Small group tutoring to be made permanent for students who struggled in NAPLAN

A scheme which has seen struggling schoolkids improve their reading skills threefold has been given new life, extended for the 2024 school year and beyond. See how it works.

Free tutoring will be made available permanently for the tens of thousands of public school students across the state struggling most in English and maths under a $278 million scheme.

The program will give kids identified as ‘needing additional support’ 10 weeks of extra time face-to-face with a teacher in small groups of up to five, three times a week, giving them a greater chance to catch up with the rest of their cohort.

Funding for the school-based program will be guaranteed through to 2027, with the government also committing to funding it again in future budgets, extending the life of its predecessor, the Covid intensive learning support program, which comes to an end this year.

In 2023, some 38,000 NSW primary and high school students were identified as ‘needing additional support’ in reading and/or numeracy in the NAPLAN assessment, with these students to be the targets of the new tutoring scheme.

The current Covid-era initiative, a wider program which cost the previous government nearly $900 million over three years and included some Catholic and independent schools, is still awaiting its final scorecard, but surveyed principals and co-ordinators reported improvements in student performance.

Free tutoring will be made available permanently for up to 38,000 public school students across the state struggling in English and maths. Picture: Justin Lloyd

At Crown Street Public School in the heart of the city, relieving principal Jo Boufous said small-group literacy tutoring has seen some kids double and even triple their reading ability, with one child improving from between 20 and 30 words per minute to more than 90.

Mrs Boufous said the “extremely explicit and very direct” lessons allow every child to stay focused in a way that can’t always be achieved in a classroom of 25, and knowing the program would be funded into the future is “a huge positive”.

Angela Breeze, an instructor in the small group tuition program, with Crown Street Public School students Nash Fryer, 8, Marley Anstey, 7, Izzy Osborne, 8, Sia Griffiths, 8, and Aki Niwa Russell, 10. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“We know that we want to keep this program running because it has been so successful,” she said.

“There will always be children who need something extra, and there are always children who work better in a small group, away from distractions and where somewhere is there … to encourage them and keep them going, to keep up their motivation and self-esteem.”

One of her tutors, school learning support officer Ange Breeze, said she’s seen many a ‘light bulb moment’ in her students since starting small-group sessions.

“It gives them much more confidence … and you can see that growth in them; where they’re starting to realise they can do class activities just as well,” she said.

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car said making the small group program permanent is a “key commitment” of the government. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

Enrolment in small-group tutoring during 2023 will not automatically transfer to the new program, with schools to select students for it each year using their own assessments.

However, current tutors – university students in teaching degrees, retired teachers and academics among them – can choose to continue their work next year.

Education Minister Prue Car said the program will remain a “key commitment” into the future.

“It is vital that no child needing support is left to fall behind at school, and the Minns Labor Government’s ongoing small group tutoring program will ensure our students get the basics right,” she said.