The journey to engaging with a private tutor is a journey that I fully believe must be devised with everybody in mind. Children won’t learn if they don’t want to be taught.
As a first step, you and your child must first agree on the need and purpose of a private tutor. This may be due to unmet needs at school, a struggle with a subject area, feeling understimulated with current workloads, etc. This is essential. A key part of this should be determining what your tutoring relationship will look like – what are you looking to gain? Are you looking for short-term interventions to boost grades in a particular topic, or are you looking for long term support?
Once you have decided your intent, you should then begin your search for a tutor. Within your search, you should consider what approaches to teaching and learning you are searching for. Are you looking for a pre-recorded library of content to access independently? Are you looking for a face to face tutor, or an online one? Deciding on these before you find a tutor will help you on your journey to finding the right educator for your child.
Within my role as a private tutor, I will initially receive a connection request from a parent – this could be an email, a What’sApp, a referral, etc. Once I have made connection, I will arrange a consultation meeting. Within this, we will discuss the learning needs of the child and what you are seeking to gain from private tuition. I will then explain a little bit about myself, and we come to a joint decision on whether I am the right tutor for your child.
If we agree, I will send over policies and procedures for virtual working and safeguarding. If these are agreeable, parents will sign virtually, which is returned to me in a manner which is legally auditable.
Students are then allocated a code for Google Meet, which remains theirs perpetually (or until changed by Google). Parents, and children with appropriate contact methods, may also be sent a login for the App. A slot may be arranged, and lessons are scheduled through a system which may send email or SMS reminders to parents. Students are encouraged to log in 15 minutes early. Lessons are usually scheduled for one hour, although I do ask that parents allow 20-30 minutes leeway to allow running over. All lessons are recorded for safeguarding.