Choosing a tutor
If the year-on-year increase in our student numbers are anything to go by, more and more parents are choosing to engage a tutor. Whether you need someone to help your child catch up, to achieve an academic goal such as passing GCSE examinations or simply to support them in reaching their full potential, choosing a tutor presents a dilemma because there are so many tutors around, offering widely varying services. So how do you sort the wheat from the chaff and select a tutor who will devote themselves to increasing your child’s confidence and academic attainment?
- Better Tuition: celebrating five fantastic years of tuition on the corner of Crofts Bank Rd.
1. Is it all about the money?
Unfortunately, because the market for tuition has grown so much over the past few years, there are more than a few charlatans for whom education is no more than a money-making scheme. They may talk themselves up with their endless marketing budgets but when all is said and done you need a tutor who will understand your child’s individual needs and recognise their unique qualities. Don’t sign up for online or DVD-led tuition: in our opinion these services cannot hope to respond to your child in the same way as a live tutor. Some tuition services ask parents to sign up for long periods of time (even years) and you do have to question why they do this if their service is worthwhile.
The best tutors seldom advertise because, like Better Tuition, they receive nearly all their business through word-of-mouth recommendation. Yes, we charge money for our services – but at £25* per 75 minute session we are not the priciest and you receive a great return on this investment in your child’s future. You are not signed up for a set period and you don’t pay in advance (unless you want to). We ask for a deposit of £25* which you can use at any time to pay for your final lesson.
*Update January 2015: these figures should now read £26.
Beware of tutors who seem extraordinarily low-priced and be wary of those who seem to offer very little for a very high price. Try to find a tutor through word-of-mouth in the right price-range for you, but do bear in mind that not all parents are good at evaluating tutors, so personal recommendations are not the only thing to take into account.
2. Learning environment
Some tutors will come to your home; others may ask you to come to their home, but most families choose to send their children to a professional tuition centre such as Better Tuition. Always check whether your chosen tuition centre is a member of The Association of Professional Tuition Centres – the only body in the country that exclusively groups together independent tuition centres staffed by fully qualified teachers. Association members work together to develop resources and enrich the learning experience of their students. You can visit their website to find your nearest independent tuition centre.
Better Tuition offers a free assessment for your child, giving you the opportunity to look around our beautiful tuition centre and meet one or both Directors of Teaching and Learning – Paul Syrett and Christine McLaughlin. It’s a lovely introduction to our service and you are under no obligation whatsoever to sign up for lessons afterwards.
Most tuition centres do offer a free assessment and you might like to book a couple, for the sake of comparison. A sterile environment suggests a dry approach to learning, so Better Tuition offers a bright and inspiring environment that ignites enthusiasm for learning from the outset.
- Better Tuition offers a bright and inspiring learning environment.
3. Regulation, qualification and verification
- Better Tuition is a founding member of the APTC.
Better Tuition is an independent tuition centre whose teaching team are completely dedicated to helping your child succeed. Our teachers are top-notch and each and every one of them is fully qualified. Not all tutors are fully qualified teachers. There are some great tutors who do not have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) – but QTS is a good indicator of a tutor’s commitment to education. When we helped found the Association of Professional Tuition Centres we were all firmly united in deciding to make QTS a minimum requirement of membership.
Standards of education vary – even among teachers. Paul Syrett and Christine McLaughlin – Better Tuition’s Directors of Teaching and Learning – are graduates of elite, Russell Group universities. We regularly hear horror stories of tutors who struggle to understand fractions or cannot employ basic punctuation and spelling rules. Study their website or advertisements closely – if you spot grammatical errors or a propensity to add Unnecessary Punctuation(!!!), they are unlikely to come up to scratch as a tutor for your child.
There is no legal requirement for your child’s tutor to have a DBS (previously CRB) check, but it is the very least you should expect from them. The whole teaching team at Better Tuition is CRB/ DBS checked and many of us, including the Centre Directors, are first aid trained. We are Ofsted registered, which means you can use childcare vouchers or working families tax credits to pay towards lessons.
4. How to evaluate your child’s progress with a tutor
At Better Tuition, assessment is constant and reflective.
Firstly, we offer a free, initial assessment. We don’t send you away during the assessment (although you are welcome to pop out if your child is comfortable with this) and we give you detailed feedback afterwards.
Next, our teachers ensure that ongoing assessment is embedded in each and every lesson and you will see real, measurable progress every week.
We will assess your child formally every twelve weeks and you will receive a written report which will comment on their progress and compare their current scores with their previous scores as well as providing new targets to work towards.
- The Better Tuition Centre has helped hundreds of children in Urmston and Stretford achieve their educational goals.
5. Dedication
At Better Tuition we work as a team with parents: we give verbal feedback after every single lesson. Parents are shown the lesson plan for their child, as well as their child’s completed work, and each activity is explained. Equally importantly, we listen to parents and value their input. You can call Directors of Teaching and Learning, Paul Syrett and Christine McLaughlin at any time on 0161 748 3912 to discuss your child’s progress. We are celebrating five years* in business and we offer unrivalled expertise, commitment and dedication to helping your child achieve their academic and personal goals.
*Update, January 2015 – we are now in our seventh year of business.
For more details about our tuition service you can call in to our Urmston tuition centre or ring Paul Syrett or Christine McLaughlin on 0161 748 3912 any time.
