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For schools

Students for students

Our Philosophy 

We believe that education is a fundamental right for all, that all pupils deserve to fulfil their academic potential, and that young people have a key role in solving educational inequality.

 

We know that some pupils need more support than others but that schools are not able to provide extra support to all the pupils who need it.

 

We work to increase access to resources and support, primarily through one-to-one tuition, in order to enable primary school pupils to achieve their full potential.

How we can help you

Students4Students offers free weekly one-to-one Maths and/or English tutoring for Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils whose attainment is below the national expected standard.

Our one-to-one tuition model, supported by our goal setting methodology, enables us to tailor our tuition to meet the individual needs of each pupil. Our volunteers, students from local universities, receive in depth training in our methodology alongside other teaching techniques and of course child safety. Our volunteers are also supported by Students4Students’ core national team who provide resources and planning support. The tuition sessions we provide are also designed to complement the existing teaching in the classroom in order to provide the maximum benefit to the pupil. Our tailored model not only help pupils increase their attainment but it also leads to greater confidence and an increased enjoyment in attending school

Boys at School

How does it work?

‘At the start of term, we ask our partner schools to provide us with a list of pupils, who need our support, along with a pupil information form which details the areas of either Maths or English that pupil struggles with. Since our tuition takes place in schools we ask our partner schools to confirm when they would like us to provide tuition; this tends to be in the afternoon either during the school day or just after school. 

 

With this information we then carefully pair pupils with our available tutors. Once paired with a pupil our tutors run an initial goal setting session with the pupils, aimed at further understanding the pupil and what they want to achieve themselves. Using the pupil information form and the output of the goal setting session our tutors then create a bespoke tuition plan for the pupil.

 

Each week during term time our tutors will visit our partner schools to work with the two pupils they have been paired with. Each session will be carefully planned, using resources we provide our tutors, to meet the needs of individual pupils. At the end of term, we provide schools with a summary of what each pupil has been working on and the progress they have made. We also ask class teachers to answer a short questionnaire in order that we can analyse the impact of our work

Teacher and Pupil

How to become a partner school

If you are interested in becoming a partner school please first check that we have a branch in your local area; we only offer our services to schools that easy to reach from our branches. If you are unsure please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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If we do have a branch near your school then please contact us and we will start the simple process of setting you up as a partner school. This will involve an initial meeting with one of our branch school liaison officers to get to know your school, a few quick forms to fill in and then a quick call to get the logistics of tuition sorted

