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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel that we may as well have thrown the money away?

124 replies

Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 19:26

Dd1 was struggling with maths. She has health issues so that's possibly why. A year ago we got a maths tutor for her.
We could only afford once a fortnight and this kept being mentioned but as we couldnt stretch to more we kept it the same.

Tutor seemed good, dd however kept saying he was going over the same things all the time.
He said she would def pass gcse and that she was improving each time.dd maintained she wasn't but I took the tutors word for it.
Very suddenly a few weeks ago the owner of the tutoring group sent a message saying they couldn't tutor dd anymore. Too busy.
They are still advertising though as having spaces?

Anyway, just got dds latest test back and she got a very very low mark, the lowest she's ever got ?? He was so positive and I knowbher health has been bad but I didn't expect this?

We wasted all the money we spent on tutoring didn't we? It was so expensive :(

OP posts:
Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 20:25

Highest ever was 50% and gradually has gone down....

OP posts:
insan1tyscartching · 02/12/2016 20:25

Don't panic, there will be loads of revision sessions offered by the school. Dd's school start revision sessions in September of y11 so plenty of time to consolidate what they know and nail what they don't.
Ds has tutored a couple of his colleagues dc in Maths (no maths degree just A levels in Maths and Further Maths) he charged £20ph. One got an E in his mocks but got a C in his exam (school and his parents delighted) and the other was borderline C in her mocks and got a B.
His experience was that they hadn't got a firm grasp of the basics which meant they spent a lot of time working stuff out that they should have been able to recall quickly so giving them less time to work on the longer questions. Even if the more complex stuff is beyond you, you could help by ensuring that dd is secure in stuff like multiplication tables.calculating percentages, calculating perimeters and areas, fractions etc.

anotherbloodycyclist · 02/12/2016 20:25

Don't panic, she has a bit of time. Talk to the school and see if they will be offering any extra lessons in year 11. Our London state school was amazing, throughout year 11 they did a Saturday maths class, plus one after school lesson a week, plus an intensive 5 day course at half term. Plus we paid a year 13 fifteen quid to do an hour a week with DD. She went from an E to a C. She is dyslexic and finds maths incredibly difficult but by doing lots, and often, it worked.

Kr1stina · 02/12/2016 20:27

It's not just the money is it ? It's the poor kid who has spent hours in class and then at home studying even when she's not well and then gets a terrible mark Sad

Can't be doing much for her confidence ( as well as your bank balance )

Flowers for you both

AnnieAnoniMouse · 02/12/2016 20:27

Of course you can 'blame' the tutor, not for a lack of improvement, but for saying she was improving when she wasn't. He lied. He lied to retain his income.

Hedgehog. If it was me I'd ask the girl tutoring her to focus on improving her confidence. Go back a few steps and make sure she's confident with the basics. That's far more important than progress. I feel for her, it must be hard to be so ill when you're at the age where you're learning so much & taking exams.

Trifleorbust · 02/12/2016 20:30

AnnieAnoniMouse: You can't possibly say he lied Hmm She may have been improving in terms of understanding but she hasn't delivered in the exam for a different reason. Her improvement in a couple of topic areas (as you might expect with an hour a fortnight) may not have been reflected in the questions on the paper. Obviously the OP is welcome to blame whoever she wants but I don't think jumping to blaming the tutor is going to help her DD.

LIZS · 02/12/2016 20:31

Has she ever been assessed for numeracy and processing issues? Have you seen the paper and does dd understand what went wrong. If not could she go through it with her teacher. I'm not sure an a* student as a tutor will help without a good understanding of her weaknesses and difficulties. The school will want her to pass, you and she need to ask for whatever help is available.

Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 20:33

I've seen the paper but it means nothing to me I literally don't have a clue myself

OP posts:
DailyMailSucksAss · 02/12/2016 20:37

You're better off getting a GCSE guide for your exam board, a heap of past papers, one of those massive thick text books with every single gcse maths subject known to man, and testing her yourself. Thats what dad did to help me. Got me from a D to a B. Tutors are only worth it for more able students who maybe want to get from a B to an A or A star.

LIZS · 02/12/2016 20:38

But op admits she struggles herself so isn't really able to help.

Windanddrizzle · 02/12/2016 20:42

The tutor sounds complete unscrupulous.

Was the tutor a qualified maths teacher? Some tutors have a qualification in a subject, but that is very different from being able to teach it. Teaching children who are struggling requires an understanding of their misconceptions and an awareness of the gaps in their knowledge. Lots of good mathematicians can't understand why the student the doesn't "get" what they're being taught because to a good mathematician it is blindingly obvious.

