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Original poster

Is it worth getting a tutor?

27 replies

RudsyFarmer · 20/07/2022 08:43

Hiya,

Year five child. Greater depth in both Science and English, Maths - expected. Has aspirations to go into a STEM career. Is it worth trying to improve his maths do you think at this early stage or just leave it be?

For info will be state educated at a Good secondary which isn’t known for its academia unfortunately.

thank you 💐

OP posts:
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ILoveAllRainbowsx · 20/07/2022 08:45

I would if you can afford it or he will struggle in secondary and might not be put in the top set.

Original poster
RudsyFarmer · 20/07/2022 08:48

That’s what I was thinking. Absolutely no pressure from me, I just want him to be able to go and be whatever he wants to go and be.

How would I go about sourcing a tutor? This is not stuff that gets discussed in my circles 😬

OP posts:
Dido2010 · 20/07/2022 15:51

Hi @RudsyFarmer !

We were in a similar situation. I have sent you a PM.

TeenDivided · 20/07/2022 16:12

Do you know what his SATs score was? I don't know the cut off for GD, but 100 v 110 would be quite a difference.
I'd suggest leave it for now, see how he gets on in y7 and go from there.
Would you internally commit to 5 full years of tutoring, and if not, what would be your 'stop' point.

Original poster
RudsyFarmer · 20/07/2022 16:54

He didn’t do his SATS because of covid.

OP posts:
Original poster
RudsyFarmer · 20/07/2022 16:54

Sorry I should have said he attained GD in his end of year school report.

OP posts:
Lovetogarden2022 · 25/07/2022 16:02

I would invest in a really good tutor. My friend's son is in year 4. Very bright and but his school wasn't challenging him anymore so he fell behind quite a bit with maths. Now he's got a tutor he's working really well with them and his maths is now up to a very good standard and he's been able to join a maths programme in our local area for gifted children which will look great for when he's applying to schools (they're going private for secondary school, so he'll be having interviews etc). If she hadn't got a tutor, I think he'd have just completely lost interest in his learning. Hope this helps

Lovetogarden2022 · 25/07/2022 16:02

Meant to say - the woman she uses is online so let me know if you want her details

DoItAfraid · 25/07/2022 16:05

My DD has made great progress in her top set (she was already top 3 her class).

In terms of sourcing one, if you cant ask other mum friends can you ask in the your local facebook mum groups?

Or you could place an advert on Childcare.co.uk

iwantavuvezela · 25/07/2022 16:08

absolutely yes - getting to grip with maths at this young age will serve your child in secondary - my DD went from very average at primary school - to now been predicted A's in maths at GSCE level - having a tutor who found out all the missing gaps, explained everything was just what she needed - it improved her confidence and is now a subject that she loves - so yes, for the core subjects I would say tutoring is worth every cent at this point.

Kite22 · 25/07/2022 16:31

Year five child......Has aspirations to go into a STEM career.

What children want to "do when they grow up" at 10 years old, very rarely has any resemblance to what they do as adults.

I am not keen on the idea of tutors for such young dc.

I hear what people are saying about maybe needing to make sure they have a good grasp of basics, but how much do you think they are missing ?

missmonlineclasses · 01/08/2022 22:08

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Original poster
RudsyFarmer · 10/08/2022 12:31

Kite22 · 25/07/2022 16:31

Year five child......Has aspirations to go into a STEM career.

What children want to "do when they grow up" at 10 years old, very rarely has any resemblance to what they do as adults.

I am not keen on the idea of tutors for such young dc.

I hear what people are saying about maybe needing to make sure they have a good grasp of basics, but how much do you think they are missing ?

His dad is an engineer so I’m sure that plays a part. He likes the idea of following the same path but I don’t mind what he does as long as he is happy doing it.

OP posts:
Logoplanter · 11/08/2022 07:22

No I wouldn't. He's 10. The thought of tutoring such a young child is depressing. Let him be a kid and enjoy life and school without pressure. Plenty of time for tutors if they are needed later on.

Sorry if that sounds harsh OP, that's just my thoughts.

ClocksGoingBackwards · 11/08/2022 07:35

Your child isn’t falling behind if he got ‘expected’ in his end of year report. Expected means exactly that, that he’s working at a level that would be expected of a child on his year group.

With only three ‘grades’, there can be a lot of variation between the abilities of expected students. The teacher could have awarded expected because your son is just above the ‘working towards’ level, or it could be that it was very close to being awarded greater depth and only just missed out.

I would talk to the teacher before deciding wether tutoring is needed, and that would be helpful anyway so that you can tell the tutor the things that the teacher thinks your ds needs to work on if you do get one.

