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Original poster

Not sure if Kip McGrath is worth it?

16 replies

GoldRhino · 15/05/2021 17:45

Hi all.

Ds moved schools due to bullying in November 2019 and since he has arrived at his new school he has taken a dip. He is in year 5. He used to be exceeding expectations on reports and now is ‘working towards’ meeting expectations. I suspect his confidence took a major knock as he is now in a class of massively brainy kids, some of whom are the children of surgeons etc.

His teacher suggested tutoring so we started doing Kip McGrath online from Jan. I can’t really see that he is getting much from their sessions though. He just gets on with the activities set and he will ask for help maybe four times a session and the guy will explain the sum to him. Other than that, he gets zero interaction. I wonder if it’s worth the £100 a month and him sitting there til 7pm while tired from school working on it all.

What do we think?

OP posts:
bonfireheart · 15/05/2021 17:50

OP I've tried online tuition for DD and a tuition centre. And tbh what I found worked was...
CGP workbooks
Access to an online maths app such as Hegarty Maths
Twinkl for deep dives into topics

Original poster
GoldRhino · 15/05/2021 19:04

Out of interest @bonfireheart what didn’t work about tutoring in your experience?

OP posts:
Mumdiva99 · 15/05/2021 19:16

No. Not worth it if that's the level of interaction.

It might be that the schools are assessing at different levels e.g. at one school he exceeded but in new school they judge that to be meeting expectations. So he hasn't dipped at all......shouldn't happen but does.

2 of my kids had small group tutoring for 1 year each. It was brilliant and they learnt a lot but it was more expensive than KmG. Could you look for a real life tutor if you really think he needs it.

But.....if he has been out of school for all the lockdowns his learning has been impacted massively and that isn't his fault. Schools have 'catch up funding' - so really they should help him if he has slipped. There is also a scheme for subsidised tutoring.... National Tutoring Programme. You could look into that. (If you are PP then they should really step up to support him).

Starlightstarbright1 · 15/05/2021 19:21

My son has done some online kip Mcgrath and twice gone into Kip Mcgrath.

I would say attending was far more helpful. I think he was much more able to ask for help

bonfireheart · 15/05/2021 21:27

It wasn't Kip but something similar, can't remember the name but it was lots of worksheets, that DD marked herself whilst he just watcher here!

I've just remembered we did also use My Tutor for English and Maths during homeschooling. Her Maths tutor was amazing but then got a teaching job abroad and I was gutted. English tutor was great too. Both were interactive, engaging, fun and really good value for money. I'd take that over Kip and the others any day.

Hen2018 · 15/05/2021 21:32

Poor little chap. When does he get a break from academic work?

WithLargeTableMouse · 15/05/2021 21:36

My ds did a few weeks at Kip McGrath to prepare for the 11+ and really enjoyed it, his 2 classmates got a private tutor and failed, while ds passed. 10 yr old Dd now has in centre tuition as she has always been a couple of years behind her year group, and obviously missed months of schooling last year with lockdown and piss poor parenting/home learning; she’s been going since September and she’s catching up to her classmates really well and school recently tested her and said her reading age came out as 12.5 yrs old so I’m convinced. She gets a lot more out of in centre sessions than she did when it was online based during this years lockdown though. If you can do that instead I definitely recommend it. Smile

Original poster
GoldRhino · 15/05/2021 22:02

@Hen2018 he has a lot of downtime. Does two football clubs a week by his own choosing, has an hour to play on the PlayStation every day and watch tv too. Kip is only 1.5 hours a week.

@Mumdiva99 it seems crazy that they’d have such different expectations. It’s made him feel really shitty to be ‘below’ acceptable. ☹️

OP posts:
ChocOrange1 · 15/05/2021 22:06

Is that 7pm every night? Seems like a lot if so.
I would personally look into getting a proper private tutor, like a real person who comes to your house. If its a confidence boost you need, sitting on a computer doing worksheets and very little human interaction isn't going to make any difference. Depending on location you could pay £25 for an hours real tuition, so it works out about the same cost monthly and worth far more.

HollyGoLoudly1 · 15/05/2021 22:10

I'm surprised the teacher recommended private tutoring as a first resort. What is the teacher/school putting in place to support him?

Has he always been 'working towards' in the new school? I wonder if the teacher/school is possibly stricter than his last school.

If you do want to go down the private tutoring group I would say it really needs to be face to face for pupils to get the most out of it, especially with his age group. You could try Facebook or teacher friends and see if you can find a primary teacher who tutors on the side maybe?

Original poster
GoldRhino · 15/05/2021 22:23

No it’s one night a week not every night.
His teacher also does a once a week session for some of the kids to do maths with her- he is also doing that.
I was thinking a private one to one tutor might be better too. Much more interaction.

OP posts:
Original poster
GoldRhino · 15/05/2021 22:24

He was never viewed as ‘working to meet expectations’ until he started at this school. He is in a class with ridiculously clever kids...

OP posts:
HollyGoLoudly1 · 16/05/2021 20:15

@GoldRhino

He was never viewed as ‘working to meet expectations’ until he started at this school. He is in a class with ridiculously clever kids...
It's possible then that he's actually working at the same standard as before but the school has a different approach to assigning his level.

It must be tough for his starting somewhere new under these circumstances, I'm not surprised his confidence is knocked a bit. If you haven't already, I'd maybe arrange a chat with the teacher and make sure they're aware of all this. You would he surprised at what info doesn't get passed along to us classroom teachers sometimes!

thatllberight · 16/05/2021 20:29

It could also be that the school has set him as that level while they assess him properly.

Original poster
GoldRhino · 16/05/2021 21:59

@HollyGoLoudly1 I did sent them a long email saying that he had been in tears having lost a lot of confidence and the headteacher came to me and said we will support him, don’t worry.

I think I will ask to speak to his teacher tomorrow and ask what specifically he needs help with and try and get him the right assistance based on that information.

OP posts:
lostlife · 16/05/2021 22:10

Look at Oak Academy lessons- free

all I can say is that teachers who leave school mid-term seem to turn up at Kip McGrath.

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