Class teacher privately tutoring pupils in their class

[Eastie77Returns]

DS’s teacher tutors a couple of kids in his class each week. I thought this kind of thing was not permitted (teachers engaging in transactional engagements with parents). Anyone else think this is a bit odd?

I don't think tutoring should be banned but there is a conflict of interest with teachers doing it especially with pupils they teach in school. You may have teachers wanting to work in more affluent areas as there is a greater chance of having parents being able to pay for tutoring for example. I have already mentioned a dearth of feedback from some teachers but in a tutor situation I am sure this feedback would be forthcoming and individualised.

It would be a temptation for the tutoring to be an extension of a lesson taught at school with the teacher giving insights that in a perfect world should be given to all.pupils. Maybe tutoring would sit better with me if a'll pupils had adequate individualized attention in the school environment.

You Also risk drawing extremely talented teachers was an from school teaching into purely tutoring. An Oxbridge degree and a little experience could set you up for £££a in London.

@mids2019 ah, you are fond of the old devil’s advocacy.

Why shouldn’t an individual with free choice and an oxbridge degree become a tutor if they so wish?

And plenty of people do two jobs to make ends meet. More productive for a teacher to be tutoring than doing late night pub shifts, say.

Whatever the professional/moral rights and wrongs of whether teachers should be allowed to tutor their own students, I think that some posters are imagining special advantages / methods which they think would come from being tutored by your own teacher. These 'insights' into how to get a good grade could and would be given by any decent tutor who knew the syllabus. That's the whole point of having a tutor.

People saying 'they should be able to get them to their maximum possible level without tutoring' don't understand teaching- ratios matter and OF COURSE teaching in groups of 30 isn't optimal- it's a compromise we make as a society because 1:1 teaching isn't realistic for all.

But those saying it's unethical because it skews the classroom experience are right. On the above post, b) is a real risk and could even happen unconsciously as the teacher is more tuned in to what their tutee needs than the other 29 that they don't spend 1:1 time with. As good lesson planning is responsive to pupil needs, the tutee is more likely to receive teaching is geared towards theirs.

This is wrong because it causes a conflict of interest. It will likely make them favour the child since the child's parents are paying the teacher. The child will be receiving preferential treatment. It's not fair to other children. It sets a bad precedent. Can't believe this needs spelling out.

I mean pretty much everyone on this thread agrees it's not appropriate to tutor children from their own class or school even, so are you against any teachers setting up a tutoring business in general? You seem to have gone from wanting them to spend (more unpaid) time working rather than setting up their own businesses to some sort of moral argument?

Teachers doing tutoring is normal. It's not normal for them to be allowed to tutor children currently in their class (and often not their own school). My school didn't even want me to tell my tutees' parents where I worked, as they didn't want to risk any outside issues becoming school's problems.

If anything, it's a recipe for disaster for the teacher so I'm surprised they would do it! Being a tutor is a tricky relationship with certain parents as it is, adding in the school dynamic would be a nightmare.

From your other comments, it sounds like this school is dodgy from the top down, with the headteacher being very questionable herself. I don't think there's necessarily anything you can do about it unless you switch schools. I don't think it would be a serious enough issue that the goverbors would crack down on it, for example. But you're very reasonable to be uncomfortable with it!

We’re not allowed to tutor pupils from our own school, it’s written in our contracts.

This is unethical, tutoring children from outside the school is perfectly fine, many schools would question tutoring pupils at the school but in a different class but tutoring students in the class the teacher is teaching is unacceptable.

Where are teachers finding time to set up a tutoring business? Wouldn't their time be better spent on lesson prep and more focused marking? In reality this is a side hustle and one that is quite opaque ethically and professionally. It's a form of private education through the back door or at least two tier teaching.

I agree. I am sure there it is part of the parent policy not to privately tutor your DC as it is against the ethos of a Comprehensive School. That is why the school has interventions when DC fall behind. It is not fair on DC whose parents cannot afford it.

Nonsense.

It isn't nonsense.

Of course it is. We can't tell parents they can't pay for tutoring any more than we can tell them what time their kids should be in bed.

Yes but a comprehensive state school's ethos is to give the same education to all DC and if some parents are paying on top that just creates a two tier system and is not what these schools were originally set up to be.

And the school is doing that.

We can't dictate that Fred can't go skiing or Bob can't have tutoring or Tom is not allowed to go to the theatre in their own time though.

Well most schools have subsidised skiing and theatre trips so that disadvantaged DC have access to 'cultural capital' too.

I don’t think most schools have skiing trips, but that’s by the by.

School running a theatre trip doesn’t preclude parents taking children to the theatre too. Just as school teaching maths doesn’t preclude parents getting a maths tutor.

What a weirdly controlling world that would be.

I was a secondary teacher and also tutored one or 2 A level students each week but not students from my school. That would present a conflict of interest. I tutored DC where their own teacher was off sick and they were worried about falling behind. I know they used to take the work I did with them to share with their friends in their class too which I didn't mind at all.

But you can see if one child is being tutored in every subject and another isn't that is creating an unfair schooling system? I am not saying it doesn't happen just that these schools were originally set up to make education equal to all - that is their philosophy.

Of course I can see your point. But all the school can control is what the school does.

I can see the argument for a school not letting a teacher tutor a current pupil - I think it could blur the boundaries of who is responsible for which piece of learning,

But the idea that parents have some kind of binding contract with school not to do what they can for their child - tutoring, theatre visits, buying study guides etc - is for
the birds.

Definitely very odd, there are lots of teachers who tutor but not pupils they directly teach, however from what you've said about the Headteacher, a conflict of interest clearly isn't an issue in the school, sounds very unprofessional.

mids2019 · Today 06:10

Where are teachers finding time to set up a tutoring business? Wouldn't their time be better spent on lesson prep and more focused marking? In reality this is a side hustle and one that is quite opaque ethically and professionally. It's a form of private education through the back door or at least two tier teaching.

I certainly don't know any full-time teachers who tutor, because no, they wouldn't have time. You realise there are an enormous number of part-time teachers though? I don't see why they shouldn't do tutoring. Also - any tutoring outside of school lessons is 'private education by the back door',whoever the tutor is. What on earth is wrong with that? You surely can't think it's wrong for parents to pay for their child to be helped if they are struggling?!

rewilded · Today 11:00

But you can see if one child is being tutored in every subject and another isn't that is creating an unfair schooling system? I am not saying it doesn't happen just that these schools were originally set up to make education equal to all - that is their philosophy.

To make education available for all. Education is never equal. Some kids have well-educated and intelligent parents to help them. Some do not. Some kids go to great schools. Many don't. Some kids are brighter than others. Some have SEN. Some are ill and miss lots of school. Some go off the rails but then get back on track and want to catch up. Some have had poor or absent teachers. Someneed a bit of a boost to achieve the grades they need to do a career they are really keen on. Nobody should be discouraged from improving their education by whatever means available to them.

Sounds fine to me. Get her to tutor urs if you feel they need it