Tutoring can be very beneficial and do wonderful things for a child’s confidence in a subject they struggle with, but it’s worth finding out if your child actually needs it first. Until then, there are loads of online resources your ds could use, even if just to keep up his maths skills over the holidays.

carefullycourageous · 11/08/2022 07:41

I would think the best thing you could do is to do more Maths with him yourselves. If your DP is an engineer they must be able to cover the basics in a fun way as they would know how to calculate various things e.g. talk about engineering principles and do some small projects themselves?

The risk with getting a tutor is you put him off or make him feel he is bad at Maths.

Can you just introduce more Maths into life? What aspects of Maths do you feel he is needing more support with? If you are not sure - get detail from the teacher as to where he is on each aspect and then work on the weaker areas yourself but without telling him.

There are a lot of Maths-based games you can play with him (I mean board games, not online).

carefullycourageous · 11/08/2022 07:44

Logoplanter · 11/08/2022 07:22

No I wouldn't. He's 10. The thought of tutoring such a young child is depressing. Let him be a kid and enjoy life and school without pressure. Plenty of time for tutors if they are needed later on.

Sorry if that sounds harsh OP, that's just my thoughts.

I have tutored kids of 10 and where they are struggling they actually like it because it gives them the boost/support they need and they make fast progress. Early intervention where there are issues is better than waiting.

But in this case the OP's child is working at 'expected' level so the risk is the tutoring will create a problem where non exists, by putting pressure on.

Iamnotthe1 · 11/08/2022 11:39

As a teacher, I've found that tutors often don't actually improve the child's subject knowledge or accuracy directly but that they can have an impact on a child's confidence in that subject. This is a simplification but, generally, if the child is asking for it themselves, it can have a positive effect on confidence. If it's being done to them, through parent choice, it can have a negative effect.

Original poster
RudsyFarmer · 11/08/2022 11:44

carefullycourageous · 11/08/2022 07:41

I would think the best thing you could do is to do more Maths with him yourselves. If your DP is an engineer they must be able to cover the basics in a fun way as they would know how to calculate various things e.g. talk about engineering principles and do some small projects themselves?

The risk with getting a tutor is you put him off or make him feel he is bad at Maths.

Can you just introduce more Maths into life? What aspects of Maths do you feel he is needing more support with? If you are not sure - get detail from the teacher as to where he is on each aspect and then work on the weaker areas yourself but without telling him.

There are a lot of Maths-based games you can play with him (I mean board games, not online).

Interestingly we’re really tucking into English based board games at the moment and his brother is much more interested in that than my 10 year old. The only money based games we play is ‘Buy it Right’ and ‘Sum Swamp’ which is too babyish now. He got full scores on his school TimesTables test and can calculate money/change now. Any other maths based board game recommendations would be gratefully received.

(He does play Monopoly on his computer but got a bit bored with that)

OP posts:
Iamnotthe1 · 11/08/2022 12:03

Any other maths based board game recommendations would be gratefully received.

Payday
www.amazon.co.uk/Winning-Moves-22743-Payday-Board/dp/B00KYUO2PU

Plantstrees · 11/08/2022 12:12

In my view the best way to teach maths to younger children is through projects that they are interested in. Try small scale construction projects that involve measuring, squaring up using triangles, calculating areas and such like. If your DH is an engineer I am sure he can help build a model of something - your house or another building, a garden shed or dolls house for a sibling, a dog bed or rabbit hutch or just a piece of furniture. It is much more interesting for the child than sheets of dry calculations. Doing something like this includes using so many different maths concepts that a child can pick up without realising how much maths they are using. Great for summer holidays.

Iamnotthe1 · 11/08/2022 12:21

Projects are amazing and we encourage parents to do these often with our kids, even if you don't intend to go through with the project in the end. Things like:

  • planning and costing a party,
  • planning, timetabling and costing a holiday trip,
  • planning, measuring and costing a redesign for a room of the house,

work really well.

Plantstrees · 12/08/2022 13:00

Yes, I remember my DD spending hours working with various European train timetables to plan her gap year backpacking trip. Obviously not suitable for primary children but something a little less challenging like using a local bus or train timetable to plan a trip somewhere would be brilliant maths practice.

parietal · 12/08/2022 13:12

what do you think a tutor will achieve?


  • if a child is behind, the tutor could help them catch up but that doesn't sound like the case

  • if the child is doing OK, the tutor could widen their scope with projects etc. but that is lot of money to spend for a bit of fun

  • if the child is doing OK, the tutor could push them ahead in the syllabus. this is what happens for 11+ exams etc. but if you don't have the exams, then this is often bad for kids because it means they are too far ahead of their peers and get bored in lessons.


Overall, doing projects / holiday clubs / wider thinking about maths etc is good. but it would make more sense to spend your money on coding toys (e.g. robots or coding games) and quality holiday clubs than specifically on a tutor.

dammidarlin · 13/08/2022 19:21

Lovetogarden2022 · 25/07/2022 16:02

Meant to say - the woman she uses is online so let me know if you want her details

yes i am certainly interested! Pls pm me thank you