Since 2021, ClassCover and The Smith Family have partnered on the Catch-Up Learning Program, connecting casual teachers from the ClassCover platform with disadvantaged students who had fallen behind in literacy and numeracy. This is the story of that partnership and what it achieved.
How the partnership began
ClassCover approached The Smith Family, Australia’s largest education charity, with an idea: connect relief teachers seeking additional work with children supported through the charity’s long-term educational scholarship program, Learning for Life, who needed one-on-one help with literacy and numeracy. In what is believed to be a national first, the two organisations partnered to deliver 6,000 hours of catch-up learning.
ClassCover curated the teacher team, developed the curriculum, and pre- and post-assessed the students. The tutors, a team of 65 selected from ClassCover’s large pool of casual relief teachers, were based in locations around Australia and delivered every session online.
The first program: 100 students, 20 weeks
The first full program, made possible by the support of the Origin Foundation, ran for 20 weeks and provided 6,000 hours of outcomes-focused online tutoring to 100 financially disadvantaged students in years 3 to 9. Each student received an individualised learning program based on their areas of need, with a dedicated tutor for the full length of the program.
The results:
- 51% of students achieved “much higher than expected” progress in literacy over the 20-week period. The norm is 10%.
- 71% of students achieved “higher than expected” or “much higher than expected” progress in literacy. The norm is 15%.
- 95% of students achieved “expected”, “higher than expected” or “much higher than expected” progress in literacy. The norm is 75%.
- 50% of students achieved “higher than expected” or “much higher than expected” progress in numeracy.
- 98% of tutors believed their student had increased their love of learning through the program.
The feedback from families told the same story as the data:
“Tom*’s mum cannot speak highly enough of Tom’s tutor Trent and is so appreciative of the opportunity that Tom has been given. Josie* tells me that not only has Tom started working at a level similar to his Year 5 classmates (he was previously working at Year 3-4 level), but his classroom teacher noticed the huge difference and asked what was happening at home to support Tom’s learning! Josie says she barley recognises her son anymore – he has so much more confidence and will look people in the eye when speaking to them. He no longer gets upset when he doesn’t know something or doesn’t understand something, but just tells Josie he will ask Trent about it at the next session.”
Names changed to protect identity.
The program grows
Off the back of those results, the program expanded in 2022, with student numbers growing by 500% from the original 100. By week 16 of the expanded program, almost 25,000 tutoring sessions had been completed.
The model: each student did three one-hour sessions per week, and each tutor worked with an average of two students, so every tutor could build a genuine relationship with their students and their families. Program partners included Sentral, Mathspace and Reading Eggs, with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) supplying Progressive Achievement Tests to track student progress.
The breakthroughs kept coming. One Year 7 student who started the program working at a Year 2 level in maths went on to score 86% on a maths assignment at school.
“Leading a program designed to help make a difference in the lives of so many students – it is an entirely different experience.”
– Sarah Hewlett, Catch-Up Learning Program Coordinator
For many students, the biggest gain was confidence. Some began the program unable to turn on their camera or microphone. Weeks later, those same students were turning up early, eagerly waiting for their tutors at the start of each session.
Why it mattered to ClassCover
“Partnering with The Smith Family for the catch-up education project is one of the proudest achievements in ClassCover’s history. Not only are we helping school aged students across Australia to improve their learning outcomes, we are matching these students with expert teachers who are enthused to make a difference and to earn valuable additional out of school hour income that will go some way to making up for loss of teaching opportunities during the halt to face to face learning during the Covid19 pandemic. It is one of the most logical relationships we’ve created at ClassCover and we thank the supporters of the program.”
– Ben Grozier, CEO & Co-Founder, ClassCover
The program’s results drew national attention, with coverage on ABC News, 2ser Radio, 2GB Radio and The Conversation. ClassCover’s tutoring arm was also selected by the NSW Department of Education as one of four official suppliers of tutors to NSW public schools under the COVID Intensive Learning Support Program.
The partnership showed what ClassCover’s network of casual teachers can do beyond the school day: qualified, motivated educators, matched with the students who need them most, delivering measurable results.
