If you use a private tutor...

[DullUserName]

Having just stepped away from being a primary class teacher, I'm considering going into private tutoring. Would MNers be able to help me out with gauging some background information please?

What age(s) is/are your DC?
For which subject do you have the tutor?
What's your main reason for having the tutor?

Many thanks

[semideponent]

We had an English tutor for 10 year old dd because she was preparing for 11+ exams at the same time as being (temporarily) homeschooled. She was young for her year and (we thought) underachieving at her previous school. We helped her with maths but she needed a different face and approach for her English, particularly someone who could motivate her to write at length.

Hope that helps.

[ReallyTired]

Ds had tutoring for two terms to improve his writing skills. He was taught in a group of 4 and we paid £23 for one hour and half. He was also set an hour and half of homework. The tutor got him from 3c to 5c in two terms.

[suit2845321oie]

I've used tutors for my eldest two. Eldest had a tutor as the primary school was failing and we could see that there were serious issues with English teaching. We did this for 3 years. Stopped for year 7 when we realised that there was still ground to catch up and started again for year 8.

Another child is just about to have 5 or 6 maths lessons over the summer to really make sure that understanding of core concepts is sound as they wont co- operate with me.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

DD (10, just finished yr 5) has had tutoring for 2 years, for English, she never grasped phonics and has terrible problems with spelling, we now know she is dyslexic. She will probably need to continue with it through secondary school.

[DullUserName]

Thank you all!

[dungandbother]

Full 11+ area.
DD began half way through yr 4 age 8 1/2. She finds maths difficult and the change in curriculum left her failing.

She's caught up her maths completely in 6 months.

However I will continue for another year for more maths grounding and 11+ prep specifically non verbal. She doesn't need VR as her literacy is excellent.

She adores her tutor time.

[AllTheFluffyAnimals]

My two are 6 and 9 and go to a kip mcgrath centre for maths. They absolutely adore it and dd2 kicked off a bit tonight when she realised it is shut for summer. The normal price is £30 for an hour and a half in a small group of 4/5 kids with a qualified teacher and it can be claimed as childcare on tax credits - that could be something worth looking into providing as it is a big selling point imo.

[tooyoungtobeagrandma]

We have taken on a tutor to help with my grandson's maths as he is behind the rest of his class (just finished Y3). He is a child that needs lots of 1-1 help to take on concepts and the present education system simply does not seem able to help struggling children, they are just left to flounder. We pay £24 an hour for 4 hours a week over the summer and I have gone back to temp work to pay for it. I consider it an investment. I have also tutored him myself with his reading which has paid dividends, but I just don't know where to start with maths so I'd rather pay someone who does.

[YogaPants2441]

I started looking for a new really good and patent tutor and qualified acting teacher for my DC - one in primary year 5 and another in secondary in year 7. I am looking specifically for a EAL specialist as the last tutor so far advised that our issues with English are coming from the fact that English is not our first language.
My DS improved a lot, but my DD has issues with concentration.
Both need emphasis on their English overall and also to keep their Maths up to the best they can achieve.

Have been looking for a good tutor, who enjoys challenges, is a qualified teacher, knows the new National Curriculum and testing system and can travel to our home.

It helped a lot in the past for my son to have tutors. From bottom level in his class he got to one of the best in school at Maths, but not in English still. All children in my daughter's class work with a private tutor.

There are tutors who have not been teachers or anything near this but prepared their children for 11+ or other exams and earn well from this. However I believe that a proper tutor has to be very informed and also work in a school environment (or have experience at least) to be able to spot the weaknesses and have a strategy to overcome them.

[The2Ateam]

Please someone PM me details of a good tutor in south-east London, Kent Borders. It would be most appreciated. Finding this all a bit of a minefield!!