Tute Education Ltd

Education Ltd

On 9 and 10 July 2025, Ofsted visited Tute Education Ltd as part of the Online Education Accreditation Scheme . Through this scheme, providers of full-time online education to school-age children in England can apply to the Department for Education (DfE) for accreditation.

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Education Ltd

Ofsted visits providers to find out whether they meet the minimum standards for online education set by the DfE. This report sets out what we found during our visit on 9 and 10 July 2025. You can find out whether this provider is accredited by the DfE at Get Information about Schools .

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Key findings

◼ Tute Education Ltd meets all the minimum standards for online education. ◼ Leaders and staff at Tute Education Ltd (Tute Education) ensure that, from the moment of enrolment, pupils have every opportunity they need to succeed. For a wide variety of reasons, many pupils have found it difficult to engage with full- time education at school. However, at Tute Education, they settle quickly into their online learning and, together with their parents, once again feel positive about their learning and their future. ◼ The setting’s work is underpinned by strong relationships. Teachers are highly skilled and know their pupils extremely well. They understand their needs – both academically and pastorally – and work tirelessly to build pupils’ confidence. Pupils say they enjoy their lessons and particularly like the many ways in which teachers use resources to make learning interesting and fun. ◼ Leaders have designed a broad curriculum offer for the setting’s full-time pupils.

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Key findings

This focuses on the core subjects of English, mathematics and science, but also provides pupils with opportunities to experience other areas of education. Detailed schemes of work outline the sequences of learning which pupils will follow, along with opportunities to explore cross-curricular themes. However, leaders recognise that the schemes for the physical and creative elements are less developed. ◼ Throughout the curriculum, leaders have woven in opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development and the promotion of fundamental British values. In addition, pupils receive personal, social and health education, relationships and sex education and impartial careers advice. However, some of these wider elements are taught through optional enrichment activities, which not all commissioning partners choose. Leaders have put in place plans to ensure that, in the future, these will all form a compulsory part of the

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Key findings

setting’s full-time offer. ◼ Leaders at all levels have a secure understanding of the setting’s strengths and areas requiring further development. They have mapped these carefully against the minimum standards for online education (the standards), as set out by the DfE, and have established processes to keep compliance under constant review.

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Who is this online provider?

◼ Tute Education caters for pupils aged five to 18 years who, for a variety of reasons, have been unable to attend a physical school full time. It offers a wide variety of courses and subjects, and most pupils attend on a part-time basis. However, some secondary-age pupils in Years 7 to 11 attend Tute Education full time. This accreditation visit considered the provision for these full-time pupils. ◼ Tute Education’s vision is to provide ‘an education system that enables any child, anywhere to achieve their potential’. It describes itself as an intervention service which enables pupils to re-engage with learning and build their confidence and self-esteem, so they feel suitably equipped to transition back into full-time mainstream education. The length of placements at Tute Education varies for each pupil, but the average is 19 weeks. ◼ The majority of full-time pupils are placed at Tute Education by a local authority.

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Who is this online provider?

However, some pupils are placed by a registered school. There is also the option for parents to commission a full-time place, but at the time of this visit, none were doing so. The setting provides for pupils with a variety of special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as for those with social, emotional and mental health needs. ◼ Tute Education’s broad curriculum is based on the English national curriculum. Leaders have established detailed schemes of work which provide sequential learning opportunities across linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical, and aesthetic and creative education. Older pupils study for GCSE qualifications and, where pupils will be taking examinations with their registered schools, curriculum leaders have matched the setting’s taught syllabuses with the appropriate awarding bodies. This ensures as seamless a transition as possible for those pupils returning to their home school.

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Who is this online provider?

◼ Depending on their needs, pupils attend one-to-one lessons or participate in small group learning. Teachers ensure that lessons are fully interactive and matched to pupils’ needs. Pupils can decide how they interact with teachers. For example, based on their level of confidence, pupils can use chat functions or engage in conversation using audio. ◼ Currently, 14 school-age pupils study with Tute Education full time. These are all in key stages 3 and 4. Of the 14 full-time pupils, all live in England, and five have an education, health and care plan (EHC plan) . Another 1,536 school-age pupils study with Tute Education part time. ◼ At the time of this accreditation visit, there were no looked-after pupils on the roll of Tute Education. ◼ There are currently eight post-16 learners studying with Tute Education part time.

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How are pupils taught at Tute Education?

◼ Teachers at Tute Education deliver live, timetabled lessons, either on a one-to- one or group basis. All lessons are recorded, allowing pupils to either revisit learning or view lessons for which they were absent. Teachers always have their cameras on. Pupils have the option of doing so, but most choose not to. Pupils can choose how they ‘talk’ with the teacher – either through chat or via audio. Most choose the chat function, which can only be seen by the teacher. This gives pupils the confidence to respond to questioning, with teachers only sharing pupils’ responses with their permission. ◼ Teachers are highly skilled, and leaders provide appropriate levels of both challenge and support. Teachers know their pupils well. They use assessment effectively to gauge pupils’ prior knowledge, plan lessons to deepen their understanding and ensure a smooth transition for new pupils joining the setting, as well as those moving on to another school or provision.

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How are pupils taught at Tute Education?

