7 tips to find an online tutor in Birmingham
A recent survey revealed one in four children have had tuition in their school career.
In these unprecedented times of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Lockdown , juggling work (from home or work elsewhere) whilst homeschooling your child/children can be a daunting experience.
With school closures, parents are asking the most popular questions, ‘how can I ensure my child/children do not fall too far behind whilst schools are closed?’ ‘how can I support my child/children with Lockdown school work?’ And there are so many more questions parents are asking! Google has seen high volumes of search terms that include ‘online tutors’ by parents and/carers in the attempt to find an online tutor who understand the challenges parents/carers are going through whilst in COVID-19 Lockdown.
If you considering working with an independent online tutor in Birmingham or an established online tuition centre in Birmingham, here are a few tips to keep in mind.
1. Look For Enthusiasm
How successfully knowledge is passed on to a child is largely dependent on the enthusiasm the online tutor has for teaching.. Enthusiasm can transform a highly unmotivated child who despises learning into a highly motivated child who wants to learn.
A passionate online tutor can make even the most tedious topic relevant and interesting. And most importantly, they can empower your child to overcome their learning hurdles and make incremental progress.
Are your prospective online tutor prepared provide resources to supplement your home schooling or support your home schooling group?
Ask yourself if your tutor shows enthusiasm for teaching.
2. Look for Professionalism
Central to effective online tuition is the professional relationship developed and sustained between online tutor, parent and child. This relationship will underpin all online tuition efforts.
Its important that the prospective online tutor is able to make your child feel comfortable and to help them build intrinsic motivation. Your child needs to feel they can ask questions and that they are supported not ridiculed! If your online tutor cannot form a solid working relationship with your child, it’s unlikely your child will progress quickly.
The relationship developed over time between the online tutor and your child will determine the learning environment. If the relationship is negative, the learning environment will also be negative. If the relationship is positive, the learning environment will be as well – and a positive learning environment will accelerate the unlocking of potential.
It’s also important for the online tutor to form a healthy relationship with you, the parent/carer, and that they provide you with regular updates (this is more in tip six).
Three questions to ask your prospective online tutor:
- How have you formed professional relationships with your current students?
- How do you create a positive learning environment?
- How do you intend on unlocking the potential in my child?
3. Consider the online tutor’s philosophy
The prospective online tutor’s philosophy around education generally and tuition specifically will largely impact the way online tuition is delivered to your child. For example, does the prospective online tutor believe knowledge should be imparted in a fun, engaging way online? Is the prospective online tutor prepared to go the extra mile to unlock the potential in your child?
4. Consider the online tutor’s credibility
It would be disastrous to use the services of an online tutor with no prior experiences working with a child like yours, so it’s important to establish these things:
- What teaching qualification and/or experience does the prospective online tutor have?
- What are their pass rates?
- Have they worked with a child like yours before?
5. Consider legislation
The prospective online tutor must comply with legislation and statutory guidelines. It’s worthwhile to request the following documentation:
- Professional references and/or testimonials – these things will help you decide whether they’re suitable to work with children and determine the online tutor’s track record.
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check – your prospective online tutor must have a clear DBS check in place.
- Insurance – all online tutors must have appropriate insurance coverage, including public liability and professional indemnity.
- Photographic ID – to ensure the person in front of you is the person they have declared themselves to be.
6. Make sure they’re willing to provide regular tuition updates.
Regular tuition updates empower parents by keeping them ‘in the know’. You will become more confident as you engage with your prospective online tutor. An effective online tuition update should include:
- The tuition objective – it’s important to be aware of what your child has learned in the lesson, so the tuition update should include a brief outline of the session – what did your child learn in the session?
- Identified developmental areas – good online tutors will have an accurate view of their tutee’s learning strengths and developmental areas; the update should show which developmental areas to focus on with your child the following week.
- A way forward – your prospective online tutor should clearly articulate how they plan to support your child in their developmental areas.
7. Make sure your goals match theirs.
It’s important to be clear about your goals for your child’s tuition. What are you hoping to achieve? Can the prospective online tutor help you with this? If you (or your online tutor) are unclear on what’s needed, how will you be able to measure progress?
It may be worth considering these points:
- Will your online tutor offer an assessment to determine areas of strengths and developmental areas?
- How will your prospective online tutor monitor and review your child’s progress – i.e. the unlocking of their potential?
- How will your prospective online tutor support you and your child in achieving your goals for the tuition?