Mumsnet users review the Tutorful service

[EllieMumsnet]

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This is the feedback thread for the MNers who tested the Tutorful service with their DC. This service test was open to all UK MNers with a child, or children, who required tuition from primary school to A-level age. This was as much a test of the Tutorful service (using the site to find a tutor, messaging, arranging lessons, etc.) as it was of the lesson itself. Each tester received one free face-to-face session in a subject of their choosing.

If you don't fancy reading the full thread, you can take a look at the highlights here: Tutorful review

Non-testers, in order to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list), please answer the following question: 'Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how did you find your tutor and what was the learning experience like?’

Here’s what Tutorful have to say: “We all know the benefit of checking online reviews before buying a new product, so of course you’d want to do the same for someone spending time with your child. Tutorful is revolutionising tutoring, and we’re revolving it around you. Our tutor search and comparison platform has been created based around your needs as a parent, plus every tutor on Tutorful has been referenced and personally approved by our Education Advisors.”

Testers please answer the following questions:

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?
• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?
• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson
• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?
• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?
• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

All testers who leave the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw, where one tester will receive a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Testers please answer the following questions:

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

We are considering a tutor for both our children to help with confidence in areas they are finding difficult. We hoped to find an experienced tutor who our child can relate to and benefit from 1-1 support.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

I did struggle as the search facility is limited. More filters would be good to narrow down the results. For example show only tutors with a current dbs. The rates are not always clear either as some tutors have a rate but then in the further details the rate changes depending on the tuition saught. I also found it difficult to work out how experienced the tutors are and was wary of just accepting the profile description. I did find the tutorful customer services very helpful and efficient in answering my queries though and felt reassured after speaking to them.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

The lesson was a maths lesson with a lovely young tutor. We went to her home and the time and lesson went well without any booking problems. It was more of an assessment which I was expecting and she did ask questions before hand as to what we wanted to achieve. It was a little awkward as I think she thought I would leave whilst the lesson was going on but I said I would be staying (my daughter is 13) as didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone. It was a small room but I said I would read my book and turn away from them. The tutor was very quiet and as my daughter is also very quiet it did feel awkward but I think with time they could work well together.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

My daughter was a little negative afterwards. She felt the tutor was 'babying' her at first and then judging her if she didn't know something. I had explained before what would happen but I think she is feeling quite self conscious. I told her the tutor was just working out what level to set the lessons at.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

No, not used a tutor before now.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better

As said above re the search facilities. Also it should be clearer on the website how you get and get 2 verified references . I think I would feel more confident approaching tutors having this.

Thank you for letting us try this service.

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?
I was hoping to find a tutor who can help my son develop his English ability and prepare for the 11+.

How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?
I really liked the service; it was easy to use and made me feel more confident in finding someone who has the ability, skill and is more likely to be trustworthy. The booking process was easy, I replied to the response and we arranged the lesson.The tutor was actually one of the first to reply and the nearest in locality. Her response was clear and to the point and she was cheaper than the others which was a bonus. I could not believe the price of some of the tutors and some are only online! Others were too far away or did not come to your house.

Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson
The tutor was punctual, nice and polite and gave a very good judgement of my child's abilities. She was knowledgeable and helpful and guided me to the right resources. She was aware not to scare him off to early and was reassuring towards him of his abilities and not to worry.

Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?
My son was happy with the lesson and enjoyed the attention. He was glad the tutor was kind and showed him how to do the things he found hard.

Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?
I have used a tutor for my eldest for a different subject. I liked the Tutorful service better than just finding an advertisement as you could gauge a bit more about the tutors character and compare them with others before booking a lesson.

Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?
I would have liked to understand how payment works a bit better. It automatically pays the tutor after the lesson but I was not sure if I needed to press a button to confirm anything first. I think this is good and bad.......If a tutor did not arrive but the lesson was booked and looked to be completed it would pay them regardless I presume??
I think if the Tutors were accredited in some way and attended some training about working safely with children this would be good. Perhaps DBS checking might also be a good idea? Not that I had any worries about the tutor but you never know...

My son was desperate to learn guitar (he is only 6) and I bought it would be good to try it out before committing to lots is lessons. We checked for a local tutor on Tutorful and found quite a few. The tutor we chose had worked with young children a lot before and gave us plenty of advice on lessons for young children beforehand. He was easy to contact and quick to respond. My son’s first lesson was great - tutor was very patient with him and he really enjoyed it even though his new guitar is a bit big for him. He was exhausted by the end of the lesson but asking straight away when his next lesson was! The tutor gave us some optional homework to practice at home. He was very patient and spoke to my son in a way he could clearly understand but also made him feel very grown up! Our tutor was also listed as CRB checked which is always good to know. I would definitely recommend using tutorful for finding local tutors and I would look here in the future if I needed to find anyone else locally. Lessons were reasonably priced and the website is secure so easier than taking cash to lessons. Highly recommended!

