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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

EYFS - would you pay for a tutor?

38 replies

bryonia200 · 06/05/2011 21:45

Just thinking of ways to raise some much needed income and wondering if there would be much call for tutors to help children with EYFS literacy? I am a teacher already but noticed the low-level of literacy when helping out in my ds's class the other day? does anyone use one?

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bubblecoral · 06/05/2011 21:52

What area are you in? This is the sort of thing that could be snapped up by some competative parents in very affluent areas, but I think it would be a very niche market.

But then if a parent is that competative or worried enough about their child's literacy then they could give their own input. It's not hard when we are talking about children still within their foundation year. I'm an early years teacher, but I'm not sure there's much I could offer for children that young that their parents couldn't be doing equally as well for free.

Would you consider tutoring a higher age group where your skills would be put to better use?

wobblypig · 06/05/2011 21:53

I wouldn't pay because I would assume that I could do the work myself at home. I amy be wrong but that is what I would assume.

mnistooaddictive · 06/05/2011 21:53

Ffs, why can't we just let children be children. They learn as they play at EYFS. What are you realistically going to do with them at 4? They either want to llearn in which case they have or they are not yet ready. Why do we have a preoccupation with making them jump through hoops? There is plenty of time at secondary to force them into academic endeavour. Surely EYFS should be exempt from this.

meditrina · 06/05/2011 21:55

I wouldn't. Perhaps KS1 if there were a specific difficulty and the school had recommend it (one of DD's friends had ESL and had transferred from a different school system and a bit of targeted support helped a great deal).

spudmasher · 06/05/2011 21:55

No no no no no. Year 2? maybe.

AbigailS · 06/05/2011 22:00

No, EY is far too early in their school career to start coach.

evolucy7 · 06/05/2011 22:09

bubblecoral...what sort of an Early Years teacher are you, because to be honest if one of my children were in your class given your spelling of 'competitive' I would most certainly want to teach them myself or if I did not have the time use a tutor!

bubblecoral · 06/05/2011 22:16

Thankfully for the children I work with, they are still at the stage of learning phonics and the letters in their own names, not spellings! I work in a pre school, and with children starting formal school so early these days, I don't even have most children until they are four and a half!

It's late, what can I say?

Ladyloo · 08/05/2011 08:56

My 5 year old is in reception and whilst she is considered exceptional could not spell the word competitive (although she could read it) so it really doesn't matter! I wouldn't consider using a tutor although I do tutor older children myself and have taught my own children to read. I think some parents would though.

mrz · 08/05/2011 09:41

No and I would try to dissuade any parents of my pupils to have a tutor for their child/children.

mrz · 08/05/2011 09:47

Having taught in reception for the best part of two decades I think lots of children are more than able to work out how to spell com pet it ive

sarahfreck · 08/05/2011 15:53

bryonia
I am a tutor and although I wouldn't normally tutor a child at EYFS, I do teach reading to Year 2 and above, where children are having difficulties. I think that if the children are a long way behind average at this stage, you could quite easily still be teaching the skills that are taught in EYFS although you would also have to be prepared to take phonics teaching etc beyond that level.

You could try advertising in some local post office windows and see what happens.

MRZ - I'd agree that given an excellent school with teachers that know what they are doing wrt phonics etc, then there will be no need for a tutor. Unfortunately, IME there are many schools where this is not the case and where children "fall through the net" and "suddenly" get to year 2 or 3 with very poor reading abilities. All schools just don't always provide what the child needs (or enough of it)! In some cases they just don't seem to be well trained in phonics etc. In other cases they do seem to know what a child needs but just don't seem to be able to provide the resources for enough appropriate small group and one-to-one intervention. In this case, a tutor can be very useful, (as I am certain the parents of children I teach would testify). One of the most rewarding things about what I do, is seeing a previously upset, worried and often stressed child suddenly begin to believe in themselves again, make progress and grow in confidence. I've seen this happen too often to believe it is a fluke situation.

