What does tutoring mean to you?

"Tutoring to me means reaching students who need extra support to reach their full potential by building their knowledge over time.

Students might not be able to answer a question first time, but as they build their bank of knowledge, each time they go to retrieve it, it becomes a bit easier. As tutors, we can also help break down misconceptions, challenge their thinking and encourage them to apply their learning and develop key skills through dedicated support and fast feedback.

Tutoring provides students with the motivation and confidence they need to learn and grow at their own pace. As one student said to me, ‘I feel clever now’.

It is lovely when students provide feedback. One student said to me that she now feels clever! Without doubt, tutoring is making a positive difference to their education."

"Tutoring to me means providing students with that extra support they need outside of a regular classroom setting, removing the fear of looking ‘stupid’ in front of their peers and allowing them to make mistakes without judgement, to nurture them to be successful and provide an environment for their confidence to grow. It is about giving children and young people the support they need to flourish.

From football teams, cycling and Marvel comics to games, puzzles and jokes, tutoring enables us to draw on personal experiences, tailor lessons to personal needs and preferences and create unique relationships where each student feels relaxed and ready to learn.

Over the past five years, tutoring has given me the opportunity to help numerous children and young people and it has been great to see their progression. Success however, is not just improving scores – although watching my pupils go from less than 15% on their pre-tests to over 80% on their post-tests is fantastic! – but it’s also about developing the whole child. We celebrate all the skills learnt including motivation, teamwork and independence and importantly confidence - like the student would not speak at all in the first session who then started to open up a few sessions in.

Watching your students grow is so rewarding but when you receive feedback from teachers, amazed at the progress their students have made, it’s wonderful. Tutoring really makes a difference."

"To me, tutoring means providing dedicated educational support that helps students grow.

Like many, I felt sorry for children who had missed out so much during the Covid-19 pandemic and so I wanted to make a difference with tutoring. After a long period of disruption and difficulty for many, I wanted to make my sessions jolly, something for students to look forward to, giving them the one-on-one or small group session attention that they need. Students, especially primary students, like and need praise and I wanted them to know that their tutor cared and wanted them to do well.

Building up such a strong tutor/student relationship means they have the confidence to ask questions, enabling me to understand if anything needs to be revisited and plan material for either individual or group work to make sure they always receive the right level of support. In this way, we can ensure they get the personalised sessions they require.

I have been tutoring now for 18 months. It has been so rewarding to see my students progress. The huge improvement a group of Year 5 boys made with their reading. A group of Year 6 students who were so happy to grasp punctuation, including inverted commas and a very weak student who managed to conquer modal verbs. Tutoring really does make a positive difference."