Cognita Tutoring is hoping to set a new standard in online education and also help students who have fallen behind during the global health pandemic, the group has said.

“We discovered the tutoring market is like the wild west,” Ian Thistlewood, general manager for Cognita Tutoring, said.

“With the arrival of Covid and many children falling behind”

“It’s unregulated by government, anyone can set themselves up as a tutor regardless of qualifications or experience, and there are massive variances in quality.”

The service will aim to “deliver the UK’s leading online tuition service that will support every child’s immediate educational concerns and set them up for future success”, he continued.

Teachers will be vetted by Cognita and trained to deliver online lessons that balance academic attainment with wellbeing and confidence building.

Cognita’s lessons are supplemented by micro-lesson provider CENTURY, which helps to assess students from the outset and supports progress with personalised learning.

CENTURY’s micro-lessons, known as ‘nuggets’, provide a customised learning path for students between lessons that hones in on areas a child is struggling with and ensures their learning stays on track.

Sessions range from £45 up to £70, and video feedback is provided to the parent throughout the course. Currently, subjects offered include English, Maths and Science for Year 3 through to Year 11.

Cognita highlighted that short regular tutoring sessions over a set period of time can be highly effective if linked with normal teaching, as found by research from The Education Endowment Foundation.

“At Cognita this has always been the goal: to provide an inspiring world of education,” Fidelma Murphy, the provider’s group education director said in statement.

“With the arrival of Covid and many children falling behind, Cognita’s successful foundation has been leveraged to create Cognita Tutoring, making expert tuition more accessible to the state-educated child.”