MyTutor platform in Maths, English and Science. In Maths, pupils improved their grades by between 1 and 2 levels, all achieving at least the minimum Level 4 in the summer exams. In English, pupils improved their grades by between 1 and 3 levels, with one student achieving a staggering 4 grade increase on their way to a Level 8 GCSE. Likewise in Science, all pupils improved their grades by between 1 and 3 levels.
Students said: “My tutor helps me to practice maths questions and the tutors explain things really well.” “It allows me to delve deeper into topics that I am less confident in and helps me catch up with my class.” The Head of Year 11 said that “Year 11 students have thrived in their intervention sessions. It has enabled them to receive tailored and bespoke intervention sessions which are challenging to deliver at scale in a normal classroom environment. The students are overwhelmingly positive about the effects on their learning and parents see the value in it, encouraging them to consistently attend their sessions.“
Conclusion
Post-pandemic, the attainment gap is still a very real issue for schools. The THF’s research shows that Opportunity Fund tutoring sessions at both primary and secondary level have had a positive impact on pupils, their parents and teachers, and as the pupils have increased their knowledge, they have also increased their attendance, confidence and, in the case of GCSE students, their future prospects by achieving higher grades than would have been possible without the tutoring interventions.
THF is delighted that all our partner schools have engaged so positively with the Opportunity Fund programme and pupils are enjoying the learning opportunities and the improvements they bring.