Do you use private tutors, or do everything yourselves?

[Runoutofideas]

Hi all,
Am new to the HE section but am after some advice if anyone can spare the time...?

In my area we are very short of primary school places and many people are newly considering HE because they don't feel the school they have been offered is appropriate for their child. These are maybe not people who would naturally have chosen HE but more that they have no other acceptable option currently.

I am looking into the options of setting myself up as a private tutor for young primary aged children in this situation, helping specifically with reading, writing and maths. I am a qualified and experience teaching assistant, but not a teacher, and have children in Yr1 and reception myself. I have been CRB checked through volunteering in school for the past 18 months.

I'm thinking really that this would suit children who are only out of mainstream school temporarily while waiting for a place to come up, rather than children for whom school has been difficult or traumatic in any way, who are likely to remain home educated.

As I say I am in the very initial stages of looking at this and trying to work out whether it is a reasonable idea and whether anyone would use me. Any opinions gratefully received. Thanks

Hello and welcome!

I don't know, there may not be so many people here who could answer that question because I expect most of us are in it for the long run and that is a different game - no pressure to get children achieving to a certain level by a certain age, for example. I personally don't know anyone who has ever employed a tutor for a child under the age of eight, but that doesn't mean that such parents don't exist, only that they don't go to the home ed groups and camps I go to or post on the home ed email lists about it.

You might actually do better to ask this question on the Primary board where there may be people who wouldn't have chosen HE but could imagine themselves doing it out of necessity, that being your target group.

I'll tell you what I think would go down well with parents who are HE short-term (as well as some who want to do it long-term), and that is childminding. If working parents don't want to give up their jobs for a few months or a year until they get a school place, then that makes HE trickier. Most day nurseries will keep children on until they reach compulsory education age in the term after their fifth birthday and then they'll be turfed out. While any CM should be able to take on a home educated child, there is a demand in some areas for a CM who actually relishes the idea, likes spending long periods with children this age, understands some of the issues involved in home education (which you can learn about by joining email lists and going to local HE groups), and ideally is minding other older children so the kids have someone to play with, and maybe is up for going to local HE groups and doing educational visits such as museums. I suppose to people who are planning to send their child to school soonish, it would be a bonus if their CM was also prepared to work with their children on basic reading/writing/maths skills. By the way, parents can apply the childcare element of Tax Credits to the cost of a childminder regardless of whether that happens during the normal school day. You'd just need to check out the regulations on what constitutes a "school" and make sure you steer clear of that and remain a childminder.

Alternatively, if you prefer short focused tutoring sessions with children who aren't in school, have you thought about offering your services to the LA? They are obliged to provide tutoring to children who are out of school involuntarily for extended periods, for example through illness, exclusion, or lack of school places. This is usually referred to as EOTAS (Education Other Than At School) as opposed to elective home education where parents bear the responsibility for their children's education.

Hope that helps a bit!

Thanks Saracen - that's really helpful. There's a lot to think about and this is still a very new idea to me.

I appreciate what you are saying in that I may be asking my question of the wrong people, and also that you maight be right about childminding, which is something else which I was considering anyway.

I don't think the LA would take me on, as I'm not a qualified teacher, whereas it appears that for private tutoring, I don't need to be.

Thanks for your help.

I don't have any experience of primary age, but used an internet school for DS for a couple of years at secondary level because of the lack of a suitable school.

I think there would probably be a fair market for it - there have been a number of "panicky" threads each year I've been on here from parents suddenly looking for answers when they have not got a place at the school they wanted, and there tends to be a theme of "How do I make sure we cover the right things so they aren't behind when they get a place?", which HErs aren't usually in a position to answer (as Saracen says, people who choose to HE often do so to avoid the attitude of what they "ought" to do at a specific age).

I'd think a big downside would be that the work would be patchy - you might have a glut of interest at the start of the autumn term, but then children would get places from waiting lists etc, or parents would decide they can manage on their own, and it would reduce.

Thanks for your comments AMumInScotland. I think you are right about the work being patchy, but at the moment that doesn't really worry me. I have been a SAHM apart from doing the TA courses and school volunteering for the past 6 years, so am used to not earning any money!
Glad to hear you think there may be people out there in need of me!