FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What arrangements have you made during the coronavirus pandemic?

Who can benefit from Better Tuition, Urmston?

Who will be teaching my child?

What facilities for learning do you provide?

How can I be sure my child is making real progress?

Do you offer any FREE events?

What lesson times are available?

How much do lessons cost?

How can I book a place on your summer school?

How can I book a practice entrance exam?

Can you tell me more about your entrance exam masterclasses?

How can I find out more?

What arrangements have you made during the coronavirus pandemic?

We now offer extremely popular online lessons via Zoom. Read more about our bespoke online tuition service here. We shall be reopening our tuition centre from 8th September. All government guidelines will be followed. This will include hand washing and sanitisation, frequent cleaning of surfaces and toilets and social distancing as advised by the government. Parents and carers will not be allowed into the centre but written feedback will be given after each lesson and you are always welcome to call Paul or Christine to discuss your child’s progress.

Who can benefit from Better Tuition, Urmston?

We tutor young people aged 5 – 16, from Year 1 up to and including GCSE level. Whether your child needs help to boost skills, fill in gaps in learning, prepare for an examination or to increase self-belief and confidence, we can help. We challenge our students to achieve far more than they thought possible. We are experts in Special Educational Needs and can offer dyslexia screening and diagnosis.

Get in touch to book your FREE assessment if…

….you need help in preparing for SATs, GCSEs or grammar school entrance exams;

… your child lacks confidence or needs to be more challenged;

… you would like to give your child general academic support to help him/ her achieve as much as possible throughout his/ her school career.

What parents say:

“I’ve often walked past and wondered whether you could help Callum with his spellings – I’m glad I called in.”

“I cannot believe the difference you have made to my son’s reading scores in just a few short weeks – he’s like a different boy!”

Read our testimonials from parents.

^ back to top

Who will be teaching my child?

Our dedicated team of fully qualified teachers is headed up by Christine McLaughlin and Paul Syrett. Paul and Christine are graduates of elite, Russell Group universities and have taught in grammar schools, comprehensives and primary schools.

In 2008 we decided to set up our tuition service in Urmston. We wanted to offer extra support to children wherever it was needed. We understand that all children are unique and that there are many different reasons for seeking tuition.

We offer expertise, enthusiasm and a complete commitment to your child’s educational progress. Our tutor team offers the very highest standards of professionalism and dedication. We are always cheerful and welcoming and never forget our primary aim: helping your child succeed in school.

What the parents say:

“The centre teachers are so positive and helpful: nothing is too much trouble. Eleanor’s tutor really took the time to work out a study path that was just right for her.”

^ back to top

What facilities for learning do you provide?

We believe we offer the perfect conditions for learning. Lessons take place in small classrooms. The atmosphere is pleasant and industrious. Most importantly, our lessons are designed to help your child achieve maximum focus. Our learning environment is formal yet friendly and promotes high levels of concentration. If your child struggles to concentrate in school, it is very likely that you will find s/he can focus in lessons at Better Tuition. The children do not chat to each other while working: they are far too busy for that. Nevertheless, they enjoy having other students in the same room: motivation is infectious and we find that our learners are spurred on by each other. In this way, we build strong study skills which we hope will stay with our students for life.

Your child will work primarily on paper whilst at Better Tuition. Why? Because almost all exams (the multiplication tables check being an exception) are paper-based. Furthermore, it is an established fact that learning is more meaningful and memorable when it centres around pen-and-paper activities, compared with computer-based learning which is too easily forgotten.

Having said that, we use computers to back up our students’ learning, as well as visual, audio and kinaesthetic learning aids. For example, a student may investigate the properties of 3D shapes using our box of shapes and with guidance from his/ her tutor.

The student will then record the findings of his/ her investigation on paper. After this has been checked by the tutor, s/he may complete a short activity on the computer to reinforce knowledge of 3D shapes.

Better Tuition is home to an unparalleled range of resources. We have thousands of text books, worksheets and other learning aids. It was very important to us that the software we use in the centre was tailored to the individual needs of our students and we are proud to have contributed to the development of the computer software we use on a consultancy basis. We provide paper-based homework and, as a supplement to this, we have an online portal on which your child may tackle any one of thousands of activities.

