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As policymakers look for ways to tackle learning loss and widening disadvantage gaps, tutoring continues to stand out as one of the strongest evidence-backed interventions available.

Even after the end of the National Tutoring Programme, the evidence has not changed. High-quality tutoring works. The Education Endowment Foundation has repeatedly found targeted small-group and one-to-one tutoring can deliver meaningful academic gains, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. So the government’s interest in safe AI tutoring tools is understandable. Done well, AI could widen access, personalise support and help address capacity challenges. But there is a difference between scaling support and automating relationships.

Where AI may help

There is genuine promise here. AI tutoring tools could support:

  • Personalised practice and feedback
  • Additional revision support outside school hours
  • Adaptive scaffolding for struggling learners
  • Support for over-stretched teachers and tutors

Evidence from intelligent tutoring systems suggests well-designed tools can improve outcomes in some contexts. This is worth exploring.

But tutoring is not only instructional

The risk comes when tutoring is reduced to content delivery. The strongest tutoring often works because of the relationship as much as the pedagogy. A good tutor does not just explain fractions. They build confidence. They notice withdrawal. They motivate. They create psychological safety.

For many disadvantaged young people, this trusted adult relationship may be as important as the academic intervention itself. And that is difficult to automate.

Why human connection still matters

Research on developmental relationships, including work by Search Institute, has long shown young people thrive when supported by caring adults who express belief, challenge growth and expand possibilities.

That aligns with what mentoring practitioners have known for years. Progress often happens through relationship first. Learning follows. AI may supplement this. It should not displace it.

What this means for One Degree Mentoring

For One Degree Mentoring, this moment is not about resisting innovation.

It is about shaping it. There is space for a blended future where:

  • AI supports personalised academic reinforcement
  • Human tutors and mentors provide relational depth
  • Technology increases reach without weakening trust

That distinction matters. Because the question is not whether AI belongs in tutoring. It is whether innovation strengthens the human relationships young people need. That is where mentoring offers something technology alone cannot. And likely never will.