Our Teaching Approach
Methodical Excellence in SATs Preparation
At PM Education, our sessions are designed to support more than success in assessments. We believe meaningful progress comes from securing the fundamental knowledge, skills and understanding that children need to succeed across Reading, Writing and Maths.
Before beginning tuition, pupils complete an initial assessment to identify their strengths, gaps in knowledge and areas for further development. This information helps us carefully structure teaching around the needs of the group, while providing targeted support for individual pupils.
Rather than relying on repetition or memorisation alone, our sessions focus on developing secure understanding, making meaningful connections between concepts and building knowledge and skills that pupils can retain, recall and apply independently.
Why Small Groups?
Our sessions are intentionally designed as small-group learning experiences rather than one-to-one tuition.
Small groups create opportunities for pupils to explain their thinking, discuss and develop ideas, justify reasoning and learn from the perspectives of others. These interactions help children build confidence while deepening their understanding of key concepts.
Research from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) highlights the benefits of structured oral language approaches, with evidence suggesting an average of six months' additional progress when these approaches are implemented effectively.
Through carefully structured discussion, pupils are encouraged to explore ideas, articulate their understanding and apply their learning with increasing confidence and independence.
The Importance of Oracy and Verbal Reasoning
Strong learning depends on more than completing questions correctly.
Children need opportunities to articulate ideas, explain their thinking, use subject-specific vocabulary and respond to the ideas of others.
Research highlighted by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) demonstrates that oral language approaches can improve learning outcomes, particularly when discussion is closely linked to curriculum content.
Within PM Education sessions, discussion is used as a tool for learning. Pupils are encouraged to think aloud, explain strategies, justify reasoning, explore vocabulary and rehearse ideas before expressing them in writing.
These opportunities deepen understanding, strengthen communication skills and develop the confidence to apply learning independently across Reading, Writing and Maths.
Building Secure Long-Term Understanding
Effective learning is not about memorising procedures or preparing for a single assessment.
Our approach focuses on helping pupils develop secure knowledge and skills that can be retained, recalled and applied independently across different contexts.
Through carefully sequenced teaching, explicit modelling, retrieval practice, purposeful discussion and guided practice, pupils develop strong foundations in Reading, Writing and Maths.
Our goal is not simply short-term academic success, but lasting understanding, growing independence and the confidence to tackle new challenges.
Evidence-Based Research
Our teaching approach is informed by leading educational research.
EEF: Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3Â
EEF: Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2
EEF: Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1
EEF: Oral Language InterventionsÂ
EEF: What does the evidence base tell us about effective oral language practice?
Chartered College: The developmental importance of oracy in closing the gap