As an approved National Tuition Programme provider The Access Project needs more volunteer tutors to support disadvantaged students, our Head of Midlands Katie Hilder explains how we support our volunteers to deliver effective and enjoyable tutorials…
One of the things that makes me proud to work for The Access Project is seeing the incredible response we have had over the last few months from volunteers up and down the country. Now, more than ever, this support is crucial for the young people that we’re working with, so they don’t fall behind in their education. Our tutors help students from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their grades and fulfill their potential.
The Access Project (TAP) provides high-quality tuition to more than 1000 young people across London, the West and East Midlands, and Bradford. Ensuring our volunteer tutors are well supported is vitally important to that work. Our team are experts in online tuition and from the moment you enquire with us we’ll provide advice, guidance and bespoke resources.
Here’s what you can expect from us:
Firstly, we provide fun, interactive and comprehensive training. You’ll be invited to one of our online training sessions, which lasts 2.5 hours, with a small group of other volunteers. Our trainers are there to guide you through the process of tutoring with The Access Project. As an NTP provider we invest in high quality tutor training to support our volunteers to become confident and expert tutors.
Our volunteers have said that one of their favourite things about the training was the chance to practice and socialise with other volunteers.
“The training was very useful. I signed up on the spur of the moment and I was feeling a bit nervous: but the training really put my mind at ease. All my questions were answered and now I’m really looking forward to being matched”
With over a decade of experience delivering tuition as a tutor with TAP you will have access to a vast array of resources. This includes our library of topic guidance for each subject and level, our recommendations for teaching and learning resources, as well as our Volunteer Handbook. You can read more about the guidance and topics here. Your efforts will have real impact: GCSE students with The Access Project make five months more progress than their similar peers without tutoring.
Thanks to our expert knowledge of online delivery, safeguarding and volunteer management we have been delivering tuition online since 2017. As part of the National Tutoring 
Programme our 1-1 tuition will be delivered on our bespoke platform. Infiniti Platforms is a high quality, custom built learning space in which students and tutors can hold their tutorials, with a dedicated support team on hand should they need any assistance.
Once you begin tutoring, you’ll also have a dedicated member of our team who is there to help you. Our University Access Officers (UAO) work in each of our partner schools. Our unique programme combines subject-specific tuition with in-school mentoring delivered by each UAO.
We are determined that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will have access to the same high-quality tuition their more affluent peers can readily access. Whether you’re motivated by a lack of diversity in your industry, you want to give back to your community or to support school children with their studies because of school closures, we know work will help to increase the grades and aspirations of young people.