Read what Mumsnet users have to say about Explore Learning’s tuition centres - £300 voucher to be won for feedback

[EllieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users to who tested the Explore Learning tuition centres and their service. This service test was open at all UK MNers who had a child aged 5-14 who were interested in maths & English tuition for their child.

Here is what the testers received:

• 4 free sessions in maths and english
• The first session was an initial chat with both the parent and child to establish the child’s levels.
• The next 3 sessions were held on a drop in basis over the the course of a 4 week period (maximum 2 per week).

Here’s what Explore Learning have to say: “Since 2001 Explore Learning has helped over 200,000 children have excelled academically, reached their potential and achieved the best possible results. Our national network of 140 maths and English tuition centres support children in progressing academically, but more than that we inspire fearless learners: children who are brave, determined and excited for their next steps. Whether it’s getting ready to start a new school, meet a new teacher or make friends - we ensure children have the confidence and self-belief to tackle anything.”

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Which centre did you attend?
• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?
• What did you like most about the service/centres?
• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?
• Is there anything you feel could be improved?
• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?

All testers who leave their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

[orangeplum]

Which centre did you attend?
Sheen

Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?
The centre was good and the staff were very enthusiastic and welcoming.

What did you like most about the service/centres?
Enthusiasm, flex drop in. Tutors got to know the kids and engaged with them

How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?
My DS really enjoyed his sessions. He went in the evening after school and was always keen to go. He attended the Succeed in Secondary course which he really enjoyed and participated in and talked enthusiastically about when he came home.

Is there anything you feel could be improved?
My DS is at secondary school and also participates in a lot of sport and has lots of homework. He doesn’t have time to go more than once a week but would be happy to go once as he liked the centre He also wasn’t that keen on the computer work, nor were we. They spend enough time on PCs. The cost is prohibitive if they can only go once a week. Why not have a special membership for the Succeed in Secondary course. It would keep some students you might lose after 11plus exams.

Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?
I would suggest to people with younger kids to try it. If they had different membership for older kids would recommend that otherwise too expensive which is a real shame.

[allanhume]

Which centre did you attend? My daughter attended Brixton

Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service? EXTREMELY satisfied.

What did you like most about the service/centres? The staff we experienced were friendly, knowledgable, approachable and they dedicated time to my daughter as an individual and not just as a class.

The incentives work and my daughter was keen to achieve lizard cards. They helped my daughter work towards becoming more confident in asking for help and not worrying about getting questions wrong. The parents meeting after the sessions provided an overview of their progress and feedback after each session which was helpful.

How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?

My 6 yr old daughter LOVED the sessions. She did not want to leave after the first session and she wanted to continue with the sessions into the future. Unfortunately this is not going to be possible at the minute due to her current commitments but the fact that she wanted this speaks volumes.

Thanks for making my daughter happy and letting her gain confidence in learning and for being part of the Brixton Explore Learning family.

Is there anything you feel could be improved? More flexible packages in terms of cost and the number of times you can visit the centre.

Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member? DEFINITELY!! The Brixton staff are brilliant! I have already recommended Explore learning to family and friends . I cannot speak highly enough about the centre and I hope that my daughter will be able to attend in the new year.

Get along to Brixton......

[Huffpot]

Which centre did you attend? Harrow

Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service? The tuition centre itself and the staff were very friendly and enthusiastic. My boys liked the computer based learning and I liked the workshops on areas of concern. My youngest (4) wasn't keen on being there without me though.
I think if you have more than one child though it is just too expensive to continue and there was a bit of a hard sell aspect with it which I found very daunting. The lizard card system is good too but takes a long time to accumulate rewards which is quite off putting for younger children.

What did you like most about the service/centres? I liked the staff's enthusiasm.

How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them? My elder ones liked them but not the youngest. It did help them slightly

Is there anything you feel could be improved? A private area to discuss concerns would be good

Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member? Maybe if they only had one child...if anymore than that I probably wouldn't as its just too expensive

Thank you for the opportunity to experience this though

[Easylikeasonntagmorgan]

- Which centre did you attend?
We attended the Swindon centre.

- Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?
The tuition centre was situated within Sainsbury's, therefore it was easy to access/find. All of the staff were friendly, and welcoming. This put my daughter at ease as she did feel a little anxious initially. On our first visit, Rachel showed us around, gave us a full introduction to the service, and showed my daughter how to use the computer software. I was impressed by what she said, and how Explore Learning worked, that they would tailor the computer software to my daughter's level, and there would be tutors on-hand to answer any questions my daughter might have. The Lizard Card reward scheme had my daughter hooked straight away!

- What did you like most about the service/centres?
The friendly staff and relaxed atmosphere put my daughter at ease. She enjoyed using the computer software. Rachel was very professional and knowledgeable, and my daughter found her to be very approachable. I also found it convenient that we could drop-in to sessions, rather than having to book in advance.

- How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?
My daughter enjoyed going to the centre. I felt the sessions boosted her confidence, particularly with Maths. I feel it was difficult to judge whether it helped her, as she only had four sessions. However, I do think that going to Explore Learning would help her if we were to continue the membership.

- Is there anything you feel could be improved?
I feel the price of membership is very high.

- Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?
I would certainly recommend Explore Learning to a friend or family member.

[gemmie797]

Which centre did you attend? Yardley Birmingham

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service? Satisfied. They identified my son's needs and worked with him to improve in those areas.
• What did you like most about the service/centres? The flexibility of being able to turn up to an class without booking in first
• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them? He liked the centre. I think it did help and the positive feedback boosted his confidence. He really enjoyed the free computer time after the session.
• Is there anything you feel could be improved? The centre had a strong smell of food, mostly onions, which I found really off-putting
• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member? Yes if they have the time to commit to be able to fit the sessions in to get value for money. I would prefer a more flexible way to pay to get the best benefit from the sessions.

The tutors were all very young, I think that a more mature person can also connect well with younger children and the centre may benefit from this

[MonsterRehab23]

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Which centre did you attend?
  

We attended Glasgow-Darnley.

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?
  

The staff were lovely and seemed genuinely interested in my son and his learning. My son has SEN and they were great with him. The detailed feedback sheets were great too.

• What did you like most about the service/centres?
  

I liked that it was inside Sainsbury’s so I could go for coffee while I waited.

• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?
  

Overall my son enjoyed the sessions and liked the idea of free play after work. Impossible to say if it significantly improved his learning in 3 sessions.

• Is there anything you feel could be improved?
  

I think it’s too expensive.

• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?
  

Only if they could afford it and realistically attend 9 sessions a month.

[mandes1]

• Which centre did you attend?
  

Addiscombe in Croydon

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?
  

I liked the tuition centre, it was small but open plan so my son did not feel as if he was in a school environment. The staff were very friendly, personably and knew my son by name quite quickly.

• What did you like most about the service/centres?
  

I liked the flexibility of dropping in when you liked. My son really liked the Lizard cards and found it quite motivating that he could collect them for prizes later on. The staff were very child-friendly and so my son felt comfortable to be there without me.

• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?
  

I felt that there was not enough sessions to really see any improvement. I would have liked less computer based learning and more one-to-one with a tutor.

• Is there anything you feel could be improved?
  

Less computer based learning and more tutor contact. The monthly fees are too expensive for what you are getting. There are many computer based learning programmes which are cheaper and can be done in the comfort of our home. Although the staff are lovely, the feedback at the end of the session could be more detailed and less "generic". Also as one poster has said, the feedback could be given verbally and by email instead of on bits of paper.

• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?
  

At the moment I don't think so. The costs are too high and I have not had any positive results from the trial to be able to recommend it to others. My son, however did enjoy his sessions.

[Ribc]

Which centre did you attend?
Beaconsfield

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?

They were very understanding as I had to reschedule several times due to family illness and subsequent bereavement and never managed to go.

