Tutors and tutoring programmes not only provide help for kids who need some assistance with their learning, but also extension for those kids who are keen to progress further.
When considering a tutor for your child, it’s a good idea to discuss it with their teacher first. Many schools have programmes in place to assist students who are struggling or who require an extension to their learning. The tutor or tutoring programme should complement the education provided by your child’s school.
It’s also important to speak to your child about the prospect of engaging them in a tutoring programme as they will benefit a lot more if they are also onboard with the idea. Setting some goals as to what your child hopes to achieve with their tutor can help settle your child in, rather than having to face an ongoing commitment of tutoring with no particular focus.
Reasons for a tutor
Helping a kid struggling with school work is not the only reason that you may want to consider hiring a tutor or engaging your child in a tutoring programme. Reasons for seeking tutoring may include:
- Your child is falling behind with their school work
- A certain subject or concept requires a different perspective to aid in their learning
- Illness, family matters, etc mean that your child has been away from school for a period of time and could benefit from some additional learning focus
- A learning disability is posing challenges to their education
- Your child has shown keen interest in a subject and wishes to be challenged more
- Your child is studying for an exam or assessment and needs some support
- The school that your child attends does not offer a specific subject
- Your child just loves to learn and wants to extend their education
What to consider when looking for a tutor or tutor programme
Be sure about what you are wanting from a tutor or tutoring programme, ie learning assistance, extension, exam preparation, etc, so you can find a good fit. You may also want to:
- Discuss tutoring with your child’s teacher who may be able to provide some insight into what will fit well with their school education
- Look for a tutor or tutoring programme that can be flexible enough to work in with your child’s schooling and extra-curricular activities to avoid too much disruption
- Look for a tutoring programme that links with the New Zealand education curriculum
- Seek personal recommendations from friends or family
- Take advantage of any free assessments and trial periods to help you get a feel for the programme
- Tutors should be engaging, empathetic, and able to build confidence in subject matters
- Enquire about the tutor’s credentials including training, experience, and qualifications for teaching at your child’s age level
- Ensure that your child’s tutor has had the appropriate police checks
- Look for a tutor that can provide a clear plan of achievement, the framework required to achieve those goals, and offers regular reporting back to caregivers on progression
The after-school tuition experts
NumberWorks’nWords was established in 1984 and is one of the world’s most experienced tuition providers. Thousands of children have benefited from their after-school tutoring programmes. NumberWorks’nWords offers a free comprehensive assessment to identify your child’s strengths and where they can benefit from help. Goals are set together with you and your child and a customised learning plan is put together.
Whether you need to fix problems or get help with extension work, NumberWorks’nWords provides expert maths and English tuition that builds confidence, changes attitudes and delivers results. Visit their website to find out more.
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Written by Julie Scanlon
Julie is Editor for Kidspot NZ and our MVP. Her hobbies include laughing uncontrollably at her own jokes, annoying her family by asking questions about movie plots, and never taking anything too seriously. She speaks a little Spanish and a lot of Yorkshire.
Favourite motto to live by: “It ain’t nothing but a thing”
I haven’t considered a tutor for my son. He does his homework at home that I help with if he needs it. He has football practices twice a week. He needs time to just chill too. Its a hard line between making sure your child isn’t failing at school by putting them into an after school tutor program and by letting them be a child after school and playing with their mates etc.
I haven’t had a tutor for any of my kids but I would if I thought that they really needed one, when kids fall behind in school or struggle with a subject it can be very discouraging for them and make them not want to be at school and it can be very detrimental for their ongoing education and self esteem
We have private speech and language lessons for one of our children which has been really great and customised to our son. We still have to do a lot of work at home but it is great to have professional guidance.
I have considered a tutor in the past. We didn’t end up doing it in the end because we felt it was going to be a bit much for our daughter. But the reason we were considering it was because she was falling behind in a lot of subjects. She has learning difficulties, but we realised she needs the break from having to learn as well.
I grew up having tutors back in my country but it was due to both my parents doing full-time work. I had to spend my afternoons after school having tutoring sessions. To be honest, it was a horrible experience. It felt like it was all academics and there wasn’t any time for play or sports or even family time during weekdays. I won’t discount getting a tutor but for me it would just be for an extreme case.
I had a friend in Brisbane who ran her own tutoring service so I had a great opportunity to see the real benefits available to children. I am hoping my children will never have to use a tutor but it is fantastic that there are options out there to better support children’s learning when needed.
We have never had tutors for our children I have tried to get one but they are hard to get in our town as once a spot is taken they stay with them a long time. My daughter is dyslexic and I struggle with the getting hardly any help at school. She is slowly improving but works really hard by herself to get things done.
Great read. I like the idea of having the tutor website if people need extra tutor help for their children. My kids have never needed a tutor although my son struggles and found it maybe dyslexic so he now has a teacher aide to help as they can’t diagnose him til 8years old. He’s currently 5 so we have a long road ahead of him.
Havent had a tutor..but more cos i have a 6yr old..so not at that stage just yet…i do believe if we needed it, we would use that service but as it stands she is excelling well thus far, hopefully it continues this way as her love for learning is insatiable
Luckily we haven’t had to engage a tutor for our daughter (so far, so good). I did need some help with my son when he was younger though as he had some issues with some subjects, so I got the help of my Brother in law who helped him with study habits and mathematics etc. Was free too so much better, since I was a single Mum 🙂