Moreover, we also develop and write our own resources so that if, for example, your child sits a practice entrance exam with us, you can be assured that s/he will not have encountered the same paper elsewhere. To view the quality of our resources, visit our download store, where we provide FREE and low-cost workbooks and exam papers, such as our extremely popular creative writing workbook.

What the parents say:

“The centre is brightly decorated and very welcoming and the range of different resources is breathtaking!”

^ back to top

How can I be sure my child is making real progress?

If your child comes for lessons at Better Tuition, you won’t need to wait for his/ her end of year school report or exam results to discover whether progress has been made. The progress your child makes will be evident and your child’s teacher will more than likely mention that they can see a huge difference.

You will begin with a FREE, no obligation assessment or trial lesson. This gives our teachers the chance to meet with you and discuss your reasons for seeking tuition. We can also pinpoint strengths, weaknesses and the strategies needed to help your child progress towards his/ her learning goals.

Our lessons are based on two things: your child’s learning goals and his/ her learning needs. Individual tuition within a small group means that we focus on your child’s exact requirements. Your child’s tutor will design learning activities which will aim to fill in gaps in learning, strengthen and extend knowledge, boost confidence and build strong study skills. You will see results very, very quickly.

Each of our students has an individual lesson plan and we will report on each of the activities completed at the end of every lesson. You will see that assessment is ongoing and embedded in every lesson. Parent feedback is really important to us and we will ensure that you understand our areas of focus as well as our plans for future lessons. This will help you to support your child at home. Many parents have described it as being like a mini Parents’ Evening each and every week.

Outside of lesson times, you may call Paul or Christine on 0161 748 3912 at any time to discuss your child’s progress. This number diverts to our mobile phone, so you don’t need to check whether we are open first. We are always happy to take your call.

In addition to this, we will regularly repeat the formal assessment we carried out initially in order to check progress in a clearly measurable way.

What the parents say:

“It’s like a mini-parent’s evening every week and I feel so reassured that my child is making great strides.”

^ back to top

Do you offer any FREE events?

We offer several free events throughout the year, including . Contact us for more information.

In addition to this, all prospective customers are offered a FREE assessment.

To book a FREE assessment or FREE trial session, please fill in the form below. Please note that our free assessment/ trial sessions are for prospective customers only.

What the parents say:

“I called in to a free education surgery to ask about how I could help my son learn his times tables and came out armed with lots of advice and pointers.”

^ back to top

What lesson times are available?

Our online lessons can be scheduled at any time from 7.30am until 7.30pm.

Read about our bespoke online tuition services here.

When in-centre lessons are running, they take place at the following times:

Monday: 4.00pm – 5.15pm/ 5.30 – 6.45pm
Tuesday: 4.00pm – 5.15pm/ 5.30pm – 6.45pm
Wednesday: 4.00pm – 5.15pm/ 5.30pm – 6.45pm
Thursday: 4.00pm – 5.15pm/ 5.30pm – 6.45pm
Friday: 5.00pm – 6.15pm
Saturday: 9.00am – 10.20am/ 10.30am – 11.50am

^ back to top

How much do lessons cost?

Our in-centre lessons cost £31 per 75 minute session with a qualified teacher. This is equivalent to £24.80 per hour. This includes homework and access to online resources. Online tuition costs £24 per hour and includes homework and access to online resources. There are no hidden costs: we do not ask you to pay extra for books and resources. Everything is included at Better Tuition. Check our Special Offers page for discounted rates.

What the parents say:

“When I did my sums I realised that Better Tuition is very competitively priced. They’re not the cheapest, but you do get what you pay for when it comes to tuition. I think £31 is an excellent price to pay for 75 minutes with a qualified teacher plus homework. ”

“I saved a lot of money paying for lessons with childcare vouchers.”

^ back to top

How can I find out more?

Contact us at any time to discuss how we can help your child with a FREE assessment and/or tuition in our professionally equipped centre in Urmston or online.

^ back to top