Are You Thinking of Becoming a Tutor?

If you are a qualified teacher and are considering becoming a private tutor, either part-time to supplement your income, or full-time, then you may find this post useful. We bust some common myths and pre-conceptions about private tutoring.

Depending on the subject you teach, private tutoring can definitely be a rewarding career both financially and emotionally.

One-to-one tutoring a home setting can help students to grasp concepts that they may not be able to in school. The student may have that “lightbulb” moment supported by the help a tutor can offer them after identifying the areas they are struggling with. Many tutors have the desire to help and share their knowledge, and empathise with the student. A good tutor should be patient and feel what the student is feeling.  

You have the ability to build in private tutoring sessions around other teaching commitments and personal commitments, and make a positive difference in the wider educational community.

We encourage tutors to be a positive role model through action and support. Seeing a student achieve their “a-ha moment”, making a difference in a student’s educational career is why tutoring is most definitely a rewarding career.

As a tutor with us, you will work on a self-employed basis and have full control over the hours you wish to work. You also have full control over the fee you wish to charge, after assessing the student’s needs and goals.

Once you begin tutoring, you will realise that private tutoring isn’t just for students who are falling behind in school or failing; almost every student can benefit from some form of a tutoring intervention. There are many opportunities to provide additional tutoring support once you consider the varying goals of your student. This could be in the form of improving writing skills, reviewing a concept they missed due to absence, focusing on revision study skills, or supporting talented students on more challenging material. Evidence shows that tutoring can help transform those goals into reality.

There is significant evidence to indicate that private tutoring, particularly one-to-one sessions is a positive intervention to help either catch up, plug the knowledge gaps for students or more broadly improve the attitude towards learning. Many parents will also agree with this when they see the results after a few sessions of tutoring. Tutoring programs can focus on the individual learning process so every student can succeed.

When planned in collaboration with classroom teacher support, tuition allows students to progress at their own pace. The student is encouraged to develop self-paced and self-directed learning. For students who struggle with an educational environment or have a negative attitude towards school, this one-to-one attention helps to improve self-esteem, confidence and if required, reintroduce them back effectively into mainstream education.

Tutoring has previously had the perception of being something only accessible to the affluent to further support the gifted who are aiming for a place at a top university. But this is no longer the case. Following a robust review of the impact of tutoring interventions and the conclusion of evidence that there is a substantial attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and SEND students and their peers. The UK government introduced the National Tutoring Programme to address the need for catch-up and the impact of the Covid-19 on pupils’ learning. This means that there is access for all students who require additional educational intervention, regardless of their background, financial status, or support needs.

From the early learning years to secondary school and beyond, tutoring is helpful for students of all ages.

Teachers are under pressure regardless of the student’s age to cover a lot of content, and with growing class sizes, some students can fall behind. Whether a student is developing their core skills, like reading and writing, or preparing for university, there is a tutoring program that meets the needs of any student at any age. There is always an opportunity for students to learn and grow.

Private tuition can provide a slower pace of learning and can target missing knowledge gaps. Targeted tuition can unlock the potential in all students, regardless of age or academic potential.