Firstly I’ll start by saying that our experience of finding a tutor and booking one as well as the actual tutor session was very good. Our tutor was lovely, good at communicating and sorting out where and when the lesson would be as well as being excellent at actually important bit which is the tutoring! She was calm and kind and perfect my daughter.

I wanted to test a tutor as we’ve been thinking about one for my 8 year old to help generally but also if the 11+ is right for her. She enjoyed it and i think 1:1 might be right for her. We’ve tried a tutor before (another child) but it was a group session and very different.

Searching for a tutor was easy in terms of the search but there wasn’t a big choice of close by tutors suitable. Most were music tutition or too far away. Most were also over the £15-30 amount that is deemed to be average. We had two options so i emailed both. One was full so we went with the other!

I was quite intrigued about how the website worked. I spoke with a lovely lady who called me back after I sent a rather long essay asking many many questions. She gave me a good background of the controls they have set up to make sure that tutors have qualifications and background checks. Tutorful request documents and i think do check these but essentially anybody could set up a profile and they are told that the customer may check their stated qualifications. Tutorful have access to messages so could intervene to sort out any conflict or any issues. Very interesting part is that the tutor gets paid if they did a tutor session no matter what. If example if they did a lesson and the payment didn’t go through for the lesson for whatever reason, Tutorful will cover the cost to ensure the tutor gets paid. That gives the tutor assurance and also obviously in normal circumstances for paid lessons, give Tutorful some percentage. What’s nice is that you deal with the money separately through the website. It also means that tutors are setting prices in competition with others online. The tutors will have put a stake in the ground to say this is what they charge per hour and it’s unlikely that you’ll be overcharged. I guess it’s not a massive incentive for the customer but the main incentive is finding a tutor in the first place which can be really difficult in some parts of the country. In our area we have the 11+ so it really is difficult sometimes to find a tutor - it is a bit cloak and dagger!

Testers please answer the following questions:

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

My son has been learning guitar for 2 years and I only recently found out that the lessons were only lasting between 3-15 minutes and were done on a 6to1 ratio so it’s a wonder the children were learning anything! My son is still very keen to learn the guitar and when this opportunity came up it was a perfect way to find out whether he could progress further if he had an hour 1on1 tuition a week and the difference was tremendous!

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

I found most of it easy and straight forward although I do think that there could have been better search criteria and a way of emitting certain fields to narrow down the search. It would have been great also to be able to check a tutor’s availability before contacting them. For example, after asking lots of questions I found a tutor that both my son and I felt was a perfect fit for us but when we came to book we found out that the only time he could book us in was at 330pm each Tuesday but we couldn’t have got there prior to 415pm because of school finishes and travel times etc. It was a shame because there had been a lot of wasted communication which we had to go through again with other tutors before we found someone. I also had one tutor who I waited for 4 days for a reply only for him to say that he’s not taking bookings for a few months but his profile was still live, perhaps there could be a way for tutors to ‘pause’ their profile so it is still visible but says they’re not taking bookings until x date? Lastly, it would have been helpful to have a way to find tutors within a certain commuting distance or be able to click on their location and bring up the map from there. It took me a while before I realised that there was a location map at the bottom of the page (I was using my phone not a computer to view profiles). I would have liked to have been able to click the blue location field and be shown roughly where the tutor is. When you live on the outskirts of 3 major cities I would like to be able to select the booking to be within a certain radius of my current location or chosen postcode rather than having to select each city and try to work out who is the closest from there. This wasn’t a dealbreaker for using the site but it would have made things a lot easier for me.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

The tutor, A, asked beforehand what we would like to get out of the lesson, what my son’s interests were and what he would like to do on the first lesson. I explained a little about my son’s abilities and what he wanted to be able to do both long term and short term. A then asked if there was any music my son, J, would like to play and he chose the Star Wars theme tune which A had printed off for J prior to the lesson (he’d even added some Star Wars graphics to make the piece look more fun!) The first half of the lesson was taken up with talking about J’s experience and finding out where he was up to, what he could do and how he had been taught so far, A also spoke about where he was and his experience etc Once they started playing it was obvious what a shared passion A and J had for the guitar and A was extremely encouraging to J. I must admit that when I read on A’s profile that he was only 21 it did put me off a lot but I still booked with him and I’m pleased to say that my fears about his teaching ability given his age were completely unfounded. My son left that lesson with homework of practicing the music they had been playing, exercises to strengthen the power in his fingers and even watch some of the greats like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton in action. We have rebooked and I have promised J that he can have weekly lessons with A because he has come along so far even though he probably only got 15-20 minutes of guitar playing time!