• What did you like most about the service/centres?

Very friendly staff and personalised service. As above, we never managed to attend due to family illness and subsequent bereavement but they were very helpful and let me postpone several times before I had to cancel for good due to bereavement.

• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?

My child never attended due to family illness and susbequent bereavement.

• Is there anything you feel could be improved?

N/A - very friendly staff when booking sessions in.

• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?

From my very limited experience, yes.

[Ifeelreallylow]

Which centre did you attend?
Finchley

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?

Fairly satisfied.

• What did you like most about the service/centres?

Opening times

• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?

She didn't really like it. It was very noisy and there wasn't space for me to wait within the centre, DD(6) did not want me to leave her

• Is there anything you feel could be improved?

Quite a lot. It was extremely noisy. The staff were over familiar with some of the more regular kids. Including one kid being told 'oh just shut up yeah!' And being spoken to way too unprofessionally. If a teacher spoke like that they would be reprimanded. The staff in Explore Learning are being put in a position of responsibility and teaching role. They should act with the same decorum as a teacher.

• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?

No, I wouldn't. I would explain my experience and encourage them to pursue it to fork their own opinion. But I wouldn't encourage anyone to spend any money on this.

I must admit that we did not return for all 4 sessions. As dd did not want to be left.

The entire approach appeared to me to be that they wanted to teach something the child didn't know. So DD was asked if she had done subtraction yet in maths. She said no. The woman then did a whole skit "ohhhhhh, I'm going to teach you about subtraction and when you go to school your going to already know this!! Won't that be so cool! You'll be ahead of all your class mates!!"
Which tbh, wasn't what we wanted at all. I viewed the whole thing as something to support her learning. Not pip the school to the post.

[Doobedo]

Which centre did you attend? Sheffield Ecclesall Road

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service? Extremely satisfied. The centre is spacious and well set out and the staff are amazing.
  
• What did you like most about the service/centres? Fantastic staff, who are young and approachable yet mature in their outlook and committed to providing a great learning experience. The online learning format and the card reward format - all very encouraging and child friendly.
  
• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them? My child really enjoyed the centre and loved the Lizard cards. The staff, especially Alex, were very kind and helpful, and took his additional needs into account.
  
• Is there anything you feel could be improved? The centre is ideal - just a little far to come in winter. Also, could be potentially marketed towards home educated children with SEN as there is such a growing need in this area. This type of expansion would require more local centres and earlier opening hours.
  
• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member? Yes, I’m very impressed.

[Doobedo]

It would also be great to have a cafe somewhere in or near, open for parents. Not all of us are local to the centre. I tended to wander around the local convenience stores.

[brianna5]

owing questions:

• Which centre did you attend? Westfield white city
  

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service? Very satisfied with the centre and service. Received written feed back after every session about strengths and weaknesses.
  

• What did you like most about the service/centres? The staff were friendly and made us feel welcome. My daughter was very comfortable and adjusted quickly. The sessions are very flexible which is convenient.
  
• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them? She enjoyed the session. She liked the fact that she could push herself voluntarily and play games at chill out time. There wasn’t much writing on paper which she doesn’t mind but I prefer.
  

• Is there anything you feel could be improved?
  
• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?Yes, already have. The only thing I would prefer more writing on paper. More tutor interactions rather than just staring at a screen. Overall a good way to help her study for upcoming assessments

[bakingqueen]

We attended the Preston centre

We were ceryvsatifised with the centre it was bright and airy and the staff seemed very keen and good with children

I liked the staff and my son liked the cards with lizards I thought that was a good incentive. The session flexibility and weekend sessions were a good touch as well

My son liked the chill out area and enjoyed doing the activities on a computer

I feel the costings could be improved it was quite expensive per month and realistically I would have only wanted him to do maths but that didn’t seem to be an option. Also the locations wasn’t brilliant in a supermarket so the distractions and pester factors going in and out were hard to deal with. I was have preferred some homework from the sessions

I would recommend it to others as it seemed like a good set up

[April2020mom]

