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Secondary education

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Tutor for a 10 year old?

7 replies

MarioandLuigi · 26/01/2011 12:51

Thought I would put this here as the primary section seems quite focused on smaller children.

DS is struggling a little with his maths. He is a bright boy when it comes to literacy and he loves French but he struggles when it comes to anything with numbers. I wouldnt be too worried but it gets him down, and so thats why I am worried. I am not generally too pushy (I hope :))

Has anyone used a tutor for a child of 10? How did it work out?

OP posts:
WoodRose · 26/01/2011 13:13

A friend of mine with a DD in year 6 used a tutor for maths. Like your DS, she was struggling with maths and it was affecting her confidence. My friend is not at all "pushy" but was concerned that her dd might really feel out of her depth when she got to year 7. The tutor helped enormously and my friend's dd, who is now in year 7, is happy and confident with her maths. Smile

Pterosaur · 26/01/2011 13:26

My DD had a tutor in year 5 as her year 4 teacher had commented on her lack of confidence (though her attainment wasn't bad) and DD said she sometimes cried in maths tests.

I didn't want her to leave primary school feeling, as I did, that she could do English but was just hopeless at maths. Her tutor worked on KS2 topics (and a bit beyond) for half an hour a week, for four terms, from first principles to SATS questions, moving at DD's pace in a very calm and quiet atmosphere. DD actually enjoyed her sessions and it has really boosted her confidence.

I'm really hoping it's set her up for a confident start to year 7.

MarioandLuigi · 26/01/2011 15:54

Thank you - thats just what I wanted to hear :)

OP posts:
bitsyandbetty · 26/01/2011 16:27

My DS had a tutor for 6 weeks over the summer before Year 6 (at his request). It made a big difference and it was more to do with confidence as has been said previously now he knows he can do maths.

RoadArt · 26/01/2011 18:52

We started using Maths Whizz which is an online tutor.

You initially do an assessment where it asks various questions and then decides the level of maths you understand and presents lessons from a starting point.

It breaks the curriculum down into approx 17 different topics and will give an explanation, 10 questions and then a test on each topic. It then moves onto another topic. If you pass you move on, if you fail, it will bring up the subject again at a lower age and move on from there,

I have found it fantastic for filling in the gaps and explaining strategies that I certainly wasnt aware of.

It matches the UK National curriculum and covers questions in all areas.

It recommends spending a minimum of 30 and maximum of 90 minutes a week, which, if broken down as 15 minutes a day is very manageable.

It works like a tutor, and if you get a question wrong, it will break down the question into stages.

Its very clever and I have found it invaluable for filling in gaps (that I wasnt even aware of)

It works on a maths age which can work positively or negatively depending on your child, so its best not to focus on this.

Its definitely worth a trial, especially if you are willing to pay for a tutor.

There are extensive tutoring resources online but you have to make the commitment of putting time aside to do it, just like you would by going to an external tutor.

Yoursmartchildnow · 13/02/2011 17:50

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FreudianSlippery · 13/02/2011 17:52

[loads MN rifle]

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