Advice for SEN tutor/mentor

[HomeTutor]

Hi all,

I am an experienced teacher, who is now teaching and mentoring children with SEND, SEMH, and EOTAS. I go into their homes and deliver sessions to help progress and reach EHCP targets. Most contracts are circa 15 hours a week, in the pupils home.

These can be children from 4 to 18, who have various needs. Some severe (non verbal, ASD), some not so severe (school avoidance, ADHD).

I have a large amount of resources, such as guided reading, SPAG, and maths. But, if it was your child, what else would you like me to offer?

I'm thinking cooking, dog walking, maybe trying to secure some funding for equine/swimming/excursions?

I'm just here asking for ideas, so I can do the best job that I can. I've got imposter syndrome at the moment, and am doubting my ability as I've always been in a school setting, and I'm bloody terrified of letting these learners down!

It's scary going from structured classroom settings to 1:1, without 'back up', for want of a better expression!

Thanks in advance for any ideas you might have!

I’m not convinced that you know enough about the needs of autistic children to put them in your care on a day out

How can you know that?

Oh for goodness sake. They can't possibly know that. I've been teaching/working in a school setting with pupils with SEN/as a 1:1 for 15 years.

I'm pretty sure I'm all good!

I'm just asking parents who have had mentors/tutors provided by the LEA, what worked/what didn't/what you would have liked.

I want to do my new job well.

Ok well you didn’t explain that in your original post and I didn’t state that I definitely knew that I said I’m not convinced which is different. You came across as though this was new to you and for all I knew you might not have had the insurance or experience

Thanks for this post OP and this sounds like a wonderful and desperately needed service. My DD18 has autism and has been a school avoider in the past. Cooking would have been great and taking her out would definitely have helped. So many school avoiders vegetate at home and it takes lots of scaffolding to get them outside and doing things. Anything that helps with that is welcome

I tutor primary and offer wellbeing tutoring too, privately. Within this, I do Lego based play therapy. It's really popular with parents being keen for me to tutor in this and the children love it. I also do a variety of emotional and social programmes with children (self esteem, anger management, anxiety etc) which are very popular too. Might be worth doing some training/research?

This is worrying. What should be provided will depend on the individual child or young person’s needs, which should be reflected in their EHCPs, the SEP detailed, specified and quantified in F, and discussed as part of the commissioning of your service.

For some DC, academic tuition will be appropriate. Some DC will need academic work but delivered via an adapted curriculum (potentially a hands on curriculum). Some DC will require less formal tuition focusing on life skills and accessing the community. Some DC will require an entirely child led approach. Some will be unable to leave the house. Some will have teachers/tutors then a mentor/LSA/TA/HLTA separately in order to fulfil other aspects of their bespoke package, such as accessing the community and PfA. Some will have therapies, such as equine therapy or Lego therapy, separately. Some will have provision for sports/exercise separately from the tutor. Some will have provision for cookery lessons separately…

EOTAS packages are bespoke. It is a very different type of work to working schools. Experience in schools doesn’t always translate to a successful member of a child’s EOTAS team. It really is impossible to say what you should offer unknown DC with unknown EHCPs.

Just because a child is verbal, has ADHD and EBSNA does not mean their needs are less severe. They are different. They are complex enough to meet the legal threshold set out in section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 for it being inappropriate for provision to be made in a school.

I essentially did your job for 4 years and now work in a ks4 AP setting for academically able (mostly) ND students with mental health needs.

From experience I'd say you need to listen to and consider the needs and aspirations of each student/family individually. That you may not get that information from them in the early stages as often you need to build significant trust before they'll run the risk of another professional letting them down.

Don't offer/say you'll do anything where you can't 100% follow through.

Getting young people out of the house is really important (life skills, mental health etc) and the best way to do this will vary for each student. Aqa offer some "unit awards" that can be a useful motivator for older students and they cover every interest going.

Your relationship with students and their families will probably be very different to what it was as a teacher in schools - and it may open your eyes to some uncomfortable truths

Worrying? Someone trying to do their job to the best of their ability?

Fine, I'll stop before I start, and leave these children who need support at home. Sigh.

The LEA are crying out for home tutors, and I want to do my best. People are so bloody negative.

I'm genuinely thinking it'll be easier to stack shelves in Tesco. I keep being told how horrific it's going to be. So what?! These kids need someone to listen!

And the EHCP and EOTAS are VERY vague. If people think the majority are well planned, they are mistaken. We get a snippet of info, and are left to our own devices as tutors.

I can teach. I have lots of experience with SEN. What I've been tasked with, is going into homes and trying to reach a few 'outcomes' which are ambiguous. I want to do it well. Really well.

Yes, worrying. Because EOTIS/EOTAS packages are bespoke to the individual child or young person, and you should understand that.

EHCPs should not be vague and woolly. That is unlawful. Many are, yes, but that should not be excused. The EHCPs being vague is part of the problem. Parents should be supported to improve those EHCPs, via appealing if necessary. This is especially important for EOTAS/EOTIS (with or without a C on the end) packages, because SEP and funding are dependent on a watertight EHCP.

Outcomes shouldn’t be ambiguous either. They must legally be SMART.

We get a snippet of info, and are left to our own devices as tutors.

Not with good EOTAS/EOTIS packages you don’t/aren’t. Only when the EHCP is poor. Parents should be supported to improve their DC’s EHCP and thus EOTAS/EOTIS package. I say that as the parent of 2 DSs with EOTAS/EOTIS packages and someone who supports parents to secure comprehensive packages.

I’d want you to ask me want works for my DD and then to really listen.

And most importantly of all, to spend time to getting to know her and playing games and building a relationship before starting on the “work”. (We once had a tutor who walked in, got maths worksheets out, went straight for a “let’s get started”, and then seemed surprised when my autistic anxious school refuser locked herself in the bathroom and refused to come back out 🙈)

You are right that they shouldn’t be wooly, but the vast majority ARE. That isn’t the tutors issues to instantly overcome though.

I didn’t say it was the tutor’s fault. That doesn’t change the fact the provision the OP should/can offer is reliant on the SEP in F which is based on the needs in B and bespoke to the individual child’s needs. What tutors can/should be providing should also have been discussed during the commissioning process.

If the provision is “one hour of 1-1 key stage 2 literacy to be delivered at home twice a week” then there is still a lot of scope there in terms of how to deliver/how to build rapport and a sense of safety etc.

And that provision should a) be more detailed and b) discussed when commissioning said service.

If it helps: the first thing I did with any new student was to speak to their main carer about what works for them. What their interests are, their ambitions, what helped them cope. Then what they would like to get out of the time we had.

Next I would arrange to go and meet the student with their carer. Plan for a short and sweet visit where you I produce yourself, explain your role, ask the student what they'd like to use the time for, probably play a game/do a short (fun for them) activity which you'd discuss with their main carer beforehand, then agree a next time and what you'd be doing. Then leave.

My initial planning would stem from these interactions. I would be mindful of documentation/formal objectives whilst knowing that you won't get anywhere until you've built a positive relationship - that is the primary objective and may take weeks/months. I have worked with students where it took 4/5 visits before I got to meet them (they'd locked themselves in their bedroom/bathroom) and if parents/carers thought it wouldn't exacerbate things I'd talk to a door briefly before leaving.

I don't know who's told you it'll be horrendous - I loved it. You aren't doing these kids a favour though - you're doing a job and being paid. They deserve an education with people who respect them and who genuinely try to meet their needs.

Hi, I’ve just sent you a DM 😊

My grandson sen tutor took him cafés, get him use to ordering n paying, how to mix with his peers, he was a fantastic tutor