Tutor group

A tutor group is a term used in schools in the United Kingdom, broadly equivalent to the United States term "homeroom". The term is most frequently used in secondary schools where students may be taught in a number of different groupings throughout the day. Tutor groups are usually the group with which a student is registered at the beginning or end of each school session.

In many schools, a tutor group is assigned a tutor who will remain with that group for several years - possibly throughout their time at that school. Such groupings may also be used for the teaching of some subjects in school, while others will be taught in ability groups, or in smaller mixed sets, for example practical technology subjects. Tutor groups are commonly given names, however the names they are given depend on the specific system chosen by the school.

Horizontal and vertical tutoring

The traditional way of organising a secondary school in the UK relies on same-age grouping usually referred to as a year-system. In the USA this is called a grade system. Tutor group sizes may vary but are typicially between 25-30 students all from the same Year or grade. A form tutor, (usually a teacher) is assigned to the tutor group, and has general oversight of their tutees' pastoral and academic needs and usually stays with their form or tutor group throughout the students' time at the school. Tutor time, a short session that tutors and tutees spend together, is usually at the start of the day and lasts about 20 minutes. Schools see this as a settling in time and an opportunity to get basic school administration done. The tutor task is be a mentor to each tutee and act as a guide through the complexities of school life.

An alternative tutorial arrangement is vertical tutoring (VT) adopted by many schools in the UK and internationally since 2000. VT schools have chosen to carefully populate tutor groups with students from all age groups changing the way the school organises communications, assessments, and networks of learning. Research by Peter A. Barnard tracks the development of a number of principles and practices emanating from this tranche of schools. These include

  • Using all available classrooms to reduce group sizes to an optimal number of 18 students
  • Ensuring that groups are as balanced as possible by gender, ability, behaviour (not friendship)
  • Ensuring that all staff including support, admin, and leadership team are tutors, i.e. there are two tutors per group
  • Moving tutor time to the 20 minutes before morning break
  • Ensuring that all communications are re-routed through tutors who act as information hubs between the school, students, and parents
  • Revamping the assessment and reporting system to support deep learning conversations between the school, the student, and home
  • Moving the school from year-based organisation to a house system (a nested or ecological system), restructuring the management system.

References
    • ″Vertical Tutoring″, by Barnard, P.A. (2010) published by Grosvenor House, Guildford. This book on school management gives further background to Vertical Tutoring as a key driver of school improvement and the management necessary for implementation.
    • ″A New Shape for Schooling″, (2006) by D. Hargreaves et al.: series of pamphlets published by SSAT. These pamphlets bring together some of the latest trends in school management.
    • “Service Operations Management”, (2001)by Johnston, R., and Clarke, G.: published by Prentice Hall


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