How much feedback - dsylexia tutoring.

[Alittlefeedbackwouldbenice]

My 8yo has been having tuition (1hr per week) since autumn to help with severe dyslexia. We had an initial conversation with the tutor following the first session and since then virtually no feedback as to how my daughter is doing.

A few months ago, I messaged her asking for an update to support her IEP review in school. We did then have a phone conversation, but that's the only real feedback I've had since after she first started.

We've never used a tutor before so I've no idea what the usual level of feedback is, but I get the feeling it should be more than we are getting.

My daughter has also mentioned that they do a lot of maths. It may be that there's a good reason for this, but if I'm honest I'm totally in the dark about what they do, with the exception of what my daughter tells me.

She is very young (not that there's anything wrong with that, just an observation) and comes across as very very shy. There's no small talk at the door, nothing that gives away what they've been doing, just a hello/goodbye. I do know that my child enjoys going there. She is making some progress, but with the IEP/some school interventions, the tutor and us parents spending 30-45m with her most weeknights working on things, it's hard to pinpoint if the tutor is helping at all right now.

Should I stick or switch tutors do you think? We have no contact, so I'm guessing I don't even have to give notice, though obviously I'll be fair to her and give her some if we do switch.

That doesn't sound right. My 8 year old has a dyslexia tutor and she agreed what they'd be working on together via email at the start of term, and she emails weekly updates with what they've done and progress.

This sounds very odd - we get very detailed after every session from our children's tutors which is great. We know exactly what they've worked on, anything they've struggled with and usually some homework too. When you ask my kids what they did they just say "can't remember" lol

I wouldn't like that lack of communication at all to be honest. Something is off and especially as there's no real chat at the door either.

I've asked for end of term feedback now and she says she'll get to it next week.

Hmnnn.

The question is whether to continue and ask for weekly feedback from now on (along with checking her qualifications etc...) or ditch her straight away.

I'm quite clear on these things and if it feels 'off' I'd stop the lessons (that's just my view though - she might be fantastic).
On a side note, she's not based in the North West is she? There's a very well regarded dyslexia tutor near me who was recommended by the school to work with my middle child (we went with someone different in the end) but interested to see if it's the same woman as heard similar reports about poor communication etc from other parents. (You can DM me if you'd rather)

We get a little bit of feedback at pick up. Ours doesn’t sound as structured as some, because part of it, is working on what she struggled at school that week.

Hi - I provide feedback at the end of every session and then quite often emails and texts in between lessons as well. I think you're being under-served.

Having said that, it also depends on the fees you're paying. If the tutor's only charging £25/hour, for example, then they're not likely to do much outside of the lesson itself. I'm not cheap - but I'm very experienced and provide a LOT of support and spend hours planning and developing lessons.

£40 an hour...
Edited to add, not in London or vicinity.

I think that's an average/low rate for a UK qualified teacher and an improbably low rate for a qualified dyslexia specialist. I think for £40 - a little bit of verbal feedback after the session and a more formal report at the end of term is probably what you can hope for. These things should be very transparent and explicit at the start though. It doesn't sound to me that she's holding up her end of the bargain.

Why is she doing maths when you’ve employed her a a dyslexia tutor and are paying handsomely for it. Is she a qualified teacher or specialist dyslexia tutor?

I would expect an email each week outline what went well, areas to develop and what the plan is for next week. It only needs to be three lines long. She may be shy but she can email. Although is some shy necessarily good a this role?
I would not be happy if I ways paying for this

That is an exceptionally low rate for a teacher specifically trained in teaching dyslexic children. I paid £35 and for my DS's dyslexia tutor 25 years ago.

Is she listed on the British Dyslexia Association website?

£40 ph is not particularly expensive. Actually, for a dyslexia specialist it's, a low rate!

What was agreed when you started? Did you discuss feedback. Most parents ask about it before they start with me.

I provide written feedback after each lesson and will answer quick texts or emails.
Phone calls, meetings and end of term reports or write ups are chargeable at my normal hourly rate.

Perhaps try discussing this properly with your tutor before ending tuition, especially if you child is making good progress.

Ok, what is the normal going rate for this? I thought it was about average, and chat gtp seems to think it's on the lower end of mid range?

I need to check her qualifications. I'm fairly sure she's not a teacher, and although she'd advertising herself as a dyslexia specialist, I'm not sure she's got much to back that up.

The only area my child has made significant progress in is handwriting, but we have been sittong down and doing that with her on a nightly basis for the last 2 months, which is when we've seen the improvement.

Nothing was agreed on feedback when we first started. The only thing that was agreed was the time of tutoring and the cost. No terms. No contract.

I think I'll use the summer break to find someone more suitable.

It sounds like you didn't really check this person out properly before you engaged their services. That's on you, surely?

My friend who is a qualified dyslexia assessor and ex sendco with 20+ years of experience charges £60 per lesson and she's not the most expensive dyslexia tutor in our area.

No I didn't, and that's on me. But that still doesn't excuse someone giving a shoddy service.

I'll look into alternatives, get a rough idea of the average cost and then make some decisions.

Dyslexia does affect Maths too. Especially times tables and anything that needs to be memorized.

As a guide - I would charge £65-75 to provide intensive support for English and Maths to a child with dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies.

I'm not a dyslexia specialist, they should charge more. I'm a teacher of 30+ years, further qualified in SEND and child psychology. I provide pretty detailed feedback after every session and I think that's the minimum you should expect.

I am probably on the expensive side, but I put in an incredible amount of work behind the scenes planning, thinking, tweaking lessons etc. I also maintain contact between lessons with parents so that we are constantly communicating about successes and difficulties.

I hope you get fixed up with someone lovely soon and I'm sorry you've been let down by your current tutor. 😘

I guess I'm just flailing around here. She's having interventions most days in school, I'm working with her most evenings, it's exhausting. On top of that both working, and another child who has disabilities. Realistically we can't afford some of the prices that I mentioned on here.

She's a really bright kid. I know everyone says that but she really is. She's greater depth at her reading (and maths) because she memorizes the words, She was assessed at having the verbal ability for 5-year-old at two and a half (we were involved in a study...) and with her reading you could mistake her for being 4 years older, yet her writing is optimistically y1 standard. She'll be going into year 4 in September.

I would say that it depends on what you are willing to pay/what you are looking to get for your money. I taught a dyslexic pupil when I was tutoring and have been teacher trained and used a lot of that in my practice. I did charge at the lower end of the scale, however I did provide verbal feedback at the end of every lesson and more formal feedback on a termly basis. Dyslexic pupils do tend to have issues with maths when it comes to place value and time I found. Another issue was that my pupil would start work strongly and then quickly become cognitively tired and accuracy in work would tail off which required me to vary the work and to break it up with brain breaks or games which still had some learning to them.
a SENCO level teacher would be a lot more expensive.