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

My son was delighted with the lesson. It has given him a renewed passion to learn to play the guitar. J is a very self critical child and lacks confidence with a lot of things but he is so excited to show me how well he’s progressing each day. J recently got a fantastic school report and because it was so good I asked what he would like as a reward and without hesitation he asked for guitar lessons.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

I have often wondered about using a private tutor before but have never actually taken the plunge and booked anything. The Tutorful site has made everything so easy that I am looking at booking other lessons including for year 6 SATs preparation and also art lessons. Finding a tutor has been very hit and miss but with Tutorful everything is in one place which really helps. Thank you for the opportunity that being a part of this research has given my son.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

Not that I can think of. I loved the fact that I got text messages welcoming me to Tutorful and telling me that a lesson had been booked etc. It was a lovely personal touch and I liked the fact that when I replied to the text somebody answered, it wasn’t one of those automated texts that come from an unmonitored number - somebody actually read my reply and responded! That was an unexpected bonus where I felt like I was dealing with a small family type run business rather than a huge faceless multinational....great customer service.

Testers please answer the following questions:

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

My Son has just turned 4. Its a difficult age as his attention span its not the greatest and its the age when running around is mire appealing then sitting down with a pencil and paper. He is behind in nursery with writing his name and his speech and language. Although the nursery is supporting a little the thought of a tutor crossed my mind to see if it could help as he is always more responsible in a one on one situation. I was looking for someone to enage him and also teach him phonics and writing his name and numbers.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

Searching for a tutor was fine. There was 3 potentials with one who was moving away so 2 to chose from. They had phonics as one of their topics so that was handy. Massaging and booking was fine. Although some took longer to reply.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

Tutor was one time friendly but sturn lesson went well it us difficult for a 4 year old to concentrate for an hour.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

He's only 4 so not really. He did struggle to concentrate for the hour. Also tutor did keep changing the work.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

No never.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

It would have been good to see verbatim with reviews to get a feel of the tutors strengths. It would have also been useful to have a way to negotiate time and rate as with my son 45min is enough and given his age I would have expected the fee to change.

Thanks for.letting me try the service.

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

I was looking to see how a private tutor could help my daughter and whether it was something that would work for us.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

Very straightforward.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

The tutor we tested out was very warm and friendly and good at talking to my daughter (who was a bit shy) she had a bag of tricks that aided in making learning fun and was great at holding her attention.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

She didn’t say much to be honest, only that she liked her.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

No we haven’t.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

It was all very smooth and straightforward.

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

To help DC after a school switch to get her grammar up to the new standard.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

It wasn’t easy as there wasn’t much choice.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

The tutor was very nice and spent a lot of time explaining things to DC but following the lesson DC cannot tell me some of the grammar they were supposed to learn. I don’t think the tutor checked whether it was embedded.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

DC enjoyed it.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

Yes, similar experience.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

More choice in my area.

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

Find out how my daughter is doing with French and what she needs to work on for GCSE.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

The search wasn't very good as when I searched for French GCSE I got people who do French but not up to GCSE and do GCSE level in other subjects. Also the sorting/filtering didn't really help much. I also felt it a bit over the top getting a text message and an email every time I received a message plus multiple reminders about messages I hadn't replied to. Booking was nice and straightforward and aside from the notifications/reminders the messaging system was fine.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

My daughter seemed to enjoy the lesson but I haven't really got any clear information from her on feedback from the tutor.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

She enjoyed it and wants more lessons.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

No we haven't.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

Although it was nice that they cared enough to phone/text to check how things were going it all felt a bit invasive and was rather off putting really. Maybe just one check would be better.

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

My daughter has had a year of no Maths. We are in Scotland and she did her Higher Maths early, then did some other subjects and has now returned to do Advanced Higher. She is already being taught online as the subject is taught this way in remote corners of Scotland. So, we wanted her to have a chance to fill in anything she has forgotten and make sure she is happy with what is being taught. This is hard for her to do in her usual, shared, online lesson.

