Tutor Agency

[mimmum]

I have been thinking of getting ds a little extra support for some areas of literacy which he has been struggling with. I contacted a few agencies though I have to admit that I did not read all of the small print. I spoke to one agency over the phone and they sent someone over to speak to me in person. Looking back perhaps this should have been a warning sign of a hard sell, but I just saw it as customer service. Anyway she was very nice was good with ds but was not the tutor herself. She went through the program which sounded v good and got ds to do some writing, she said this would help assess him. She didn't directly mention money so I had to ask. It was v expensive working out around £43 an hour which I thought was a lot, but I would have been prepared to pay if I really thought it would help ds. But these were the deal breakers signing up for a minimum of 3 months and paying a month in advance and paying a £70 deposit before even having a tutor assigned. I said that I was def not prepared to pay a deposit or any make any kind of payment to them at all until I had had some details of the tutor and their experience etc. and I had judged for myself whether they were suitable or not. The woman acted v suprised and seemed to think I was being most unreasonable, but I just couldn't hand over that much money without having had something other than just words and assurances first. It had started to feel that it was all about her collecting the cash and I didn't feel comfortable was I wrong? She didn't even take ds work when she left I suppose without the cheques she had lost interest.

As a tutor, the best way I think of finding someone is by personal recommendation. Could you ask around any other parents you know well? Some parents may be quiet about their child having tutoring, but will be willing to pass on details if asked. If tutors are booked up, then they may be able to recommend a colleague.
It is difficult to judge how good a tutor will be with your DS, but I think gut instinct is very useful. Do you feel the tutor is approachable? Does he/she have references from other parents? After assessing your ds, can the tutor explain what they think your ds needs in relation to extra support and does that correlate with your feelings? Does the tutor seem to have a nice way of relating with your DS?

Hope you find someone soon!

sarahfreck, I have been looking around for a while and asking ppl too.. unf all the teachers that are recommended to me are way out of SW London. And we just moved into the area, so am not close enough to ask other parents on tutors - this does seem to be a not-too-appreciated topic among parents.

I did try from a website and sent him to a tutor, but then it didnt work out as there was no individual attention given. After that, am not too confident to judge with just a gut instinct.. Dont want to keep changing tutors too.. want him to adjust well to one person, hence want to get it right!

Have you tried phoning the tutors you have been recommended, explaining that you know you are too far away, but do they happen to know any other tutors that are nearer? It might be worth a try. Sorry you are finding it hard.

Although this directory is mainly geared at 11+, you may find someone on here who teaches other subjects or can recommend someone who does. www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/services/directory

The other thing you could try is asking The Association of Tutors. www.tutor.co.uk/aot.htm They are not an agency but will try and match any requests with tutors. They have a very rigorous vetting procedure for membership.

Both the above websites give general advice on finding/choosing tutors too.

You could also try yellow pages, Thompsons Local etc. I'd avoid any large glossy adverts which are more likely to be for agencies ( some of which are fine but some are a rip off!) and look at the small single line entries. There are no charges for these and imo they are more likely to be independent tutors who don't need to spend large amounts of money on advertising. If you go down this route, you should ask to meet to talk about your ds with no obligation. You should ask for references/testimonials from other parents and explain that you definitely want one to one tutoring not in a group.
You could ask the school - Teachers DO sometimes tutor privately as well, or they may know of someone good. Ask discretely though as some teachers and schools are very anti additional tutoring.
Finally - if you haven't already done this, you could start a thread on here entitled "good tutor needed SW London Year 4 English" and see what happens! More likely to get specific recommendations on a specific thread!

Thanks so much for this advise Sarahfreck.. you're so helpful ! Wish you were in SW London.. are you by any chance :)

Have started a thread in MN, but not much response.. will do so again..

I'm sorry - I'm in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Hope you get something sorted soon.

hello, my son is currently in year 5, and I'm looking for a tutor for him for the 11plus entry exam. He has had a tutor previously, but I wasn't too happy with the progress. I've looked online in my area, which is Watford, and everyone seems to be quiet expensive. I have tried working with my son at home, but its very difficult. If anyone could help me, or knows of any tutor within the price range of £25-£35 a week.
Thank you.

As I was trying to say, £30 per hour is a reasonable rate for a qualified teacher when a personal trainer charges £50-60 per hour.