'How do I choose a tutor?' Put your questions to Lesley from Kip-McGrath Wimbledon [title edited by MNHQ]

[LesleyKipWimbledon]

Hi I'm Lesley Pinn, director of Kip McGrath Wimbledon. I have been a Deputy Head, teacher and tutor for over 20 years. I came into teaching because I am passionate about learning. I believe ANYONE can learn providing they are taught well. I like to think the name 'KIP' stands for 'Knowledge Is Power'. Sometimes I get very angry with people who put children in boxes and label them. This is NOT what the best teaching and learning should be about - it should be about going the extra mile to give learner's the confidence they need and which is the secret of success. Here at Kip- McGrath Wimbledon we do this.

Here are a few thoughts to get you started:

1. I never realised that most tutors who call themselves ‘experts’ or ‘professionals’ often have no proper teaching qualifications. As I would never use an unqualified plumber, why should I entrust my child’s precious learning to just anyone? Often companies who offer tutoring employ teenagers as ‘teaching’ support for their system. I think this is simply not good enough. Ask what professional teaching qualifications your child’s tutor has. For example, they should have a specialist Degree in Education or a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Just a degree in any subject is not a teaching qualification.

2. Make sure your tutor can offer an accurate assessment of where your child is at the moment. The means that tutoring can begin from where they are comfortable and help them progress with confidence.

3. Maths and English are the lynchpins of all other subjects. At Kip McGrath we have often found that a difficulty with Maths turned out to be an English problem because the student simply did not understand what they were being asked to do. Check that the subject matter is not just any old Maths or English but covers areas they need to do to progress through their exams: SATS, 11+ and GCSEs.

4. Any learning system should support and reflect what students are learning at school. If it does not do this, I believe it is a waste of time.

5. Confidence is gained through steady progress with topics in the curriculum. So check that the system you are looking at can give specific and regular feedback in a way you and your child understand.

Kip McGrath Wimbledon can offer you all these important features
necessary for good tutoring and more:

Cost - £30 for 80 MINUTES
Flexibility - classes available most days (and from the end of October,
online tutoring available, face to face and in real time)
Supervision by highly qualified teachers
FREE assessment for all students in Maths and English

For more information contact our [[http://www.kipmcgrath.co.uk/wimbledon
website]] or telephone 0208 543 5364.

[message edited by MNHQ]

We tutored our first child ourselves for the 11+ - for about 6 months before the exam frenzy started. Mercifully they got thro'. We would like to give our second child the same opportunities but they're not as smart at maths. They're in Yr 4 - when would you think would be the right time to start prepping them?

And if they've got blanks in their maths knowledge, would you think tutoring the wisest option or not. And if yes, why and if no, why not?

If a child is clearly not up to the task, shows no interest and is just attending to please the parents would you raise this with the parents to stop them wasting their money? I assume that this is part of the assessment process?

Do you tutor for the 11+ and 13+ entrance exams? If so how much do you charge per term?

And what would you say your USP is as a tutoring business?