One to one tuition involves a teacher, teacher aide or other adult giving a student intensive individual support. It may happen outside of normal lessons as additional teaching – for example as part of extending school time or a summer school – or as a replacement for other lessons.

1. On average, one to one tuition is very effective at improving student outcomes. One to one tuition might be an effective strategy for providing targeted support for students that are identified as having low prior achievement or are struggling in particular areas.

2. Tuition is more likely to make an impact if it is additional to and explicitly linked with normal lessons.

3. One to one tuition can be expensive to deliver, particularly when delivered by teachers. Approaches that either deliver instruction through teacher aides or in small groups rather than one to one have smaller positive effects, on average, but may be a cost-effective solution to providing targeted support.

4. For one to one tuition led by teacher aides, interventions are likely to be particularly beneficial when the teacher aides are experienced, well-trained and supported – for example, delivering a structured intervention.

Evidence indicates that one to one tuition can be effective, providing approximately five additional months’ progress on average.

Short, regular sessions (about 30 minutes, three to five times a week) over a set period of time (up to ten weeks) appear to result in optimum impact. Evidence also suggests tuition should be additional to, but explicitly linked with, normal teaching, and that teachers should monitor progress to ensure the tutoring is beneficial. Studies comparing one to one with small group tuition show mixed results. In some cases one to one tuition has led to greater improvement, while in others tuition in groups of two or three has been equally or even more effective. The variability in findings may suggest it is the particular type or quality of teaching enabled by very small groups that is important, rather than the precise size of the group.

Programmes involving teacher aides or volunteers can have a valuable impact, but may be less effective than those using experienced and specifically trained teachers. Where tuition is delivered by volunteers or teacher aides there is evidence that training and the use of a structured programme is advisable.

One to one has an impact by providing additional support that is targeted at a student’s needs. Reducing the ratio of students to teacher allows for closer interaction between educators and students. When adopting one to one tuition, schools should consider how to ensure that these active ingredients have a positive impact through:

• Accurately identifying the students that require additional support.
• Understanding the learning gaps of the students that receive tuition and using this knowledge to select curriculum content appropriately.
• Ensuring teachers are well-prepared for having high quality interactions with students, such as providing well-planned feedback.
• Ensuring that tuition is well-linked to classroom content and allowing time for the teacher and tutor to discuss the tuition.
• Monitoring the impact of tuition on student progress and adjusting provision accordingly.

One to one tuition may be delivered by teachers, trained teacher aides, academic mentors or tutors. Interventions are typically delivered over an extended period, often over the course several weeks or a term.

The average cost of one to one tuition is moderate. The costs to schools are largely based on additional salary costs and learning resources, the majority of which are recurring costs. Costs are lower for online delivery compared to in person tuition and are higher when provided by qualified or specialist teachers.

When delivering teacher or TA-led Small group tuition, implementation is likely to require a large amount of staff time compared with whole class approaches. Given the lower costs, small group tuition may be a sensible approach to trial before considering one to one tuition. See small group tuition.

Alongside time and cost, school leaders should consider using providers with a track record of effectiveness. To increase the impact of school-led one to one tuition, school leaders might consider professional development for teachers, TAs, and tutors to support high-quality teaching in areas such as formative assessment, curriculum knowledge, instruction and feedback, which will build capacity in school.