Which centre did you attend? Epsom
How satisfied were you with the service and tuition centre? I’m pleased with it. Our local one is clean and easy to find. Staff are polite, professional and efficient too.
At the end of the session I got feedback on my child. I can use that to help her at home.
What did you like most about the service?
Primarily I appreciated the flexibility.
What could be improved?
Personally I think that for little kids they need to cover the basic skills properly. As a teacher I don’t see the children using pen and paper. The staff could also provide worksheets for the children and include games as part of the session too. Also after thinking about it I’ve realised that there are no workbooks available to purchase either.
Would you recommend to friends and family members? Possibly.

[Letterrecieved]

Despite my teaching experience, I was declined for a job with them for my lack of sales background.

Speaks volumes about a tuition company. How well you can sell their services and not the quality of tuition. I would never send DS here.

[skapur]

• Which centre did you attend?
  

Fulham

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?
  

The service greatly exceeded my expectations. I felt that the learning, support was exceptional. It started off with my children and I ( ages 10 and 8) being interviewed about what subjects the kids enjoy and what they find difficult and easy. They are then assessed and a stream of work which the kids complete is set. There is an instructor sitting near them while completing this work in case the kids run into problems, explaining things that they may not understand. The centre uses a ration of 1 instructor to 6 children, however whenever we attended the ratio was much smaller than this. Depending on how hard the kids work during the session ( measured not just by attainment but also effort and willingness to attempt things they are not familiar with) kids can up to 4 reward cards per session. These cards can be saved and then exchanged for ' prizes' all of varying amounts. So the more cards one saves, the better a prize they can obtain.At the end of the session you get a mini report card of how your child did in the session and what areas can be improved on.

What did you like most about the service/centres?
The service seemed to be very personalised and I loved the attention and encouragement the staff gave my children to undertake new tasks. I loved that my kids looked forward to attending the centre ( sadly this is not the case with school.

• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?
  

As mentioned, my kids really enjoyed the learning centre. At the end of the session the kids are given 10-15 minutes of free time at the end when they can play games, or games on the computer, but it feels like a nice treat at the end.

• Is there anything you feel could be improved? No
  

• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?
  

I would definitely recommend and think its a quality service which provides a sibling discount as well.

[ncarney93]

Hey guys

I’ve not been sleeping great for a few nights now & for the past hour I’ve been up lower back pain and what feels like period pains I’m only 33 weeks + 5 days can anyone advise if this is normal?!

[sjonlegs]

• Which centre did you attend?

Moortown Leeds

• Overall how satisfied were you with the tuition centre and service?

Really happy - I can be hyper-critical - but I was really impressed with the staff, the concept, the way they inducted my daughter (who can be painfully shy) and how they tailored the tuition to her needs. The feedback was great too.

• What did you like most about the service/centres?

Apart from the fact that the tuition is modern (all computerised), individual and accessible to all - I loved that it's a drop-in ... no appointments required!

• How did your child find the centres? Do you think it helped them?

I honestly didn't think that it was going to work. My daughter is shy and of a nervous disposition but the kindly Anna (?), inducted her well and she was fine .... plus the points scoring was a great idea (we're a super competitive family - it's in the blood, and the prize cupboard was a definite draw).

• Is there anything you feel could be improved?

My daughter found it more difficult with one particular male tutor. He seemed perfectly pleasant but I think he was a little over-bearing and unnerved her. I wonder if perhaps the tutors could be a little more flexible in their availability and approach (especially for more nervous students)

• Would you recommend Explore Learning tuition centres to a friend or family member?

Most definitely - in fact I already have!!

[caringcarer]

I am a Foster Carer to SEN child with complex needs but he is very good at cricket and the week before last he represented his county in Disability cricket and his team won the tournament. He has gone through so much and I am so incredibly proud of him he then went into school the next day and did not tell anyone as he thought it might make his friends jealous because he had taken a day off school to play cricket and he did not want to make them jealous.