Action Tutoring is a UK-based education charity working to close the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. Partnering closely with state schools in England, Action Tutoring delivers targeted, cost-effective, evidence-based tutoring in English and Maths to pupils aged 10-16 at key academic transition points, including SATs and GCSEs.
The organisation’s mission is clear: a child’s educational outcomes should not be determined by their background. To achieve this, Action Tutoring focuses on structured programmes, trained volunteer tutors, and measurable impact. In the 2025-26 academic year, Action Tutoring is aiming to support 7,000 pupils across the country with the help of 2,500 volunteer tutors.
To scale its impact nationally, while maintaining quality, safeguarding, and consistency, Action Tutoring delivers a substantial part of its provision online using VEDAMO Virtual Classroom and LMS.
Growth demands a different approach
Action Tutoring is not a drop-in tutoring service. Its programmes are delivered in partnership with schools, focusing on pupils who need high-impact academic support at key stages in their education. Pupils do not find the organisation themselves; partner schools and teachers select them because they are at risk of failing to achieve expected standards in their English and maths SATs or GCSEs.
As the organisation grew, so did the complexity of its operations. Relying solely on face-to-face delivery limited volunteer recruitment to certain locations and made it harder to reach pupils in areas previously difficult to serve, particularly rural and coastal communities. At the same time, expanding online tutoring required a solution that could support strong safeguarding, quality assurance, and operational oversight at scale.
Online tutoring for Action Tutoring could not be a temporary workaround. It had to be robust, intuitive, safe, and scalable.
What challenges Action Tutoring faced before VEDAMO
Before expanding its online provision, Action Tutoring needed a digital solution that could meet several non-negotiable requirements:
- Support small-group tutoring (2-3 pupils)
- Be accessible and simple to use for pupils and volunteers, with minimal friction
- Enable interactive online teaching through a virtual classroom experience
- Support safeguarding needs by making it easy for administrators to monitor and review tutoring sessions
- Integrate with existing systems to avoid adding administrative burden
- Work reliably at scale as a core part of programme delivery
In short, the organisation needed a platform that could function as a core part of its delivery model, not as an add-on.
Action Tutoring’s hybrid model
Today, Action Tutoring operates a hybrid delivery model, combining in-person tutoring with online/virtual sessions, with all pupils receiving sessions at school. Since partnering with VEDAMO, roughly half of the charity’s tutoring provision has taken place through VEDAMO virtual classrooms.
Online sessions typically run in small groups of two to three pupils, preserving the balance between personalised attention and collaborative learning. Pupils are typically aged 10-16 and are facing socio-economic disadvantage (mostly Pupil Premium eligible), selected by partner schools because they require high-impact academic support.
Why VEDAMO?
After exploring options, Action Tutoring selected VEDAMO based on the following key factors:
- A partner, not just a product
Action Tutoring received a strong level of support from the VEDAMO team from the beginning – both in learning the technology and in customising the Virtual Classroom and LMS to the charity’s needs.
- Safeguarding and oversight at scale
As an education charity, safeguarding is essential to Action Tutoring. VEDAMO makes it easy for administrators to monitor and review tutoring sessions, supporting consistent standards across online delivery.
- Accessible for pupils and volunteers
VEDAMO is compatible with a wide range of devices and environments and is simple to use for Action Tutoring’s pupils and volunteers, helping reduce technical barriers to learning and volunteering.
- Automation and scale: Salesforce integration
Action Tutoring uses Salesforce to manage programme data, including pupil attendance, classroom links, and core VEDAMO information. When the charity first started using VEDAMO, much of this administration was completed manually. After raising this as a pain point, VEDAMO developed a custom integration with Salesforce that enabled Action Tutoring to automate these processes, saving valuable time.
- Easy Implementation and flexibility
Implementation of VEDAMO was smooth, supported by excellent onboarding help from the VEDAMO team. While it initially took Action Tutoring time to determine the right training approach for online tutors, the charity now has a streamlined process: all tutors complete a mandatory 30-minute training session, which is sufficient for most to begin. Action Tutoring also offers optional, advanced training for those who wish to further enhance their tutoring skills.
A long-term partnership built on trust
Action Tutoring has been working with VEDAMO for over five years, during which the partnership has evolved alongside the organisation’s growth. The charity strongly recommends VEDAMO to anyone seeking an effective online teaching platform, and notes that the partnership has been strengthened through close collaboration, including hosting the VEDAMO team at one of its programmes to meet in person.
Most importantly, the partnership has enabled Action Tutoring to scale dramatically over the past five years, expanding its UK footprint and reaching the most in-need pupils in areas previously difficult to serve, particularly rural and coastal communities. Rather than being a second-best alternative, online tutoring has become a powerful way to widen access to high-impact academic support.
VEDAMO works particularly well for Action Tutoring’s volunteer tutors because it provides flexibility to tutor from different locations, especially important given that many volunteers work in the corporate sector. For pupils, online sessions can also work better in some cases, particularly if they are shy.
What Action Tutoring says
VEDAMO Virtual Classroom is reliable and intuitive. Pupils just sit and know how to use it. Our tutors need training, but it allows them to tutor from the comfort of their home or office. They can volunteer on their lunch break! Pupils can also be very shy, and having a tutor online helps them feel at ease compared to meeting them in person.
We highly recommend VEDAMO to anyone seeking an effective online teaching platform, and we have greatly enjoyed our partnership with them over the past five years.
Mark Mortimer,
Online Programmes Manager
