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KS2 maths tutor needed - Durham/Sunderland area

4 replies

BlueRidgeMountain · 08/04/2024 12:04

Does anyone have any recommendations for a tutor for a year 5 child with ASD and ADHD? I’ve been looking online and I’m not sure if I’m looking in the wrong places. I’m struggling to find someone that’s got experience with children like mine - most of them seem to be uni students looking to almost hot house tutor higher achieving kids. My child is working roughly to a year 4 standard in maths, is struggling with multiplication and a number of other concepts. I think it’s mainly down to delivery of the subject which is why I need someone with good experience tutoring autistic kids.
hope someone can help, I’m tearing my hair out here!

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Nenen · 09/04/2024 04:52

Most good tutors get the majority of their clients by word of mouth so don’t tend to advertise much or use agencies that take a cut from their earnings each week. It is certainly worth asking other parents if they can recommend a tutor. For the sake of transparency, I’m a private tutor myself (with 30+ years of school teaching) but not in your area.
Other than personal recommendations, the best two reputable websites I know about to search online without using agencies are First Tutors and Childcare. Both these sites check tutors’ credentials, especially DBS, qualifications and identity. You can type your postcode and requirements, eg child’s age, subjects wanted, SEND etc and this will bring up a list of tutors with their photos, biogs and reviews. You can then message any tutors you think might be suitable to ask any questions and check their availability, fees, etc.
You can search free but the two sites charge in different ways. Childcare have different access arrangements for free and Gold members (£24.99 per month until you find someone), whereas with First Tutors, once you’ve found someone and agreed a time for the first lesson, First Tutors charge a one-off finders fee to parents (up to £29.99) to release the tutor’s full contact details to finalise arrangements.
I hope this helps and good luck with your search.

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NoProblems · 09/04/2024 20:08

I don't think it is necessary for a good tutor to have specific experience with autistic children.

What you need is a tutor who is patient and can adjust to the needs of the student.

You should be looking locally rather than online.

Ask other parents, friends or relatives for any local tutors they could recommend.

For Year 4/5 maths, you should not have to pay high rates.

Even someone you know, who is not a tutor but good at maths, could possibly help.

Nenen · 10/04/2024 07:27

I agree personal recommendations are best but if @BlueRidgeMountain doesn’t find a tutor by asking around, then searching online is a good method, especially if she uses websites that check tutors’ credentials and publish bone fide reviews.

However, that’s not to say the tutoring itself will necessarily be done online. Both the websites I mentioned in my previous post have options to search for online and/or face to face tutoring in a given area, either via a tutor coming to the client or the distance the client is prepared to travel to a tutor. Many tutors offer the first lesson as a single paid trial or ‘taster’ so you can see if they are a good fit for your child before booking further lessons.

Personally, I would look for a tutor who is a qualified teacher and has experience of school teaching. At the very least, this gives them knowledge of what children are expected to know and understand in school and the methods they will be using. The last thing a child who is struggling needs is to be taught methods that are at variance with what they will be doing in school.

I think most parents who had to teach their own children during the pandemic would agree that teaching is not something everyone can do, however kind and patient they are (although those traits obviously help). Good maths and science tutors tend to charge premium rates whatever age they teach as they are in short supply so market forces come into play. However, just as all school teachers are paid the same whether they work in primary or secondary schools, most well qualified and experienced tutors charge a similar rate irrespective of the age of the student. There is sometimes a small increase for older students to reflect the additional time taken for marking homework.

I know it’s very hard for many parents to finance tuition (we remortgaged our house to fund specialist help for our neurodivergent daughter) but in my experience, it’s certainly worthwhile and probably more cost effective to pay for a well qualified and experienced tutor.

BlueRidgeMountain · 10/04/2024 18:10

Thankyou for the website recommendations @Nenen I’ll be looking there - we do want tutoring to be in person as he will not engage with online learning. I have asked around for recommendations but nobody I know of has had maths tutoring for KS2.

I do see what you’re saying @NoProblems and I’d certainly agree if it was for my other child. DS2 is a different kettle of fish and will certainly need someone not only with a lot of patience, but who is experienced with ADHD, as he really struggles with focus and impulse control (not medicated at present). You are right in that I need to keep looking locally so I’ve though of posting in the ASD/ADHD local Facebook page to see if anyone there has used a tutor they’d recommend. I hate seeing him struggle so much, and god knows we’ve tried helping him, but we aren’t, teachers and he just gets angry that we aren’t doing it the way he does in school.

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