How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

There should be a way of narrowing it down. Being in Scotland we were looking for familiarity with the SQA exam system, not just someone who is keen and will have a go. This proved hard to narrow down. There are a lot of keen tutors responding enthusiastically but few in Scotland and none with relevant SQA experience. Once we had found Samantha in Scotland it was easy to book and sort it all out. The Tutorful people were very helpful indeed and made it all very easy.

Share any feedback about the tutor and the lesson.

The tutor was young, keen and very good. She helped my daughter go over a recent topic, explained, offered a chance to ask questions and was very good at her job. She knew her stuff and was ideal for us. The platform for online lessons did not work so the lesson was over the phone. This platform only works with up to date Google, which we did not have. We would have liked to use Safari, FaceTime or an Apple system. In the end the lesson was over the phone which worked fine. But, if we carried on we would need it to work with Apple.

Have you or your child used a private tutor before and, if so, how does this compare to that experience.

Yes. We have used two different online tutors for Maths, two for Latin. Online learning is common in remoter parts of Scotland. This was just as good although, for a long term arrangement we would have tutors setting 2-3 hours of work per week, plus marking and giving feedback. There was no option for this but it would be necessary - otherwise learning is not really embedded at this level (Advanced Higher, for those reading, is like A Level but cam count as first year undergraduate in some circumstances in Scotland). Additionally, previous tutors have significant experience of submitting pupils for these exams. However, all this could easily be worked out.

Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

The online thing needs better compatibility across different operating systems. You need more Advanced Search options for tutors, plus to be able to see if a tutor is a qualified teacher and, if so, how much experience they have of submitting pupils for specific exams. I am a teacher and would only feel comfortable, having taught in Scotland for many years, in offering teaching in exams set for Scottish pupils; offering to tutor GCSE or A Level, while perfectly legal and I could probably do it, would not be giving a parent best value for their money. But, SQA exams - easy!! Tutorful needs to be aware of this and make it clear in tutor biographies.

Thanks for choosing us. Samantha was very, very good and absolutely lovely.

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor? Have one to one violin learning.
• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor? Very easy process wise. However, it is hard to find a good match.
• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson he came on time and very professional
• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson? He loves the lesson
• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience? Well it is very differently the one we previously use were through friend’s referral but this time it is total stranger
• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better? Yes if there’s pic or video about the tutor.

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?
I did want Portuguese lessons for dd but the nearest was Leeds so we had to go with guitar for ds.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

Searching not too easy. Once I got to grips with the niggles I found it okay.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

I love the messaging system it is clear and you get a text and email when the tutor has messaged you. Very good idea.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

Yes he loved it. Was very grateful that he had the opportunity.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

Yes we have been using one for over 2 years. To be honest it was easier to call the guitar guy from the FridayAd and book direct, but the range of tutors on tutorful all in one place is amazing too.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

Yes I have messaged the tutor for a further lesson and he hasn't got back to me!

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

DD didn't gel with her teacher this year, so we wanted to see if there were any gaps in her learning (there are a few) and also an eye on 11+ preparation, although without this trial we would probably have waited a year for the 11+ part.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

Despite living in an area with state grammar schools, there was only 1 tutor within 30 miles of us on Tutorful. But she got back to us promptly when I messaged her and booking was easy.
There does seem to be an issue with the site on her side as it said she was double booked for our agreed time. But she set the system with a different slot and we arranged our session via messaging.
The session was arranged and done in a few days, so I was charged. However Tutorful were excellent at contacting me and covering the cost of the session.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

We have to travel to the tutor (15 miles away), but that's not a problem. I could choose whether I stayed (I did).
It was exactly what we'd agreed, and DD got on well and loved it. So much so that it's now a weekly arrangement.
I like the way she gets DD to explain why she gave a particular answer, even of correct, and I've been impressed with her teaching when we've come across something new.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

She feels the tutor has exactly the right level of patience, letting her try and answer. She's excellent at explaining things. She's strict but in a kind way.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

We haven't.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

A bigger range of tutors to choose from.

Be clearer when the search output is going from local suggestions to online tutors.

- What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?
I wanted to find a tutor who could help my son learn to play the guitar. He’s been having group lessons at school for the last three years now, and still doesn’t appear to have got very far at all (though the teacher says he has “a good ear”).

- How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?
I found it a bit strange to be honest. I liked being able to go to one place and browsing through the tutors available though, but the messaging part (before we’d met him) just felt a bit uncomfortable; I can’t put my finger on what exactly though, sorry. Tutorful HQ helped out via text message (which I’m much more comfortable with!), and got things sorted.

- Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson
The tutor was fantastic. I’m sure my son learnt more in that 30 min session than he has in the last three years! The tutor’s attitude was amazing, and he really enthused my son. He gave brilliant advice for going forward. I was really impressed.

- Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?
He loved the lesson and would love to go back. The tutor put him at his ease straightaway.

- Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?
No, we haven’t.

- Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?
I find the website a bit odd and a bit clunky to navigate around. It would be helpful if only in-person tutors came up in the results, if that’s what you’re searching for.
However, the people from HQ who helped me out were lovely - friendly, helpful and professional. The tutor is a great find, and I would happily recommend him to others. So all in all it’s been a very positive experience. Thank you!

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor? As I home school my daughter, I have always wanted to try a private tutor site, just give us an idea how it works, and I case I had busy times and could have a tutor step in and help educate my daughter, also looking for new ways to teach.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor? Finding a tutor was very easy, the results showed all tutors in my area, the distance from where we live, and gave a good description and cost of each tutor, there was a messaging option so you can select a tutor and talk to them before making a decision, however I was left to feel frustrated, I messaged one tutor who had experience with children with SEN needs, I thought she would be perfect, with my daughter having mild Autism and preferred a female, I put all this information in a message to her, and to my surprise I had loads of other messages coming through from other tutors including male teachers, when I specifically asked for a female, so the message was not private and went live to all other tutors, there is no option either to disable this. It made me not want to use the site again I felt a bit negative towards this, if I wanted help to find a tutor I would have contacted them directly. Once my tutor I chose replied, we were however able to chat without other tutors joining in, so I think your first post to a tutor is automatically shared by tutorful.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson? The tutor we chose was very nice she even arrived a day early so very keen, this was not a problem I just gave her my daughters work file to take home so she can see where she is up to with her education, and she came back the following day, I had to book her for half an hour as an introduction for my child to get to know her, and this is charged half the cost of an hours lesson, then we had an hour booked for her to do work with my daughter, I was a bit disappointed tutorful don’t offer a free introduction for first customers/pupils, as you can’t expect a tutor to turn up and do work right away with a child. The tutor made it fun all I could hear was giggles coming from my daughter, they made a poster about their favourite things, she showed my daughter an easier way how to do devision in the remaining hour, I did expect more work to have been done but maybe because it was her first lesson, my daughter really liked her and this was important to us, but also important they can keep the child focused and get the most out of them during the hour they are teaching them for.

-does the child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson? Yes she liked her very much, said she was fun, and enjoyed doing the fun poster with her.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience? No never tried before but have looked at another site and contacted a few tutors before which was a better experience because the chat was private and I did not have other tutors contacting me, also the prices were much cheaper and they offered free introduction for first lesson.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better? Yes make your first message private, and do not share your post with other tutors without permission. Offer a first time free introduction before a lesson starts, allowing the tutor and pupil to get to know one another. MOST importantly have your tutors CRB checked! I was most put off that tutorful do not do this or tell the tutors they have to have this to advertise on their site, they are coming into our home working with children, this is a must!

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor? To give my 7 year old son confidence and to get onto the greater depth work that he sometimes misses out on by being in a class of 30, to nurture his love of Maths, also I wanted to see his ability level and whether it would be worth going for grammar school in a few years. Tutoring is something we want to do for him in about a year anyway and had no idea how to go about finding one.
• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor? V easy indeed, we found one v local and it was great being able to see their qualifications and experience as well as reviews
• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson. The tutor was fantastic, my son can be shy but immediately warmed to him and thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, we will definitely book him again on a regular basis in a few months time
• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson? He absolutely loved it! He loves maths and really enjoyed the 1-1 and warmed immediately to the tutor who was great with him.
• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience? Not used one before.
• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better? I don't think so. The only thing I couldn't see is whether they had DBS so that would be good though I'm aware by law tutors don't need this (but would perhaps be good for tutorful to perhaps only appoint tutors who have this)

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?
My DS was bought an electric guitar and all the equipment for Christmas from a family member, but due to life getting in the way we never got around to booking him guitar lessons. So this was the perfect opportunity to have a trial before I book him more.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

I thought it was a very easy process. It was very easy to search and filter through what subject you wanted. I messaged the one tutor that was local to us but never received a reply, so messaged a couple more who did online sessions. Both of them messaged back and the one we picked was able to work around our schedule. The staff at Tutorful were very helpful and phoned me on a couple of occasions to ensure there were no problems and also to say they hoped we had a good guitar lesson.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

The tutor that my DS had was very friendly and replied quickly to our messages. He gave the lesson on a Sunday evening even though he normally didn't work Sunday's. He messaged me about 10 minutes after the session to give me a breakdown and told me how my DS got on. I thought this personal touch was lovely. I would definitely recommend the tutor we used and Tutorful as a website itself.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

'I loved the session, my tutor was really nice and was happy to go over things I didn't quite understand' He asked for more tutor sessions

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience? No we have never used a private tutor before.
• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better? No. The experience was a very good one and I would use them again.

