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Does this kind of tutor exist?

6 replies

Streatfeild · 01/10/2025 12:56

Ds is year 8 - he is superbright but has always struggled to do any work at home (in the pandemic this was an absolute nightmare and that was just year 2 type draw a picture work). I don't think this is anything we have or haven't done - his siblings are happy (ish) to do their homework. He will procrastinate for hours, get very cross if he gets answers wrong (it's that awful online maths homework that you have to get right to progress) and it turns into a whole evening of awfulness. Yet his teachers say he is doing fine at school and understands the concepts etc.

So I thought what I need is a kind tutor - maybe a primary teacher looking for extra cash - who can come to our house and sit with him and teach him techniques for doing the work and persisting etc, and also explain anything he can't understand. I think he would respond well to the right person but dh and I are not the right people - he absolutely resists any help at all from us.

Does this kind of tutor even exist - any ideas how to find one?

OP posts:
crappycrapcrap · 01/10/2025 13:04

That’s a good idea I’m sure a tutor would come to you.

With my son he can only do homework in the mornings, after school is awful. Whereas DD is a night owl and can’t get out of bed hardly in the mornings let alone work.

OMGtimes3 · 01/10/2025 13:14

I’m sure a local sixth form or gap year student would be ideal for this!

TeenToTwenties · 01/10/2025 13:31

Does Secondary not run a homework club?
Some children with eg ASD struggle to do homework at home but will do it at school after school.

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fruitbrewhaha · 01/10/2025 13:37

I know of a person who was a teacher at secondary who offers coaching. So not tutoring but technique to motivate and do the work. Also for parents, how to motivate without ending up in a row. How to speak to kids to get them to do their best without nagging.

www.melaniehartecoaching.co.uk

EducatingArti · 01/10/2025 13:55

I used to be this type of tutor! It takes a careful and bespoke approach to planning lessons and keeping the student "onside". I needed to keep a very careful balance of things the student was competent in vs challenging material . I'd also suggest that it would be better to have face to face tutoring than online as the tutor needs to be able to read body language and watch exactly what the student is doing.
There will likely be such a tutor near you although that may well have a waiting list.

Some suggestions. Practically, if he will tolerate it, get your ds to write down each step he is doing to solve a maths problem, even when it is online. Many of the online apps require the student to attempt all parts of the question again if they get one part wrong. Keeping track of where you went wrong can save time if you need to redo the question and getting into the habit of writing down each step is good practice for GCSE. Of course no student wants to do this as they think it makes the work take longer, but it might not actually be the case depending on how much they are habitually getting wrong.

Ask around parents you know for tutor recommendations. Someone who is well established at this kind of support may well not advertise but take on students by word of mouth.

Identify which subject(s) your ds needs most support in. Unless they are so far behind that they are essentially working at primary level, it is very unusual to get a secondary level tutor who will cover any and all subjects. I used to cover maths and sciences.

Talk to local agencies run by individuals rather than chains or franchises as I think they are more likely to listen carefully to what you need rather than just supply you with any tutor who has vacancies.

Streatfeild · 01/10/2025 15:57

Thank you all - this is super helpful

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