The Team Behind Tute: Meet Sharon, our Assistant Head of T&L- Quality.

At Tute Education, our Teaching & Learning team is dedicated to delivering the highest quality provision for every student. As Assistant Head of Teaching & Learning – Quality, Sharon plays a key role in ensuring our teaching practices are evidence-informed, effective, and responsive to students’ needs. From quality assurance processes to professional development for teachers, her work focuses on continuously improving our provision and championing equitable access to education. Sharon helps ensure that Tute provides a learning experience where every student can thrive.

A day in the life of our Assistant Head of T&L- Quality

What is your role at Tute Education? What might a typical day consist of? 

It’s becoming a bit of a cliché, but my days are hugely varied at Tute. Every day
brings opportunities to support students, collaborate with colleagues and enhance
the quality of the provision we offer, but the shape and form that work takes each
day is always different.
As a member of the leadership team, my work is largely informed by the business
development plan at Tute, collaborating across departments and functions to deliver
this plan.
The sorts of things I will do in a typical day might include meeting with members of
the quality team to ensure we are able to enact our quality assurance processes and
procedures and review the impact of these in ensuring students are supported to
achieve the best possible outcomes for them.
What goes hand in hand with this is working to embed our evidence-informed
practice strategy; supporting our fantastic teaching team to enhance their practice in
response to findings from the quality assurance process, but also in response to
emerging pedagogical evolutions and advances in the research surrounding the
alternative education provision sector. This can include planning and resourcing
internal professional development opportunities, curating training and good practice
materials and gathering feedback on the impact and next steps needed for our
teaching team.
Another interesting aspect of my work is collating case studies and student voice
data in order to provide evidence of the impact of the provision Tute’s students are
accessing. It is always hugely rewarding to celebrate the successes our students
experience and I love working with them and our partners to capture this. However,
I also love working with students and partners when there are challenges in
accessing provision and collaborating in order to provide solutions that help move us
further towards overcoming barriers to learning.
No two days are the same, but each and everyone enables me to work towards our
vision of creating an education system that enables any child, anywhere to achieve
their potential.

Joining Tute

How long have you worked at Tute, and what motivated you to join the team?

I joined Tute in 2014. I had returned to school following maternity leave at Easter and found
the building sense of unease I’d had prior to my leave beginning to resurface. I’d spent my
school-based career focused on holistic care for students who were on the periphery of
mainstream education. Whilst I’d taught plenty of high attainers, I’d always gravitated
towards students who were struggling in one way or another; students who had obstacles
to overcome, students who weren’t responding well to the exam factory production line or
students who had special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or social, emotional or
mental health (SEMH) needs that required support just as much as their grade predictions. I
found myself wondering whether there was another way, a way to do better by my
students and by all students on the margins of mainstream education. I’d also been offered
a place on the Doctorate in Education programme at the University of Chester and wanted
to combine my love of research with a teaching role that enabled me to explore these
musings further. When a friend mentioned Tute to me, it felt like the universe had provided
me with an ideal opportunity to merge my interests. I have never looked back.

Working at Tute

How long have you worked at Tute, and what motivated you to join the team?

I love the pace of evolution at Tute. In the 11 years since I joined, we’ve seen so much
development in every facet of the work we do; the development of our curriculums,
advancement of our platform, enhancement of our pedagogy. To be a part of the
development of online learning as a credible source of alternative education provision since
my tenure here began has been a privilege and a joy! What will come next fills me with
optimism and excitement; as online education becomes an increasingly viable option, we
will have even greater opportunities to support and serve students for whom mainstream
education hasn’t been the right model and provide a credible alternative that is as good or
better than the status quo.

What’s the most rewarding part of working in T&L?

Tute provides me with a way to do what matters most to me as an educator; foster
collaboration between teachers so that we can work in partnership to deliver excellent
provision. This means that our students have equitable access to education. It’s why I
became a teacher; at Tute every decision made prioritises students. These values make this
the most rewarding role in the world.

Life beyond Tute

What are your hobbies or interests outside of work

I am a self-confessed geek. I love my work and I love research. When I’m not in work, I’m
often reading and researching and pursuing the opportunity for the next collaboration. I
spent time over the summer and winter breaks, working on a paper for publication based on
the surge in demand for alternative provision and the place online learning has in meeting
those demands. I love it! Otherwise, my time is very much family-focused. My two
gorgeous girls and their hobbies keep me busy; I have a side-line role as a chauffeur,
bookings frequently taken for trips to gymnastics, theatre school, scouts and sleepovers!

Describing Tute

If you had to describe Tute in three words, what would they be?

Collaboration-Excellence-Equity: these are our mission and how we achieve our vision, but
these values speak to me on a cellular level!

Looking to the future

What goals or aspirations do you have for quality at Tute Education in the future?

My goals and aspirations are limitless at and for Tute. I want for us to realise our vision and
for us to play a leading role in its enactment; an education system that enables any child
anywhere to achieve their potential. I want the online education alternative provision sector
to move from the periphery and into the mainstay of education provisions. For many
students AP is a last resort, I’d like to see there just be various forms of education from the
outset and students and families having the agency to choose whichever medium works
best for them, their needs and their circumstances. By demonstrating excellence,
contributing to the evidence base, proving our impact and championing students at every
juncture, I hope that we can be instrumental in revolutionising education. In time, I’d like
Tute to be leading the charge on what makes excellent online education practitioners;
training, supporting and developing online teaching as a career path for teachers and
providing a pathway for online teacher qualifications and accreditation. We’ve got work to
do!