This is an impossible question to answer. After all, I don’t know you or your child. But I’ll stick to some general lessons that I’ve learned since starting my one-man tuition business. Perhaps some observations will help you with your decision.
Not all kids benefit from tuition
This might sound a strange and self-defeating admission from someone whose livelihood depends upon demand for private tuition. But to pretend otherwise would be dishonest and self-serving.
There are a handful of kids out there who would really resent the extra weekly demand of more schoolwork. Even though they may have the social grace to get on with it and try to pretend that they are listening to the tutor, it’s evident to the tutor when a child is neither listening nor motivated. It becomes a painful experience for child and tutor… and eventually the parent.
One simple test that may help you work out if this applies to your child is to suggest you are going to arrange for them to have a tutor. Watch their reaction! A roll of the eyes, an exasperated sigh, an manipulative effort to make you feel guilty, or a mild protest do not mean your child wouldn’t benefit from tuition. That’s called being normal!
But a protest that grows stronger and stronger each time you mention tuition – even tears – are signs that your child is not likely to engage in the lessons. You will therefore not only be out of pocket. Your child will gain nothing academically or confidence-wise from the venture.
Kids who find new social situations challenging
In the case of kids who find it difficult to engage with new people and in unfamiliar surroundings, I have found, by and large, that private tuition is a very good idea. Not only are you addressing your child’s academic needs, you are addressing the challenges that they face in order to function within wider society.
Regular contact with one single professional ought to help the child realise that they can build social connections with new people. The world becomes a slightly less fearful place for them. In a classroom setting, many kids are too aware of how others perceive them and become afraid to engage in lessons. Not only this, their teacher has somewhere around 30 other kids to attend to. It’s impossible for them to continually ensure that each child feels comfortable.
What I love about private tuition is that, if my student does not get something and is beginning to become frustrated – even upset – at their lack of progress, I can stop and deal with this problem head-on. I can assure them that their failure to grasp something is probably my fault, and not theirs. After all, it is my responsibility to know what they understand; it is my responsibility to seek the most effective way to communicate with the child; it is my responsibility to adapt. I must meet them halfway: after all, they have already had to make a compromise by attending private tuition each week! I have found that such direct honesty with children builds their trust in the good intentions of others, and confidence in themselves.
So, if you come across a tutor with available spaces, either try to speak to them by phone or send them a detailed email, outlining as much as you are willing to share of the challenges that your child faces. Do not commit to the tutor yet! You should wait to hear back from them then discern how much interest they have in your child.
A good tutor will be honest enough to say that things should be taken slowly. Their initial priorities should be to earn your child’s trust, to not set a heavy workload, to even intersperse classes with ‘downtime’ (doing something that your child likes or simply having a chat about their interests). The tutor will then gradually set more soft boundaries and slowly raise expectations of the work that should be produced within the session.
Kids who already sit in the ‘top group’
Obviously not all kids who perform well in class need a tutor. A large proportion of the kids sent to Catapult are such kids. Without tuition they still have every chance of doing well in Transfer Tests, getting excellent in-school assessment scores and having glowing end-of-year reports. So, are their parents wasting time and money? Absolutely not! And I mean that for every single one of the high-performing kids that I’ve worked with. How so?
A child who performs well in Maths and Literacy tends to have fewer hesitations in learning even more about Maths and Literacy (even if they won’t admit it openly). A child who performs well in Maths and Literacy enjoys getting a ‘sneak preview’ of the topics that haven’t yet been covered in school.
Not only this, a child who performs well in Maths and Literacy does not by any stretch of the imagination equate to a confident child. Many feel that they are just one ‘test’ away from failure. Many judge their school success against the child who is at the very top of the class (particularly if this child also happens to be their best friend). In other words, they recognise their imperfections more than their achievements.
A good tutor will, on the one hand, address these imperfections while, at the same time, make it clear to the child just how well they are performing. They will provide the meaningful praise that the child yearns for and – more importantly – provide the evidence that such praise is deserved and not empty.
So, when I say that such kids don’t need a tutor, I mean so purely on the academic level. On the emotional level however, having a private tutor to help sustain and further their progress will strengthen their self-confidence and make school a much more pleasurable experience.
Kids who do not sit in the ‘top group’
These are the kids you would suspect need private tuition the most. Little needs explained as to why extra work would help them. A good tutor will identify the Maths and Literacy basics that these kids have not understood. They will take as long as is necessary to help the kids understand these basics; a good tutor knows that, once a child grasps the fundamentals, progress beyond that point becomes very fast. My only advice to parents would be to have patience in the initial months: the tutor has recognised the key issues that need to be addressed and knows that it is unwise to change focus until such issues are successfully dealt with first.
However, if your child is not performing as well as you’d like at school and also falls into the category of child mentioned at the start of this post (the one who would resent you forever for sending them to tuition!) then private tuition would probably not give you the outcome you desire. It may first be necessary to commence negotiations with them. Treat their reluctance (and hostility!) with respect, and work out something meaningful and reasonable that they should get from you in return. Only then should you contact a tutor.
Be realistic
When it comes to Transfer Tests, I have come across many parents who are seeking private tuition for only the final couple of months before the tests: someone who could sort out the remaining problems and help boost their child’s final score.
I started my business in the summer of 2018 so was obviously more than happy to accommodate such parents (likewise in 2019 when I still had a few weekly spaces unfilled). What I discovered though was that children who were not performing well in September would typically still not be performing well enough in November.
In other words, be realistic with your expectations. There are dozens of Maths and Literacy themes covered in the tests. Many of these themes would take several lessons in themselves before a child is able to move on. Eight to ten weeks of classes are therefore not going to convert your child into a high-level performer (unless you want to pay for five classes per week!). It is much wiser to seek tuition sooner. I take on new students at the beginning of each calendar year. January is a much better time to start addressing the concepts that appear in Transfer Tests. It also removes the sense of urgency that can cause panic.
For parents of kids who perform well in practice tests but are also seeking tuition in the final months before the Transfer Tests, there is also a need for realism – but for a different reason. Tutors are typically looking for a guarantee of steady income so it will be tough to find a tutor who has availability at such a late stage in the process.
Who do you recommend?
Naturally I would have liked to sing my own praises! However, given that I am booked out for the next two years, I’m afraid that Catapult is unlikely to be able to help you.
In the coming months I hope to put together a list of tutors who come highly recommended. Retired teachers are often a good place to start but this will require some online searching, given that they aren’t desperate to build a long-term, full-time business, and thus will not be spending hundreds to rise up the Google search rankings! Check out Gumtree and the Next Door app for tutors like these. There are also likely to be a good number of qualified teachers who do not have full-time or permanent posts and are therefore depending on tuition to supplement their incomes.
However, when it comes to reputable and successful full-time tuition businesses, you need to get in there early.
Very early.
Plan years in advance.
Not months.