Do you think your child might benefit from a tutor?
Then look no further than TuitionWorks.
With children having a growing access to technology and the internet, alongside a rise in the popularity of home education, online tutoring platforms have become a popular choice for interactive teaching and learning. COVID-19 has had a big impact on children’s access to classroom learning and whilst (I hope) schooling is back to normal, many parents are worried that their children have fallen behind academically. Tuition offers an effective way to support a child’s education, providing them with a personal mentor and role model. A huge positive is that a tutor can offer support on a one-to-one basis to make education personal and is not limited by the constraints of other children on a primary teacher’s time.
You may be thinking that hiring a private tutor would be beneficial short term before important tests, or like me to provide encouragement and reassurance to pupils feeling overwhelmed by the classroom, rather than just focusing on improving mathematical ability. The subject is important, but a tutor will also teach new skills and good learning habits in an environment your child is comfortable and relaxed in. Unlike classroom learning students don’t have to match the pace of the whole class.
The decision to provide your school aged child with an extra academic boost is one that can divide parents. Will your child enjoy the process or feel overburdened with more commitments after a long school day, can you afford it etc?
You want to be certain you have done enough research and know enough about the tuition options available to you before making any decision.
The benefits of choosing online tutoring.
Online tutoring is an increasingly popular option. You get the same support and quality as a more traditional tutoring option, but at a much lower price since the tuition is less resource intensive. Children enjoy the novel aspects of learning this way and learning is enhanced using interactive tools. Learn at a family’s convenience. A few basic requirements such as a computer and an internet connection and you can learn from anywhere. One of the major benefits of online tuition is getting the best tutor regardless of your location or theirs – a student is not limited to tutors that live nearby.
Introducing TuitionWorks maths tuition.
If you are looking for online maths tuition (For Key Stage 1 to A Level) with qualified specialist tutors, look no further than TuitionWorks. Part of the Supporting Education Group for over 25 years, the experienced team have been providing learning support to millions of pupils across the UK. They are driven by the desire to improve educational outcomes for all. All tuition is 1:1 with each student getting their own dedicated virtual classroom. I like the really responsive Customer Success team who contact you within one working day and answer any questions you have – this is a good opportunity to give any specific information you may want to share about your child – learning needs etc.
As a starting point they offer a free 15-minute online assessment to make sure your child’s learning is focused on where they most need it, followed by an informal 15-minute tutor introduction where they discuss the results and how this might impact their tutoring approach. The assessment consists of multiple-choice questions covering several maths topics. My son enjoyed it; I will say that is has a timer for a guide but keep going until all the questions are completed (which took Leo 20mins/half hour). I learnt that I do not know what a Trapezium is. The results are immediate with a percentage and breakdown of how your child achieved in each area. It was helpful to me to see as he was struggling with time which was a surprise.
You can browse available tutors or let TuitionWork match a tutor based on your child’s needs. There are three price level tiers based on tutor experience (from £35/hr up to £75/hr). Payment is made after each lesson or can also be booked and paid for in blocks of lessons. There is no contractual obligation to book a minimum number of lessons/hours which I like. Pick your preferred times and dates. I found 4pm a good time as Leo has enough time to have a snack and change after school but was still in learning mode. He also did not have any clubs on the day we chose. The duration will broadly depend on the age and concentration span of your child. My son is 10 and had an hour. Then the team will arrange everything, securing the same tutor for every lesson which I think is important for consistency and a positive learning relationship. Reminders and link to your lesson are sent before your scheduled time. The whole set up is efficient and very professional. At each 12-week interval, they offer progress assessments and parent/tutor meetings. I like that TuitionWorks are flexible if a parent cancels with more than 24-hours’ notice you do not have to pay the lesson cost.
Leo’s TuitionWorks Maths session.
