Teacher referred me to a tutor

[ShepherdMoons]

dd has been finding the Maths hard at her school. There are a few of the students in her year group (there are 8 of them - small school) who also are finding the homework and Maths difficult. The school don't seem to be able to offer any extra help so I mentioned that maybe a tutor might be needed. The teacher has agreed and given me the number of her friend who is a tutor. I'm going to speak to the tutor but AIBU to think that maybe the school could have offered a bit of help first? It's a lot more expense for us at a time when we are needing to save a bit.

Agree. Why should the teacher spend a second more after school doing extra work? Would you op stay a 30min after work if you were not paid? Off course you Wouldn't. Pp suggested getting a tutor for a group, which might work out better.

@WishILivedInThrushGreen
Are you joking?

Teachers shouldn't be expected to work for free.

I'm very frank with parents who ask for tutoring/extra support now. The short answer is nothing beyond what I can do in the classroom unless you can pay someone else to do it.

The entitiled attitude towards free tuition has come about following endless monitoring and pressure on results.

@ShepherdMoons sign upto Twinkl, Numbots, ttrs and Prodigy. It will save you a fortune! It's all online but it will cover basics up to chosen work. Sit with her for an hour after school with these. A tutor will not help your child. It sounds like they have trouble retaining this information. Back to basics first!

@JaffavsCookie The philosophy of teachers giving up time shouldn't be a precedent. I was once like you and would give up the time. Now I don't. I don't have the time. It pits teachers against each other based on teacher home life. Sod working an hour free every week.

I don’t feel that teachers should be giving up their time as they are very stretched however giving suggestions of things you can do at home without costing that amount is something I think they should do. Tailoring homework, suggesting workbooks etc. We’ve found the CGP ones good by the way. Maybe try those over summer before looking at tutors

@Hercisback it should not pit teachers against each other, though i can see why that happens. When I did my PCGE about 15 years ago I remember very clearly the head of my first placement school saying there were 2 types in education, those in it for the kids, and those in it to climb the greasy pole. I won’t apologise for trying to help the kids, I am aware some have commitments that mean extra sessions are hard, but does that really mean no one should offer anything extra? No sports clubs, no debating, no stem, no arts clubs?

Sorely a lot of teachers have time to tutor? Most teachers I know take in pupils for tutoring in evenings and weekends - and make a fortune!

a girl I went to school with has built a gorgeous summer house in her back garden, all paid for by tutoring money. She charges £30 per hour and does six hours a week! All cash in hand.

I live in an area where pupils sit the eleven plus. Teacher make a clean fortune out of tutoring.

Sports clubs are generally accepted as the payoff for no marking in PE.

I will do all I can to help students. I will not meet an expectation to work for free. I'm totally in it for the kids. But not at the detriment of my own kids. You can be in it for the kids and not do anything "extra". Pretty rude of you to suggest otherwise.

I understand why people do free sessions, I hate that they're an expectation.

Would any of you expect a solicitor/lawyer to give you free counsel for an hour or so each week?

Thought not.

30 mins free at least 😂

Have you considered a maths program or online learning tool like My Maths?

Sorry apparently My Maths is only available via the school. It might be worth discussing it with them and seeing if they will subscribe. Alternatively check out what apps are available and BBC bitesize. Also ask the teacher to provide material for DC so you can support learning at home.

How meant children are in your child’s class? Surely there aren’t only 8 of them, even if there are only 8 in year 4.

My initial reaction was to think you were being a cheeky fucker because you asked about a tutor and were told it was a good idea and got a recommendation - there’s nothing to complain about there.

But if your child is in a composite class and every child in one year group is struggling with maths then there’s something going on. Are you sure every y4 child is struggling with maths? Are they in with year 3’s, 5’s or both? If they’re in with year 5’s then maybe the teacher is teaching to the top and it’s too much for the younger ones to grasp during input. If the class has a majority of year 3s then maybe the teacher is teaching to the majority and not enough time is being given to the higher level work.

Its definitely worth working out what’s going on, but I don’t think you can expect the school to do much more. If you chose to use a tiny school then you have to accept that they won’t have enough money and the effect of that will be composite classes and not enough staff, so it is reasonable to expect to subsidise that with a tutor.

How many

As a teacher I’m really surprised that she’s struggling to teach a class of 8 a particular concept and has suggested that all 8 get a tutor instead.

I do think you should be helping DD at home this should be to support the learning, not actually teach it.

Have you or the other parents been pressuring the teacher by any chance?
Are you hoping your DC will take the 11+?

I have a feeling that maybe you all want your children to do better than they are doing right now and keep speaking to her about it so she’s told you to all get a tutor instead (and basically stop asking her about it).

Are you kidding?! I'm a teacher. I teach more than 100 children. If every parent expected me to give their child half an hour after school when they're struggling, I would never go home. Parents have NO idea how stretched teachers are!

Also - wasn't it you that mentioned the possibility of getting a tutor in the first place? And now you're trying to moan about them helping you to do something you said you wanted...?

Okay, sorry, just read it's primary, and just 8 children in the class. That's a bit different. I must admit though that your daughter is VERY lucky to be in a class of only 8 pupils compared with the usual class of 30! I'd be concerned about her struggling in such a small class actually!

Of course on the internet we can claim anything.

The issue then becomes what do you consider to be an external commitment and do staff feel able to opt out.

I don’t have kids, so often the assumption is that I’m available after school for these sessions. Despite wanting to get in some exercise, practice a hobby, cook dinner from scratch etc. Some colleagues will argue that I don’t need to do these things and my wants should be put after the needs of the students. Despite it not being directed time.

So yes I do take issue with being asked to do more. If it’s so important then staff should at the absolute minimum be compensated fairly.

Are you making that up by any chance?
Most teachers I know are way too tired and way too busy to tutor.

£40 to tutor an 8yo? That's insane. Looks for an online tutor.

Is DC in a mixed age/year group class? If so how is the maths teaching managed? Perhaps speak to the HT about DC's lack of progress and see if any in school interventions are possible.

If it's affordable then a tutor all the way, if however it's not, then what about YouTube for help with maths ?

I'm currently learning about day trading, stocks and shares, and introduction to wall street and the stock markets, via YouTube.

No not making it up! Lots of teacher tutor in evenings and at weekends.

there is an industry around the eleven plus.

i was tutored for my eleven plus by a teacher at another school. And I had a tutor for maths a level. He tutored lots of kids in a shed in his garden.

in many P7 classes at least half the students will be tutored. It’s not fair but that’s what happens. And most of the tutors are teachers doing an extra hour in the evening.

Why would I make that up😂

When a number of pupils in a small class are having difficulties it may that the teaching is at fault. I'd say that the teacher should look at her lesson plans again and find out what the problem is.