Combining academic and therapeutic support
Initially, our support in this area came through Right Angle, an award-winning collaboration between ourselves and TLC: Talk, Listen, Change, the relationships charity which helps support safe, healthy, happy relationships. It was established in 2018 and was originally funded by the Department for Education as part of The Alternative Provision Innovation Fund. Whilst the DfE funding ended in July 2020 (as had always been planned), with the generous funding from Porticus and the MariaMarina Foundation, we can continue our work alongside TLC in a partially funded, highly-subsidised model.
Our therapy and tutoring model supports children in alternative provision, vulnerable children and Looked after Children (LAC), with a combination of tutoring and emotional wellbeing support. This unique approach addresses both the causes and symptoms of underachievement, dealing holistically with the needs of the pupils referred through schools or virtual schools. We continue to develop tailor-made packages for the young people we support to enable them to develop their confidence and academic ability in tandem.
Unlike our other Tutoring Plus programmes, currently, this approach is only available to young people of secondary school age in Greater Manchester who fit one of the above criteria. There are limited places available on this highly subsidised programme, so get in touch if you would like to refer a young person for this support.
I mean, it gave him the confidence to sit his GCSEs. This was a young man that didn't think he was going to finish school [and now] completely finishes his GCSEs, it's huge."LAC Officer on a pupil referred to our services
Highlights from the Evaluation Report - 2021
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42
young people receiving support
Right Angle Summary Evaluation Report [2021]
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8
successful referral partner providers
Right Angle Summary Evaluation Report [2021]
Understanding the impact
In July 2020 we were awarded the Fair Education Alliance Scaling Award for The Right Angle partnership. This is a prestigious national award, and we were one of only seven winners in the country. This award supported us to grow the programme, understand our impact and reach many more of the most vulnerable young people that we strive to support. As part of the Scaling Award, we have worked with ImpactEd to understand the impact of this programme on young people's attainment and wellbeing, particularly seeking to understand the interrelation between tutoring and counselling.
An initial report was published in 2021. It showed the project had a positive effect on those who face some of the biggest barriers to education.
The report makes four key findings:
- Key Finding 1: English and mathematics GCSE working-at grades and internal assessment scores were higher following the programme,
- Key Finding 2: The relationship between the number of tutoring sessions attended and the academic progress made was unclear due to the limited data available,
- Key Finding 3: Participants showed a significant increase in their emotional wellbeing,
- Key Finding 4: Those who completed counselling made significantly greater progress in English than those who did not.
The pupils themselves report feeling more resilient and say that they feel more confident in other areas of their lives as well.