I was primarily looking for an English tutor to teach my son at our home on a 1:1 basis. He is 7 and I wanted him to gain more confidence from the tutor as he thinks he isn’t very good at English.

I found the process of searching for a tutor easy and very straightforward. There were a few tutors nearby and they were within the average price bracket. The tutor that I chose communicated with me very promptly and was very professional.

The tutor that we used messaged me before the lesson to get a background about my son’s likes and dislikes. My son enjoyed her lesson and wants her to come back again to teach him some more. He said that his tutor lesson was much more interesting than his English lessons at school.

We will be rebooking this tutor through Tutorful. We were very impressed with the site and with the tutor. I liked that payment was dealt with separately so it wasn’t awkward.

We haven’t used a tutor before but would definitely recommend Tutorful to others.

I was hoping to find something that would help my daughter with her reading and understanding of letters and words as she was quite behind for her age due to illness.
I found the process quite hard and had awful trouble getting someone that could help. I sent numerous messages and each one came back either saying they were fully booked or that they were not suitable or they did not respond. Once I did manage to find one, the process was fairly simple and easy to do. I have to say though it was quite frustrating when you are trying to look for someone and you keep getting messages back saying I don't think I can help, search again. As a working mum I found I had less time to keep messaging and asking. The only saving grace was that Tutorful actually sent me a email just saying that they had noticed and they had attached some for me to contact who were in the field that I wanted.
The lesson itself was difficult, I had done the pre tests and all was fine but when I went to go onto the lesson it said my browser was not supported. Then when I eventually got on, the connection kept cutting out, we could not access the screens to allow my daughter to interact with the work that was on the screen which was frustrating. The only other gripe I had was that when our time was up, even though we were not finished the lesson closed itself and left us having to speak on the phone to finish up. That was quite annoying really. I know they have to stick to the time frame but a few minutes either way would have been better to make sure we were finished.
The tutor however was fantastic, she was very accommodating, especially as our lesson was booked for 6pm and she changed it for 6.30pm with little notice when I got stuck in traffic coming home. I found her to be very friendly, she really wanted to interact with my daughter and encourage her to take part in the lesson. She also accommodated my daughters demands for games!
My daughter really enjoyed the lesson, she wishes that she could have clicked the images and words herself as that would have been more fun. She liked the tutor, found her to be friendly and she wants to continue with the lessons.
We have never had private tutoring before, however my daughter has had speech therapy and that is in a way similar. The way that she was taught was very similar, it was just face to face instead and more interactive for my daughter. I really like the idea of online tutoring, its so different and modern but really does need the interactive part to keep their minds occupied. My daughter did go off looking at something else because she couldn't fully interact with the lesson.
Have a few extra minutes at the end of lessons to ensure finished before the lesson suddenly closes. Maybe a warning that it will close before it actually does. Make sure that it can be interactive as it was not on my lesson. A better search engine would be good because I really did find it difficult to find what I was looking for.
Thank you for the opportunity to test this and review it, it has been an eye opener and may well use them in the future.

wer the following questions:

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

My 12 year old with SEN had extremely negative experiences in mainstream school, which caused a breakdown and long term trauma. The past three years have been a journey in healing and learning about how he can access education now and in the future. Engaging with a tutor seemed an increasingly good idea, as private tutors are not bound by the beurocracy of schools and it’s in their interests to cater for the child’s individual needs. And of course, one to one teaching is most advantageous in many ways.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

I’ve been through the mill in the past few years looking for solutions and trying different avenues for education. I found the process of searching for suitable tutors in the local area easy and straightforward on Tutorful.
The information is easily accessible and I found it quite easy to choose a tutor whom I thought may engage well with my son.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson.

