Many years ago I use to be an English Tutor. I taught basic literacy and English Literature up to GCSE 'O' Level.
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| Finding the right tutor for your kids can sometimes be quite challenging! |
An English Graduate myself, I have retained my love of classic literature and am a firm believer in the importance of kids having a good standard of written and spoken English. If we can instill in them a love of literature too, so much the better.
As our schools get fuller and staff are not always able to give individual pupils the attention they need, hiring a tutor is an obvious solution.
You can hire a tutor for almost any subject you can think of, science, language, business but understandably maths and english are two of the most popular.
Time poor parents may struggle to know where to find the best tutor to work with their child but at
Tutora.co.uk, who specialise in providing private tutors for home tuition, it is easy to locate a tutor close by and to ensure that they are fully qualified and security (DBS checked). They have over 3000 expert tutors from £15/hr and cover the major cities and surrounding areas in the UK.
Simply enter your chosen subject and your postcode and you will be presented with a list of tutors local to you with all the information you need about their qualifications, what their travel policy is (some will only travel within a set radius) and whether they are DBS checked.
You can then message them direct to book a lesson which can cost from £15 an hour upwards depending on where you live and how experienced your tutor is.
Some of the tutors already have reviews against their name which gives you an idea about the sort of person they are, however, there's no substitute for meeting your chosen tutor and seeing if they get on with your child.
When I was tutoring, I found that the most important thing was to listen to the pupil and to work out the best way to encourage them. When you're a teenager, you often need to be listened to and to have your confidence boosted. It was amazing how often my pupils hadn't received any positive feedback - they were only told what they had done wrong.
The other shocker was that the Shakespearean plays on the syllabus were often not read from beginning to end and never read out loud in class. It's pretty obvious that the best way to appreciate a drama is to perform it!
Some kids will respond well to a strict tutor, some will rebel and pay no attention to them. Others prefer someone who can use friendliness, humour and a coaching approach to get the best out of them.
The first tutor you choose may not necessarily be the right one but with Tutora there are plenty to choose from if your first choice doesn't work out.
You can also register a tutor yourself free of charge. To get started you complete your profile, which is your chance to tell parents and students why you would be the ideal tutor for them or their child. You need to write your bio, mentioning your experience and expertise in your chosen subject and add a clear photo.
You will be asked to upload a copy of your ID - either a driving licence or passport and if you have a DBS check you can send it to Tutora to add to your profile. If you don't have one, they can help you get one for £50. It is not obligatory to register as a tutor with them but, as a parent, I would certainly be looking for tutors who are DBS checked.
You will also need to add your payment details and set your rate. There's a quiz for you to complete before your registration is complete. Tutora will take a commission of between 15% and 25% based on the number of sessions you have taught in the last 12 months. The higher this number, the lower the rate of commission.
Tutora.co.uk was founded by Scott Woodley and Mark Hughes. Whilst working as a teacher in Sheffield, Scott was often asked by parents of children in his class to recommend good tutors. As I'm sure many of you know if you've tried to find a good tutor, this can take ages.
Scott joined forces with Mark, a Technology Analyst and long-time friend and the two created a website that brings parents and tutors together without having to pay large sums to tuition agencies, scour through endless message boards or worry about finding the right person for them.
I was impressed by how simple Tutora is to use and, if I weren't so busy blogging I'd be registering as an English Tutor with them.
If you're looking for the right tutor for your kids to help them get to grips with the next key stage or to cope with an increase in homework, or if GCSEs are looming, my recommendation would be to find a tutor now.
In my English tutor days, I was often called in with 6 weeks to go before exams - that's really not enough time to build the kind of relationship you need to encourage a youngster who has had their confidence dented or to help them read through and analyse core texts.
The sooner you start the better.
You can find out more about Tutora at
www.tutora.co.uk. 
