Dr Stephen W

If you are in the process of choosing a tutor for your child, then it is a good idea to organise an initial introductory call or meeting with them (face-to-face or online). This will enable you to learn more about their character, qualifications, experience and teaching style, and you will be better able to assess whether they are a good fit for your child.

How to structure an introductory phone call or initial meeting

This introductory call or initial meeting should take around 20 minutes. Feel free to include your child in this call (if they are of suitable age) as you want to see if there is a good rapport.

(1) Ask the tutor to introduce themself to you in much more detail and talk through their teaching style and experience.

(2) Discuss your child’s needs and the purpose and ambition for the tuition.

(3) Provide the tutor with any further details they need regarding the role, such as the age and year group of your child, their school, any relevant exam board or exam dates, and any specific SEN, EHCP, or diagnostic reports.

(4) Ask the tutor how they might initially assess your child and how they would implement a plan to measure progress.

(5) Be clear about your own expectations around setting work and whether you want the tutor to provide and mark any structured homework.

(6) Clarify whether you want the tutor to liaise directly with your child's school and class teacher.

(7) Confirm the timings, timescale and location of the tuition if it is face-to-face.

Next steps

At the end of the call, confirm any next steps.

If you decide that this tutor is the right fit for your tuition needs, you may wish to arrange a first lesson with them ... or if you want some time to think about it, please tell the tutor that you will get back to them.

If you plan a first lesson, agree on a time and location that works for both of you and discuss what to expect from that first lesson.

Establish some ground rules. You should be able to give 'reasonable' notice to your tutor should you need to cancel a lesson with them. Please clarify how you will communicate with your tutor if this happens (text, voicemail, e-mail). Most tutors will expect 24 hours’ notice, though understand that it is not always possible to give this (e.g. last-minute illness). This reasonable notice also applies if your tutor needs to cancel a lesson due to unforeseen circumstances.

Concerning safeguarding, tuition (home or online) should always occur in a supervised setting, i.e. with a parent, guardian or carer also present in the home.

Confirm their availability for your preferred lesson times.

How do I know if I have chosen well?

Be around for the first few lessons and listen in on the teaching and learning.

Talk with your child after each lesson and watch their response to it. Though your child may initially be nervous or unenthusiastic, you should quickly begin to see a positive response from them.

With many years of experience teaching children on a one-to-one basis, we know that children often make remarkable progress in only a few weeks. Ability, self-belief, confidence, enjoyment … all begin to take root and grow.