When I spoke with the tutor it appeared he lived to far away to visit us and the only other option was an online lesson. This was actually ideal. I myself am an online tutor and find it works really well.
I had a pre lesson chat with our tutor and he patiently listened to what I needed to tell him. My son needs careful and sensitive handling due to past negative experiences. I found out tutor most willing to think outside the box and take on board my wishes and ideas.
The actual lesson went well after a bumpy start. My son was extremely anxious about meeting a new person (albeit online!). He initially refused to engage but The tutor had really listened to my concerns and persevered with an open and flexible manner. My son was soon put at ease and sat through a whole hour (which I had not really expected!).
I was thrilled to bits to see the engagement between my son and tutor. I booked another lesson and plan to continue to make regular bookings.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

My son is more than happy with his tutor. There as always a risk that they wouldn’t connect but the joy of this platorm is that there doesn’t have to be a long term contract. Conversely, there is also the risk that the tutor may quit without warning but this isn’t a unique risk judging by the switching and changing of teachers my son experienced in regular school.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

We do have another tutor who visits the house. She is from a different company and fulfils an entirely different subject/need. I can’t really compare them. I’m just glad we’ve been lucky enough to meet both of them!

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

As with any cyber platform there are technical glitches. You probably won’t encounter these if you see your tutor in either home or somewhere in person. However I’ve found it’s well worth persevering and ultimately the platform/tutor is delivering a great service.

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

I initially wanted to take part to help my daughter with her maths as this is something she feels she struggles with. However, she has since had a glowing report saying that her maths is fine so I asked her what subject she would like to choose and she chose art. This changed the purpose of the session to one more for enjoyment and a nice treat, which was lovely.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

I found it very simple. I didn’t really like the idea of an online session so ended up choosing someone who lives about half an hour away. I liked the clear messaging system and the notifications. I wasn’t clear how to confirm a booking but the tutor set this bit up and then I just agreed it.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson.

Our tutor was very nice and quickly established a good rapport with my daughter, who really liked her. I left them to it as I didn’t want her to feel like I was hovering over them so I am unsure as to how detailed her lesson plan was but I think this is to be expected given it was a first meeting. She has now had a chance to find out what my daughter likes and to get an idea of her ability etc. We were left with a half finished picture which my daughter was eager to carry on with. I would expect future sessions to be more productive.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

“I loved it and I liked the teacher a lot.”

She feels she learnt from her and would love some more sessions. It was nice for me to see her bounce ideas around with someone who is also creative and appreciates her enthusiasm. She was happy to have found a kindred spirit I think.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

No. I have never even really considered it and I have to say I was shocked at the hourly rates. I assumed around the £15 mark but nearly all the ones that came up in my search were over £30 and the lady we ended up booking was £34. This is too high for us to pay regularly.

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

More tutors to choose from. Lower hourly rates. An option to confirm when the lesson has been completed so that payment can be processed legitimately.

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

Searching for a tutor was easy as based on your postcode and what subjects and level of teaching you wanted.

My son is 12 and in first year of secondary school, the change of school really knocked his confidence so I was after a tutor to restore his enthusiasm for school and learning. I liked the photo and short biog of each tutor, as it gave me an initial insight into if they were right for us. There was only one review for the tutor I selected, these are the most valuable way for me to help choose.
Messaging was very simple, and straight forward, I had an almost immediate response and conversation with the tutor. He asked me pertinent questions and I was reassured straight away I had made a good choice.
Booking again was easy, I have gone on to book several more lessons, simple to use, you get an email to remind you of appointments.

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

Tutor exceeded my expectations, my son was really hesitant about a tutor, however after the first lesson he hasn’t stopped talking about him! He really engaged my son, with the information I gave him before the lesson on my sons strengths and areas of interest he planned a great first lesson, which captured my sons imagination and enthusiasm I have never seen before. Everyday since the lesson my son has been voluntarily working on his story he is writing and talking positively about it.

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

He made it fun and interesting.

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

First time tutor experience

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

No not really

Gah - just wrote an epic post that got eaten! Take 2!

- What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?
Initially we wanted someone to assess our DD5 who is reading and writing several years beyond her age. We wanted to check she was being adequately stretched and supported. However, the academic tutor turned out to be flaky (see below) and so we switched to a piano tutor. She has been learning piano for 6 months with me teaching her and I thought it would be useful to get a professional in to correct technique and give some additional learning tips.

- How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

The platform was really good. It didn't pinpoint our postcode which was a shame. We are a new build (albeit 3 years old) and I had to put the town name in to get a wider choice of tutors. Whenever a tutor messaged me, I would get a text message to tell me it was there. It was easy to use and search.

