What particular skill do you look for in a Tutor?

[visitortutor]

Hi all,

I am a private tutor based in central London. What I want to know is which particular skills you, as parents, look for in a tutor?

Any and all points are welcome!

A creative approach to the task, to keep kids interested.

A flexible approach. I want a teacher who can interact with my children and knows what they are doing. My approach is to interview all candidates and ask them politely to assist my children with their homework tasks.
This way I can gauge how comfortable I am with them and how competent they are. How much I pay is based on my initial observation. I also request that they are police checked as well just in case. I used a website to help me find someone.

This came up on active and I read it as "what qualities do you look for in a TUDOR?"

Oops!

This came up on active and I read it as "what qualities do you look for in a TUDOR?"

Haha, not quite the question.

April2020mom, that's a really good way of approaching it!

Aside from online, where would you look for a tutor? I am interested to know where you would look for adverts outside of the internet sphere!

I looked for local recommendations. I chose my DDs current maths tutor as she had loads of recommendations on a local FB page, used to be the Head of Maths at a very good school and is very friendly and eager to teach - somehow she makes maths seem exciting . She clearly loves the subject she teaches.

I have a couple of friends who are qualified teachers. I asked them for recommendations and they offered to help tutor my stepdaughter. Otherwise you can always ask your mom friends to recommend someone.

My child would say he likes a good 'explainer', but as a parent I like to see a systematic approach to specification and for tutor to help child to make difficult connections they could not see for themselves and to build the child's confidence up. All three of my sons have had a tutor at different times. The current one is excellent and we found her on Tutor Hunt. She has an enormous waiting list and we are trying to get an extra hour each week.

Fantastic responses - all of which are perfectly valid. But how do you know that this tutor is better than others just by looking at a profile on the Internet??

You dont. It tells you nothing. Pretend that you are searching for a school.
When it comes to using a tutor nothing beats old fashioned observation hands down. The first tutor I interviewed failed one of the most important tests- the tutor is trustworthy one. Subsequently I ask all candidates to teach a quick lesson whilst I sit there making a shopping list. I quietly observe them at work.
If they can manage to pass that crucial test they are halfway through the process. Of course I always ask for references and insist that they undergo safety checks.

I think this really depends on the child? Mine need different approaches.