One in five UK learners has SEND, learners who have the same access to ‘catch up’ and personalised learning as their peers, however when it comes to online tutoring, there are often some perceived barriers. Is it the right option? Will they successfully engage via a screen? Will they be able to build a strong relationship with their tutor? The answer is simply, yes! With the right, relaxed conditions, and students, teachers, SENCOs and tutors all working together, you can easily ensure each session counts.

I’m now in my third year as a Pearson tutor, teaching English for students aged from Year 4 to Year 9. In this time, I have watched numerous learners, of varying abilities, start thriving in response to Pearson’s tutoring offer – students with SEND especially.

With one-on-one interactions, or groups of no more than three, Pearson Tutors can efficiently help teachers plug gaps, address misconceptions, and make steady progress at the students’ pace. So, if you have a block of online tutoring sessions booked for learners with additional needs in your school, or you are thinking of doing so soon, here are some top tips that can help you and your students thrive.

1. Lay firm foundations

Before a student’s first session with us begins, school staff can help pave the way for a smooth introduction. The first thing is to put the learner’s mind at ease by explaining that the tutoring is there to enhance their learning, assuring them that their tutor will be experienced – in fact, we are all qualified teachers too. Let them know that their first session will be an introduction to the Bramble tutoring platform, as well as a friendly get-to-know-you session with their tutor.

Some students may be concerned about the use of the camera in our sessions. You can let them know that using the camera from beginning to end isn’t necessary. Instead, the camera could just be used to say hello and goodbye, and for when they are sharing work. This can help children who struggle with eye contact greatly and allow them to feel more at ease.

To help demystify the experience, be sure that your learners are also told:

• Where exactly they need to be for their sessions.
• How long their sessions will last.
• Who will be there from school.
• What they should do if they need more support during session.

2.  Reduce stress with the right set-up

Providing the best environment for learning will also remove unnecessary stress for students with SEND.
My top tip? Find somewhere quiet – not a corridor, staffroom or anywhere else with distracting background noise. It can even be in the student’s home if you and their family think that will work best.

Before learners get started, make sure an adult can check their device is fully working, and won’t present any issues. Firewalls can sometimes block platforms, so make relevant adjustments wherever necessary. Take a look at the device’s camera too: is it functional?

Lastly, let students know that their Pearson tutor will have contact with their teachers – one young man I worked with was totally flabbergasted when his teacher asked him why he’d logged out of our session early! It helps learners to know we’re all working together.

3.  Support strong student-tutor relationships

In the introductory session, your Pearson tutor will use their skillset to find out what makes your learner tick, and begin to forge a good bond.

If I discover a student loves horses, for instance, I will look to add resources in later sessions that includes this – for example, a text about horse riding. One of my students was into history, so we would have a five-minute chat about that before starting each session. The chat removed any anxiety, and got him ready to learn.

As experienced teachers and tutors, we aren’t afraid to change what we are doing if the session seems to be going off the rails. We might instead make space to watch a video; invite students to mark their fellow peers’ work if they aren’t in a one-to-one session, or – if they are in a one-to-one session – even ask the student to become the teacher. For one of my learners, finding questions and challenges for me to talk through was the highlight of his sessions. He loved finding “THAT” question that he thought I wouldn’t be able to answer – and, like most of my students, greatly enjoyed the ongoing feedback process involved.

4.  Get teachers, SENCOs and tutors working in tandem

The dialogue between teachers, SENCOs and Pearson tutors is almost as important as the one forged during sessions with our students. Try your best to make time for a Bramble Rooms meeting with the tutor. We understand how much time pressure school staff face each day and will happily plan a time to meet that fits in with your schedule, at evenings or weekends if this works well. 

An early conversation will take away any confusion on what is proposed for study. It can also help us hit the ground running by providing us with accurate information on the unique needs and abilities of your students. If you know that your learners have specialist interests, or preferred ways of working – for example, typing things, taking snapshots, or dictating – a tutor’s knowledge of this is sure to save learners stress and time. Similarly, with issues such as dyslexia, would your school prefer text to be sent over before each session in order to find time to make an enlarged or hard copy? Tell us about your rewards system too: are we able to award house points, etc, when things go well?

Don’t think that once the sessions start, that’s it with teacher/tutor conversation: you’re very welcome to continue contact with your Pearson tutor. In fact, we really encourage it. Whether that’s a quick email to advise us of any issues that might affect a student’s learning on that day; information about any sessions that will be missed; particularly relevant topics that are being covered in class, or even whether sessions should be cut short. After all, there is no point teaching when someone has reached capacity and doing so could have a negative impact on their future attendance.

At the same time, keep the dialogue open with students by asking what they have done after each session, and demonstrating that you are onboard with the tutor’s input. As part of Pearson’s process, we send up to 500 words to teachers following every session, detailing what has been covered, what the plan is for next steps, anything we want to revisit, plus any issues, highlights, etc, allowing you a full look at how things have gone.

Tutoring with Pearson is a highly rewarding process. I personally find it amazing to observe their progress across the sessions and know that I have not only played a small part in developing their love of learning, but supported teachers and SENCOs with their classroom lessons too. But don’t just take my word for it, here’s some feedback I have received:

“‘He really looks forward to your sessions, it’s the most enthusiastic I’ve ever seen him” – parent, Pearson Tutoring

“I really like watching the videos together and then making up questions together” – student, Pearson Tutoring

“I’ve really seen an improvement in his confidence when reading aloud” – teacher, Pearson Tutoring

“It doesn’t feel like classroom learning – it’s fun” – student, Pearson Tutoring

“He always comes back to class with a big smile on his face” – teacher, Pearson Tutoring