mrz · 08/05/2011 15:58

sarah in any school I find it alarming that anyone would consider it necessary to drill 4 and 5 year olds who are just starting out in school.

sarahfreck · 08/05/2011 16:16

Actually, that isn't what I was suggesting mrz. In my post I'm talking about year 2 pupils and above that have not made progress with reading (I have actually once taught a year 1 child but the circumstances were rather exceptional - and there again she made good progress and enjoyed the lessons!). Besides, when I teach, I don't think what I do could be described as "drilling" them really. We do do a lot of repetition where needed, but in the context of many fun activities and games. This could involve active games where they record sounds on a voice recorder and run into a different room to write them down or jump on different graphemes to spell words; making "feely graphemes" with string and foil; using plasticene; playing computer games and card and board games; making pop-up pictures etc etc as well as doing some more formal work. They have fun (and so do I actually!).

mrz · 08/05/2011 16:23

But this thread is about EYFS tutors sarah although if it had been about KS1 pupils I would still take the same stance.

galois · 08/05/2011 16:23

low level of literacy? In an EYFS class? well, duh!

Purpleprickles · 08/05/2011 16:26

am an Nursery teacher and would not recommend a tutor to any of my parents if asked. I would recommend singing groups though, or stay and play groups, attending story groups at the library. Anything to support the development of social skills and an interest in learning. Maybe you could try to run something like that. But an idea of an EY tutor makes me At this age children need to learn at their pace and not when adults/teachers/the government think they should.

Purpleprickles · 08/05/2011 16:27

Sorry "am a" not an.

sarahfreck · 08/05/2011 16:35

I think from previous threads mrz, you said that you currently teach year 2 ( I may have mis-remembered this?) So I guess I was responding in the light of your comment
"No and I would try to dissuade any parents of my pupils to have a tutor for their child/children."
and my memory of the year you are teaching. Your comment seemed to be a very blanket one and seemed to imply to me that tutoring (at least in year 2 and below) is always unnecessary/a bad thing.

I do not believe that this is the case (obviously) and was explaining why.

My comments were also in the context of explaining to bryonia that she might want to think of extending her tutoring to older children as some would still be covering EYFS skills, which is quite relevant to the the thread imo, although not exactly the question she was asking!

mrz · 08/05/2011 16:40

I taught reception for almost 2 decades prior to moving back to Y2. I am also a SENCO so work with a huge range of abilities and learning difficulties and would try to dissuade parents from employing a tutor.

JemimaMop · 08/05/2011 16:44

In a word, no.

I personally wouldn't consider a tutor until Year 5 or 6.

sarahfreck · 08/05/2011 16:51

Why would you try to dissuade parents from employing a tutor mrz?
Would this still be the case if the child was in another school where reading (or whatever) was not taught particularly well.

Purpleprickles · 08/05/2011 16:58

Actually the whole idea of tutors for Primary age depresses me. At my school the days are very full on and a lot is expected of the pupils in school and also in terms of homework. Even though Year 6 are viewed as grown up (and I'm including myself and other teachers in having this) they are only 10 and sometimes 11 and still children. Sometimes I think this is forgotten, yes of course learning and reaching your full potential is important but having free time and a chance to do something you really enjoy is too.

sarahfreck · 08/05/2011 17:01

"Sometimes I think this is forgotten, yes of course learning and reaching your full potential is important but having free time and a chance to do something you really enjoy is too."
I really agree with this Purpleprickles - and sometimes have to remind the parents of children I teach about this too!

mrz · 08/05/2011 17:09

I think Purpleprickles has summed up my whole aversion to the idea of a tutor for such young children. How can a 4 year old who has spent a matter of weeks in school and who isn't even statutory school age be "behind"? Even in Y2 children are 6 or 7 and seen as "failing" sorry sarah but no I dislike the whole idea and that includes Kumon and Kip McGrath etc.

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