◼ Teachers display secure subject knowledge and make effective use of subject- specific vocabulary to explain new concepts. They use questioning adeptly to explore pupils’ understanding and make them think more deeply. In group activities, teachers adapt their questions to match pupils’ different abilities and aptitudes. ◼ Teachers make lessons fully interactive. They use the positive relationships they have forged to get pupils to participate, which pupils do willingly and enthusiastically. Through the setting’s bespoke learning platform, teachers use a wide range of resources to impart knowledge and elicit responses. These include shared whiteboards, polls and videos, as well as programmes enabling pupils to participate in practical aspects of subjects such as science experiments. ◼ Leaders have put together a broad curriculum offer which is tailored to meet pupils’ individual needs. Individual schemes of work outline the sequences of

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How are pupils taught at Tute Education?

learning which pupils will follow, along with opportunities to promote SMSC education. However, leaders recognise that there is some variability across different areas of learning. For example, the schemes of work for the physical and creative aspects of learning do not contain the same level of detail as those for other areas.

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keeping children safe?

◼ Ofsted’s visits to online providers can give only a limited level of

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inspections of schools and other providers of face-to-face education

and training. However, we found that the arrangements for keeping children safe at Tute Education are appropriate. ◼ Leaders have put keeping children safe at the heart of everything the setting does. As one leader stated during the visit, ‘If pupils don’t feel safe, they cannot learn.’ Leaders have established comprehensive policies and procedures so that all members of staff, regardless of their role, have a secure understanding of the part they play in keeping children safe. Pupils also understand the importance of keeping themselves safe and talk confidently about the steps they would take if they had any concerns. ◼ Teachers and leaders know their pupils extremely well. They recognise the importance of remaining vigilant, especially when most pupils do not use their cameras, and look out for any changes in behaviour that could raise concerns about an individual’s well-being. ◼ Tute Education’s safeguarding policy takes account of the setting’s context and

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inspections of schools and other providers of face-to-face education

operation. Leaders keep it under regular review and ensure that it constantly reflects the Secretary of State’s latest guidance for schools. It is supported by a suite of complementary policies, which are fully understood by staff and implemented effectively. ◼ Leaders have ensured that the setting’s safer recruitment procedures are suitably robust. They have put in place a series of rigorous employment checks that are recorded meticulously. These, combined with an extensive training programme, help ensure that everyone has up-to-date knowledge, not only of their statutory duties, but also of the setting’s procedures and expectations. Tute Education does not use supply staff. ◼ Leaders have established strong working relationships with the local authorities and schools that place pupils at the setting. However, leaders are working with partners to ensure that partners provide all relevant information about pupils in a

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inspections of schools and other providers of face-to-face education

timely manner. ◼ Tute Education uses its own bespoke learning platform, which has pupils’ safety at its core. For example, at the start of every lesson, pupils are provided with visual reminders of how to keep themselves safe and to whom they can report any concerns. Leaders have ensured that the setting’s procedures for filtering and monitoring are implemented effectively. Pupils use their own computers to access the learning platform, and leaders have taken steps to mitigate any potential risks that this raises.

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Education?

◼ Pupils are extremely positive about their experiences at Tute Education. They feel happy, safe and appreciate the lengths to which staff go in order to make learning accessible and fun. Pupils also recognise the part that Tute Education and its staff have played in helping them develop their self-confidence and re- engage with education. One pupil stated, ‘I don’t know what I would have done without Tute Education.’ ◼ Pupils describe lessons where all pupils are treated equally and are encouraged to take an active role in their own learning. They state that behaviour in lessons is rarely an issue, but when it is, staff deal with it quickly, fairly and appropriately. Pupils say that the one thing they would now like is more opportunities to interact with other pupils. This is in lessons, as well as socially, for example in breaktimes and in extra-curricular activities. ◼ Parents are equally as positive about the setting. Many parents who spoke with

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Education?

the inspector or who completed the online survey talked about how the setting had been transformational in supporting their child’s reintegration after a difficult period out of school. As one parent wrote, ‘It has been life-changing for my child. They now enjoy learning again and are happy.’

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About the visit

◼ This is Tute Education Ltd’s first accreditation visit. Jonathan Dyer, His Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), was the lead inspector.

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education

This section reports on how well Tute Education Ltd meets the standards for online education. It is included primarily for the benefit of the DfE, to help inform their decision whether to accredit Tute Education Ltd.

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education

Tute Education Ltd meets all the applicable standards for online education set out by the DfE. The standards that are not applicable to Tute Education Ltd are listed below.

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education

The full list of standards can be found in DfE’s guidance on meeting the online education standards .

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The following standards do not apply to this provider:

◼ Standard 1.8 only applies where the provider has at least one full-time pupil of above compulsory school age. ◼ Standards 5.11, 5.12, 5.13, 5.14, 5.16, 5.17, 5.18 only apply where the provider uses supply staff. ◼ Standard 5.22 only applies if a proprietor lives or has lived outside of the UK. ◼ Standards 6.5, 6.10 only apply where a report on the provider has been published under the Online Education Accreditation Scheme at the time of the visit.

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Address

Halladale House Chester Business Park Chester CH4 9QT

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DfE unique reference number

regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to

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DfE unique reference number

the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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DfE unique reference number

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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DfE unique reference number

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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