Yipiyap: My Inspiring Moments

Neil Hamilton Fairley

“Seeing how many of these young people struggled with Maths, despite their clear willingness to engage with the subject, imparted a sense of responsibility to help them as much as possible.”

I started working at a College for Yipiyap in September 2021, as a Maths Tutor. This meant that I was helping a wide range of students working towards various kinds of qualifications, whether A-levels or apprenticeships, to pass their resit in GCSE Maths. As I began to interact with students in class and in tutorials, it became evident that many had large gaps in their education. For instance, some would struggle to multiply, or could not apply some of the methods they were learning in class independently. These gaps in their ability were, no doubt, exacerbated by COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns, but many would report having never really engaged with Maths as a subject even before the Pandemic. Others had Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and felt that they had been left behind in previous schools where they had not been able to keep up.

Seeing how many of these young people struggled with Maths, despite their clear willingness to engage with the subject, imparted a sense of responsibility to help them as much as possible. It was clear that the college and Yipiyap were these students’ best chance of achieving their potential after a difficult couple of years.

Against this backdrop, it was striking that so many of the students I worked with went on to achieve a significant amount of progress in the academic year and regained a sense of self belief. I was fortunate to work with many inspiring individuals and picking just one or two of them is no easy task! So, I have picked a couple and made a list of some honourable mentions, instead.

“It was striking that so many of the students I worked with went on to achieve a significant amount of progress in the academic year and regained a sense of self belief.”

One of the students I worked with, who has SEND, felt that he had not made progress in Maths since year 6. He struggled to grasp fundamental concepts like division and his ability to multiply was impeded by a slow and unreliable method. Over the course of several weeks, we were able to settle on a visual way of representing multiplication called the “Japanese method” that he was able to apply independently and was significantly faster and more reliable than his previous method. When he realised that he was able to follow this method and had improved so much, his face lit up and it helped him to feel much more motivated in class as well. This helped to create a sense of momentum for him, and it was very satisfying to help him make that breakthrough.

Another student that I worked with over the course of the year had previously struggled a lot with Maths and had had a schoolteacher say that he was not capable of learning Maths. This could not be further from the truth. Not only did the student in question pass his November resit, after only 2 months of tutorials, but his passion for the subject had been ignited. He continued tutorials and went on to sit the Higher Tier paper in the summer. Over the course of the tutorials, he was able to grapple with the Higher Tier topics and showed a good ability to explore them, asking intelligent questions and following the information he was given through to its conclusions. Needless to say, he no longer felt he was incapable of learning! Being a part of his complete transformation in his attitude to Maths and themselves was a genuinely inspiring and uplifting experience.

“It was a privilege to make a difference to the lives of so many young people.”

Other students had similar changes over the course of the year, when they realised that they were on track to get the coveted Level 4 or that they had finally grasped a subject they had been struggling with. Others were able to enjoy the problem-solving element of questions and went from having to be constantly reminded to attend tutorials to never missing a session, or improved their exam comprehension dramatically, even when English was not their first language. Other students showed near dizzying levels of dedication, attending tutorials even when a medical condition meant that they were unable to use their hands, or even if it was the only class that they had that day at the end of an hour commute. Teachers also reported their students had improved confidence after attending tutorials. It was a privilege to make a difference to the lives of so many young people.

“I learnt how much of a difference can be made to a person’s outlook by giving them the opportunity to learn at their own pace and in their own way.”

Playing a part in the growth and successes of these and other students made my time as a Tutor for Yipiyap a hugely rewarding experience. I learnt how much of a difference can be made to a person’s outlook by giving them the opportunity to learn at their own pace and in their own way. I learned a lot about pedagogy and as my experience grew, I also got some incredibly positive and heartfelt feedback from staff and students. Yipiyap also provided me with additional training to help support SEND students, which proved useful. This in turn helped me to develop my own confidence, which was very encouraging to me, having made the decision to change careers shortly before starting with Yipiyap.

Overall, I have enjoyed my time as a Tutor with Yipiyap. I have been supported to be as successful as I can be in this position by my colleagues and the tutorials themselves have been great, lending a high degree of job satisfaction by making a real difference to the lives of young people who have been through a lot in the last couple of years.