Tutor Trust Impact Report 2023/2024 - Report - Page 24
How we work
Our university partnerships
Case study
The University of Manchester
Collaborating with universities in each of our
city-areas has been a cornerstone of our success,
allowing us to recruit highly talented individuals
who provide a great role model to our tutees.
We work in close partnership with 11 universities
across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West
Yorkshire, who all provide signi昀椀cant support for
the Tutor Trust. This year the one partnership we
would like to spotlight is the University of Manchester.
When we set up Tutor Trust in 2011,
among the 昀椀rst partners who o昀昀ered their
support and belief in our vision was one
of the best-known and well-respected
educational institutes in the North of
England; the University of Manchester.
Fast forward 13 years, and the University
team consistently continues to advocate
for our cause, encouraging their students
to join us as tutors.
The University is a champion of social
responsibility, and earlier this year they
recognised our outstanding contribution
to that goal by awarding the prestigious
Medal of Honour, the highest non-degree
award the University can bestow, to our
Co-Founders Abigail Shapiro and Nick
Bent. This recognition highlights the
impact of our partnership in supporting
young people in lower-income areas
across Greater Manchester and the North
of England and the invaluable teaching
experience we o昀昀er to students.
Partnering to understand poverty
This year we were also proud to continue
our valuable work with the University on
their ‘Local Matters’ research project. Led
by Dr. Carl Emery and Dr. Louisa Dawes,
this 18-month initiative explored the links
between power, poverty, and place, and
has been hugely in昀氀uential on our work
and team.
24 Tutor Trust Impact Report 2023/24
Over the 18-month project, we:
• Redesigned the way we gather
feedback from our tutees in a bid to
gain a deeper insight into what they
think of their tutoring and how it 昀椀ts
in with their lives. Our ‘Pupil Voice’
work gathers their feedback at the
start and end of their programme.
• Explored our own stereotypes and
pre-conceived ideas of poverty through
a survey and discussions, followed by
‘myth-busting’ workshops and training.
We are continuing to explore this work
through our dedicated reading group,
which is open to all sta昀昀.
• Audited and revamped the language
we use to describe the people and
communities we work with and in, and
developed an equitable language guide
which we’ve shared with sector peers.
Tutor Trust is a pioneer. It was
“
Tutor Trust that brought tuition
– then only the preserve of those
families that could afford it – into
schools to support those who most
needed it, democratising education
one pupil at a time.
Professor Dame
Nancy Rothwell, President and ViceChancellor, University of Manchester
”
▲ Abigail with Chair and Pro Chancellor of the
University of Manchester, Philippa Hird
