THE second trial of an online in-home tutoring program run by children’s education charity, The Smith Family, has achieved strong results for children struggling with numeracy and literacy.
The Catch-Up Learning program first ran in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed to contribute to addressing the gap in educational achievement between students experiencing disadvantage and their more advantaged peers. The evaluation of the first pilot showed promising evidence of the program’s capacity to engage students and support greater than expected gains in both literacy and numeracy.
The program targets students from Years 4 to 8 on The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program who are struggling in both these subject areas. The evaluation of a second trial showed strong that two in three students made greater progress in numeracy than might typically be expected over a six-month period; more than half (53 per cent) of the participants made greater than expected progress in literacy than might typically be expected over a six-month period; and more than two in five (44 per cent) students who completed the Catch-Up Learning program made greater than expected progress in literacy and numeracy.