I had been a bit confused about the process - once we had agreed on a time/date, I wasn't sure how the lesson was booked, but the tutor took care of all of that.

I had a rubbish first experience with a flaky tutor who suggested lots of different times that she then couldn't make (to be fair, we were particularly busy that week too), and eventually she fell of the radar completely and stopped replying to messages. At that point I got a message from Tutorful staff, suggesting other tutors. This was a bit odd as it felt a slight invasion of privacy that they were actively monitoring our messages, but this might have been because we were a Mumsnet case study. The tutor they suggested wasn't appropriate as she mostly dealt with secondary education. They also suggested online tutoring which is of course wildly inappropriate for a 5 year old!

- Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

She turned up bang on time and stayed slightly beyond the lesson time, and then for a further 15 minutes giving me a really useful debrief about the lesson.

I left DD5 with the tutor but kept the door open so I could hear, and their interactions seemed positive and constructive (with less attitude from DD5 than I get when I teach her!).

- Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

She loved the lesson and wants to continue occasional lessons with a tutor to supplement the lessons from me.

- Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

No.

- Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

I don't think it's good practice for tutors to be able to just stop communication with no recourse (there was no unpleasantness - just failing to easily find a mutually convenient date). I am unsure if I can (or should) leave a review for her saying as much. I hope Tutorful will pick this up.

There wasn't a wide range of tutors available in our area, which is surprising as it's a grammar school area. I hope this will improve as the site grows.

What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

I was looking for a guitar tutor for my DS who is 7 and would love to learn. It would have been his first lesson.

I was also looking for an 11+ tutor for my DD who is 10 and has already had some tutoring for it but wanted someone else to review her.

*How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

Complex. Difficult. Overly full of process. I hated the way in which I couldn't just call someone and have a discussion. It was all dates back and forth with several tutors not coming back to me at all or those that did coming across as being flakey.

I stated with all tutors that it was for a first guitar lesson and was told that unless he already had a guitar it wouldn't be worth it. I asked about loaning one but was told that we would need to buy one or instead he could have a ukelele lesson. This is the sort of detail that would be helpful in a profile or lesson plan so you could save time.

The request for my DD wasn't successful either. Tutors were not available and for a couple of days none of my messages to any tutors seemed to go through. They were just spinning and not being sent. This was annoying after typing out detailed requirements. I gave up with the system in the end after I had complained about Tutorful to another mum and she referred me directly to someone else outside of it.

Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

Sadly I did not get that far with the process. After trying on many occasions and having messages go back and forth I gave up.

Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

None.

Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

We have used several tutors for various subjects in the past. This experience felt cumbersome and we were not impressed with the search function, details provided by the tutors, response of tutors or timeliness.

Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

1. Change your search function - don't make it so explicit. I don't know if the science I am looking for improvement in is physics or chemistry. I am looking to find out where the gaps are and then the tutor fill them in.

1. Make the information the tutors provide more relevant. I do not want to spend time on messages going back and forth when the tutor must have a child with an instrument. Make this clearer. Many young students do not have tools until they know they are interested in the subject matter.

1. Allow the same message to be sent to several tutors. I had to retype or copy and paste the same message over and over again. It got boring and annoying.

1. Vet your tutors. Test that they will repsond to your queries.

1. Stop spamming me with 'you did not find the tutor you wanted' messages. I tried following up with your alternative suggestions and they did not get back to me either.

Overall the premise of the site looked fab but just sadly did not deliver. This was a shame because I have subsequently booked both my DS and DD into classes elsewhere for these subjects and Tutorful has missed out on my future business.

Testers

• What were you primarily looking to achieve by booking a private tutor?

Didn't know where to start finding a good one

• How did you find the process of searching for, messaging and booking your tutor?

Searching was very difficult - it kept trying to give me a level mandarin tutors not ks2 Booking was also difficult. The system deactivated our account for reasons unclear between provisional booking and taking payment to confirm. It subsequently became clear that apparently we transgressed by mentioning mumsnet so clearly someone is watching! We had to ring up tutorful to get it unblocked. Messaging is clearly monitored as above. They had a good feature that you could send the message to multiple tutors and suggested other tutors based on the first selection

• Share any feedback about your tutor and the lesson

The tutor was fab. Wish we had found him outside tutorful tbh!

• Does your child have any feedback to share about their tutor and the lesson?

She said that he was very nice and explained things very well

• Have you or your child used a private tutor before and if so, how does this compare to that experience?

No

• Could anything have made your experience with Tutorful better?

Lots! See above.