A good tutor can make a huge difference.

ilovewelshrarebit123 · 02/12/2016 20:45

I'd consider getting an A level student to help, my daughter (9) is getting help with the very basics with a lovely A level student.

They really click and she makes it fun, it's £15 an hour and her confidence is growing.

MrsWhiteWash · 02/12/2016 20:48

try on-online sites - she can work at her pace and when she feels well.

Khan Academy - free
conquermaths
hegartymaths

There are other ones out there.

MsJudgemental · 02/12/2016 20:49

I am a private tutor and would not even consider tutoring once a fortnight! It sounds like she should have had a dyscalculia assessment at the start and been tutored accordingly, starting from visual patterns for numbers and using hands-on equipment to instill the basics, then building from there. Just going over the same stuff will have no effect as she probably has no visual concept of maths. I have been tutoring a current Year 10 for over a year and have got him from the bottom set to the middle, so he will now be entered for higher maths as opposed to foundation. Once a fortnight is nowhere near enough, so I'm not surprised she has made little progress if she is dyscalculic. Not RTWT- what are her 'medical issue'?

Trifleorbust · 02/12/2016 20:49

ilovewelshrarebit123: But for a student approaching GCSE with serious health issues and gaps in her knowledge, that probably isn't going to help. Nice idea but I wouldn't risk confusing her even more with a Y12 or Y13 student leading on intervention for her.

MsJudgemental · 02/12/2016 20:51

I think I meant RTFT, and definitely meant medical issues.

daisypond · 02/12/2016 20:58

We got a tutor for one of my DC who was struggling in maths - was predicted a D grade in the February of Y11. The tutor (also taught secondary school maths at a state school) made a huge difference. DD went once a week and occasionally more often, grew in confidence, started getting better marks in school tests. In the GCSE exam she got a B.

Want2bSupermum · 02/12/2016 21:04

I would be asking her teacher what the plan is. Also there are issues sometimes with maths. My kids are in a Russian program and the way they teach maths is quite different. It is very applied in terms of visuals used to explain a concept to the students. That sort of approach will probably work better. My kids are doing better with the 'Russian' approach than the singapore maths method.

I have not idea if it's how they teach maths in Russia but it works. DD just didn't get the concept of subtraction or multiplication. This approach has helped her so much and she is confident with the subject matter.

Cary2012 · 02/12/2016 21:04

I'm an English teacher, and I do some tutoring too.

Firstly, I only tutor students that I genuinely think can reach their predicted grade. This isn't me being lazy, it's me knowing that you can't polish a turd. Sorry, and I don't for one minute think it in this case, but so many parents seem to think that tutors have a magic wand, and we can, like Harry Potter, magic an A grade out of a solid C grade student.

I would never take on a private student knowing that they couldn't make the grade. I charge less than your tutor does for a two hour session. The first session is free, and I have said to a few parents that I don't wish to proceed because their DC isn't A grade, or whatever grade the student needs.

I've been selective, i make sure the students commit to a minimum of two hours per week plus homework. I keep parents fully informed with feedback.

KS4 students in their core subjects have four hours per week per subject. A private tutor needs to know exactly where that student is at, the exam board syllabus the school is following, because they all vary. They then identify barriers to learning and help the student resolve them, they enhance rather than replace the classroom teachers.

StarUtopia · 02/12/2016 21:05

I'm amazed how many people are prepared to just let someone who is 'good at maths' tutor their child!

Being good at something, and being able to teach it, are two totally different things.

Or that's £9k of my PGCE training, plus 6 years teaching experience down the drain if people think it's easy and anyone can do it!

MsJudge Agree 100%

hutchblue · 02/12/2016 21:08

This reply has been withdrawn

The OP has privacy concerns and so we've agreed to take this down.

MatildaTheCat · 02/12/2016 21:08

I was just about to suggest an able student. They are often more sympathetic, willing to go back to basics and are still familiar with the syllabus. Does dd get extra time or any other assistance from school?

CaraAspen · 02/12/2016 21:09

A tutor should be a professional teacher in the subject. You should always ensure that this is the case.

Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 21:23

I'll look up the recommended things such as Khan academy - dd did all her 11+ work online and managed but obviously that was a long time ago

She has various health issues and had another diagnosis this week. Sadly her main symptoms are pain, severe fatigue, dizziness and fainting on a daily basis so obviously her concentration levels are low and she struggles in general. Amazingly she's doing really well in a lot of other subjects but mats is the one that's causing huge issues

OP posts:
Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 21:25

A recommendation was made for extra time but it was rejected as the school feel dd gets more tired as tests go on and that prolonging the test will just make that worse ?

OP posts: