Maths Peer Tutoring Programme
A Partnership Built Around Educational Opportunity
The Richmond Project is a UK-wide charity founded by Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak, dedicated to breaking down barriers and building confidence in numbers across all ages. The organisation champions projects that aim to reduce educational inequality, strengthen learning opportunities and test innovative approaches that can make a meaningful difference in schools, families and communities.
By funding the Maths Peer Tutoring Programme, The Richmond Project is investing in a new model for scalable maths support and helping schools explore whether structured peer tutoring can become a sustainable and impactful part of everyday classroom practice.
Together, WhatWorked Education and The Richmond Project are working to bridge the gap between educational research and real classroom implementation.
Why Peer Tutoring?
Peer tutoring involves pupils supporting other pupils
through structured review, questioning, explanation and guided practice. It is
one of the most promising and underused approaches in education today. According
to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Teaching and Learning Toolkit, peer
tutoring is a high-impact, low-cost approach. Well-structured peer tutoring can
deliver up to six additional months of progress, but the impact goes beyond
attainment alone. When implemented effectively, peer tutoring can also
strengthen:
- pupil confidence
- mathematical reasoning
- communication skills
- classroom engagement
Closing the Evidence-to-Classroom Gap
Our recent review of Pupil Premium strategy statements
found that only around 2% of primary schools in the North East explicitly
referenced peer tutoring within their published plans. While educational
research highlights the potential of peer tutoring, many schools face practical
barriers around workload, training, structure, timetabling, and sustainability.
The Maths Peer Tutoring Programme has been designed specifically to address
those challenges. The purpose of this project is not simply
to promote peer tutoring, but to work alongside schools to test whether a
structured national model can be implemented successfully and sustainably in
real classrooms.
Participating schools will play a direct role in shaping the
future development of the programme and helping build a stronger national
evidence base for what works in maths education.
About the Programme
The Maths Peer Tutoring Programme uses short, structured
tutoring cycles that are practical, low-burden, and easy for schools to
integrate into existing routines.
The programme has been carefully designed to:
- minimise teacher workload
- reinforce classroom teaching
- fit flexibly within existing curriculum structures
- support schools without replacing their current maths approach
- remain
strategy-neutral so schools can use their own preferred mathematical
methods and representations
Schools participating in the programme will receive structured tutor and pupil resources, implementation and onboarding guidance, assessment materials, teacher support resources, access to the WhatWorked Teachers platform, and dedicated support from the WhatWorked team throughout delivery. Schools will also receive personalised impact reports designed to help evaluate how the programme has supported pupil learning.
How the Tutoring Model Works
Each tutoring cycle follows a short, structured format designed to maximise pupil interaction, retrieval practice, explanation, and mathematical thinking.
1. Review (2-3 minutes)
Tutors revisit key vocabulary and prior learning.
2. Teacher Model Recall (3-4 minutes)
Tutors revisit worked examples modelled by the teacher using the school’s agreed approach.
3. Guided Practice (8-10 minutes)
Tutors support pupils to complete structured mathematical practice.
4. Reflection and Explanation (2 minutes)
Pupils explain their thinking and reflect on confidence and understanding. The sessions are intentionally short, practical, and manageable for schools to deliver consistently.
Learning Together Through Evidence-Informed Practice
Schools joining the programme will contribute to a growing
national evidence base through teacher-led micro-randomised controlled trials
(micro-RCTs). These short, practical evaluations allow schools to test
approaches within normal classroom conditions while helping us better
understand:
- what works
- for whom
- under what conditions
- and
how implementation can be improved over time
The programme builds on previous WhatWorked Education feasibility studies and pilot work exploring structured peer tutoring and cumulative evidence-building approaches.
Who Can Take Part?
We are recruiting up to 100 schools for the 2026-27 academic year. We are particularly interested in working with primary schools, secondary schools, multi-academy trusts, schools serving disadvantaged communities, and schools committed to evidence-informed improvement. No previous experience with peer tutoring is required. The programme may be particularly valuable for schools looking to:
• strengthen maths intervention approaches
• improve pupil confidence in mathematics
• develop pupil leadership opportunities
• support disadvantaged learners
• embed evidence-informed practice
Join us in shaping the future of maths peer tutoring in schools.
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