“We had planned to stop the tutoring after the 11+ exam, but with the next lockdown and more disruption to her education, we quickly relented when she literally begged us to continue going! The sessions are adjusted to her needs and she describes them as ‘really fun’ and she likes it that the work is specific to her level and much more individualised than the class work at school.”5 Top Reasons to Get a Tutor
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Confidence
The number one reason to get a tutor is to build a child’s confidence. As we all know, anyone who loses confidence in their abilities often switches off and stops learning. Maybe the teacher is moving too fast, or maybe it is a concept that they don’t get first time. Alternatively, they may start getting things wrong which re-enforces a downward spiral.
When your child says ‘I can’t do maths,’ or ‘I hate writing,’ it might be a time to think about getting extra help.
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Frustration or Hating School
For whatever reason, some children’s frustration with learning leads to tears and anger. Homework or classwork might be a problem. If a child is finding it difficult to read for example, they are not going to be able to access most of the others subjects either. If they are struggling in maths, they may not be able to do the homework that is given to the rest of the class.
Finding a good tutor who can diagnose the educational causes can solve a problem for the whole family.
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Moving House, School, Family Changes
Any change, even if it is for the better, is stressful. An increase in stress will always reduce a child’s ability to learn for a period of time. Therefore, changes such as moving house, country, school or family changes often lead to gaps forming in a child’s educational development. If they happen to be essential building blocks, this can develop into a problems later on.
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Preparing for Big School
If pupils are behind, in any significant area, at the end of Primary it may be difficult to catch up at the Secondary level. Transition from Primary to Secondary school is a major change in teaching styles. In Primary Schools, pupils are all in one class, taught mostly by a single teacher. Secondary school, although more stimulating, can lead to pupils forgetting or not practicing skills learned at the Primary level. The challenge is greater, the number of teachers is greater, but therefore, so is the difficulty in catching up.
A tutor can help a child, either before Secondary School, or outside the Secondary classroom deal with these issues.
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Exam Preparation
Getting ready for exams is always a good time to get a little extra help. 11+ Common Entrance Assessments, SATs and GCSEs require a lot of extra work and are important milestones for our children’s future. If parents and children want to do their best it is often worth investing in specialist help to give that boost in performance that may be needed.
Really experienced tutors will have helped many students through their exams and will be know what is required.