How does it work
Become a partner school
  • Is Students4Students for me?
    If you are current university student, passionate about education, believe that every child deserves to succeed and can commit to giving up one hour every week for two academic terms to deliver tutoring, plus a little extra time to plan the sessions, then the answer is yes! ​ Don’t worry if you don’t have lots of experience, or any at all; we recruit based upon enthusiasm and cultural fit for the organisation. We believe that tutoring skills can be taught but enthusiasm can’t. Our Recruitment Officers therefore look for individuals who want to make a difference, are clear communicators and are quick learners.
  • Submitting an Application
    Submitting an application is simple and it takes less than 15 minutes to complete; you can do it here. The form is designed so that we can get to know a bit more about you, why you want to volunteer and why you believe you’d be a fantastic tutor. ​ For Q. 11, 12 and 13 we want responses to be written in full sentences and we suggest that you spend some time writing your answers in another document before pasting them into the form. Please check over the whole form for any mistakes before submitting as there won’t be an opportunity to make any corrections. For more information about the application form please read our complete question guide, which can be found in the 'Key documents' of our recruitment portal. Once you have submitted the form it will be sent to the Recruitment Officer for the respective branch and they will then read and process your application. You will be notified via email about the outcome of your application within 5-10 days. However please note that during September/October when we have lots of applicants the response time may be slightly longer. ​ If your application was unsuccessful, you can email the Recruitment Officer for the respective branch and ask for feedback.
  • The Interview
    If your application was successful you will be invited to an interview with a committee member from the respective branch. The interviews are 15-20 minutes long and are focused on establishing whether you have the interpersonal skills tutoring requires, share our core values and are suited to working with children. A full guide to the interview can be found in 'Key documents' within our recruitment portal. ​
  • Child Safety
    Throughout the application process we will be assessing your suitability to work with children. We do this both through external checks, such as a DBS check, and through the questions we ask during the application process. We are not looking for knowledge of child safety law – we provide compulsory training on this. As part of our recruitment process everyone who is successful with the interview must get an enhanced DBS check. The DBS check is free, the branch you apply for will inform you about how to complete the DBS. For queries about what information you will need to provide please see the .gov.uk site on DBS checks. Once you receive your DBS certificate you will need to share it with the Tutor Liaison Officer for the respective branch. In addition, you will need to enrol with the DBS update service, this is because we re-review everyone’s DBS checks every two years. Please note that there is a different process for checking convictions for anyone who has lived abroad for more three months over the last 5 years. ​ If you are already enrolled with the DBS update service let the branch Recruitment Officer know, as you will not need a new DBS check. The Recruitment Officer will help you through the process. ​ All policies mentioned can be found in the 'Key documents section' of our recruitment portal.
  • Training and support
    As part of the recruitment process we provide training to all new volunteers. There are two components; 1) Externally provided child safety training and 2) Students4Students internal tutor training. The child safety training covers the basics of existing legislation and best practice, it is then complimented with Students4Student’s own child safety policies. The focus of the internal training is on our Goal Setting Methodology, the practicalities of tutoring and also the key policies you need to be aware of. By the end of the two sessions you will be ready to start tutoring! ​ The support we provide doesn’t stop with training, there are also regular support sessions throughout each term organised by each branch as well as additional training available. Students4Students is continually improving the support we offer to our volunteers and each branch will provide support beyond the minimum level which is set nationally. For more information on the support a branch provides please contact the Tutor Liaison Officer for the respective branch.
  • Being assigned a pupil and starting at a school
    Once we have seen your DBS and you have attended training, based on your availability and preference for subject, you will be assigned a school. This school will be where you will tutor for the duration of the term – and also for subsequent terms unless scheduling prevents this. Within that school you will be assigned two pupils (or one if the school has opted to have one hour sessions) who you will work with each week. ​ When you first visit the school you will be given a short briefing about the school, their child safety procedures and the focus areas for the pupil(s) you will working with. You may also meet the pupil in this first visit, but this is dependent upon when the school can fit this initial briefing session in; often it has to be after school hours. Once you have had this briefing tutoring can commence and you will be given the exact time for when your tutoring session will take place.
  • Planning and delivering tutoring sessions
    Being prepared for tutoring sessions is critical to making them a success but planning can be daunting; so Students4Students has made it as easy as possible for you to prepare and then deliver the tutoring sessions. We provide a clear framework for how the sessions should be planned, including templates for session plans and how to break larger topics up into manageable chunks. We provide detailed training on the goal setting framework we use to underpin the planning and delivery of training. ​ Whilst we do provide a framework for how to plan sessions, we do not provide prescriptive teaching methods; this is because each child we work with has different learning needs and we believe that using one prescriptive method will not suit all of the pupils we work with. We will provide all the necessary resources in order for you to choose from a range of different methods. It is therefore up to you, the tutor, to decide how you want to teach a specific topic based upon what works well with your pupil.
  • Joining the Students4Students community
    Whilst tutoring is at the core of what we do, Students4Students is about so much more than just that. We are made up of communities of young people who are committed to supporting children in their local area. We are always looking for new ways we can support the children we work with and how we can better support the local communities within which we operate. By joining your local branch, you are joining this community and are committing to helping make change not only within the school at which you will be assigned but also the wider local community and Students4Students. ​ Students4Students is not one homogeneous organisation each branch has their own different culture and operates in a slightly different way in order to fit with their local communities’ needs. This enables greater innovation, more scope for volunteers to shape what we do and a more adaptable organisation as a whole. As a volunteer you will have numerous opportunities to get involved in wider Students4Students activities alongside your tutoring. ​ If you share our values and have a desire to make change in your local community then Students4Students is for you.
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