There is no need to download any software or apps. Clients, students, and tutors can all access lessons via login to the TuitionWorks Dashboard. (It does work best on Chrome/Firefox). From there you view your profile (calendar, lesson reports, documents, billing, and the Whiteboard tab). As a parent it is important to help your child prepare, so make sure they are familiar with the state-of-the-art online classroom tool – the TuitionWorks Whiteboard (you can have a peep at its layout by logging into your lesson prior to the time and there is a useful manual). The site is easy to navigate, use and learn on. The classroom is set up to make maths engaging and easy to learn with tools to draw equations, graphs, shapes, and more! Work completed can be easily saved as a PDF to print off or work from later. Make sure your child has everything they will need for their session – papers and pencils, but also something to drink and a phone with a timer. The tutor will be available via a built-in video chat for the duration of the lesson and will be able to answer any questions about the classroom. P.s students do not have to appear on webcam if they do not want to. Your child can participate in lessons without adult supervision; however, it is possible for you to sit in on a lesson if you would prefer.
Linking in with what was discussed in the meet session Leo and his tutor did some sums and discussed alternative methods of working. He quickly recognised areas that Leo can improve on in just one lesson. Leo is a very visual, practical learner and the Whiteboard allows for tutors to demonstrate examples then encourage your child to try It themselves, rather than them just passively listen. They worked through multiplication then progressed that onto shape and calculating areas and perimeters. Each tutor will provide a lesson report for each completed lesson so it acts as a resource as well as being used to map progress. This will be automatically emailed and will also be available in the TuitionWorks Dashboard.
TuitionWorks offer a planned tailored tuition of learning objectives that has been developed to work on areas of improvement identified by the assessment (as well as through the sessions) and match what your child will be learning through the national curriculum at school. Parental tip: have an idea of strengths and weaknesses of your child to help the programme be more personalised – there is nothing stopping you asking their teacher.
Leo’s TuitionWorks Maths tutor.
One of the keys to a successful tutoring experience is a good relationship between the tutor and your child (and you). Leo has SEN and alongside this he experiences a lot of anxiety. In-person social interaction makes him uncomfortable, but it was heart-warming for me to see him immediately enjoy talking with his tutor. Chris provided a friendly service and explained difficult topics in a straightforward, relaxed and clear manner. He was confident and knowledgeable which ignited Leo’s enthusiasm and desire to better understand the content. I found reassurance that he is currently teaching in the classroom. He was able to keep Leo on task and move him forward subtlety and firmly from chatting about his bumped thumb and Pokemon…
The language Chris used was fab, he constantly was asking, ‘does that make sense?’, ‘can you explain why do you did that?’, Offering lots of encouragement without being over the top. He quickly noted Leo likes to rush to the answer so refocused him on the working out. Checking and reading questions. Leo said to me he liked being told how long activities were going to take – like when Chris said we will do this for 20 minutes.
Good things to look out for are how reliable tutors are, how many years of teaching experience they or the organisation has, whether the children they tutored liked them, and whether the parents liked them and thought that they were getting value for money. TuitionWorks has access to the UK’s largest workforce of teachers, outside the Department for Education. As fully qualified teachers, TuitionWorks tutors are trained to teach to the national curriculum’s requirements. They are experienced, professional, and fully vetted with up-to-date enhanced DBS checks. (Every lesson is also automatically recorded and safely stored for safeguarding purposes.) Tutor profiles offer a detailed about me, ‘what to expect from lessons’ and in-depth description of teaching experience section.
My tutor was very kind. He taught me new methods. I understood them well because he showed me how to do it. Tutoring was not like I thought. I thought it might be boring, that my tutor would focus on negative things and what I do bad. I was worried it would make me feel not clever. But instead, I have finished feeling really proud. I feel smart. Leo age 10.
My reason for encouraging my son to try tutoring was to help boost his self-esteem and confidence in himself, with his learning. He is achieving as expected at school but in one private online session was happily challenged with GCSE level work that he did and did well. What I loved was how his tutor ended the session recapping and recognising Leo’s achievements. He was beaming ear to ear the rest of the night, and I can see his huge potential for growth and improvement both in subject and attitude.
So, if you are looking to keep your child’s studies on track from home with one-to-one, interactive online tuition then we would recommend TuitionWorks as our experience was incredibly positive.
We are offering our followers 5% off their first 3 bookings (the requirement is they book at least 3 tuition lessons). To redeem this offer, followers can reference The Parenting Jungle when they enquire with TuitionWorks. The offer will expire June 30th.
#Ad. This post is written in collaboration with TuitionWorks. We were offered to trial a single tuition session fee free for the purposes of this review.
