HOW TO CHOOSE A PRIVATE TUTOR

Parents often begin by asking about qualifications, hourly rates, and availability.

Those are sensible questions. But they are not enough.

A tutor can know a subject extremely well and still be poor at explaining it. Another can be warm and encouraging but lack the subject knowledge needed at a demanding level. A third may teach brilliantly but be wrong for a particular child.

I would look for four things: subject knowledge, teaching judgement, fit, and professionalism.

SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE

The tutor needs to know considerably more than the material immediately in front of the pupil.

This matters because good teaching involves seeing where an idea came from and where it is going. A tutor teaching GCSE algebra should understand the later mathematics well enough to distinguish a harmless shortcut from one that will cause trouble in a year.

For examination courses, familiarity with the relevant specification and assessment is important too.

TEACHING JUDGEMENT

Ask what the tutor would do in the first few lessons.

I would be more interested in an answer about diagnosis than in a promise to “cover the syllabus”.

Good one-to-one teaching should respond to what the pupil actually knows. That may mean slowing down, jumping backwards, abandoning the planned lesson because a misconception has appeared, or deciding that the pupil understands a topic and does not need another worksheet on it.

A tutor should also be able to explain why a particular piece of work is being done.

FIT

Children learn differently, but “learning styles” is too simplistic a way to describe this.

Some pupils need a great deal of structure. Some need room to argue. Some are quick but careless. Some understand slowly and then remember almost everything. Some become anxious when corrected; others enjoy being challenged directly.

A tutor does not need to resemble the pupil. He does need to notice these things.

The first lesson should therefore be a two-way assessment. The family is deciding whether the tutor is suitable too.

PROFESSIONALISM

For work with children, this is not optional.

Parents should understand the tutor’s safeguarding arrangements, communication boundaries, payment terms, cancellation policy, and how progress will be discussed.

Claims should also be proportionate. No serious tutor can guarantee a grade or an admissions outcome.

AGENCY OR INDEPENDENT TUTOR?

Both models can work.

A good agency can provide choice, vetting, administration, and replacement options. An independent tutor can offer a more direct relationship and may have greater freedom over how the work is organised. They are often cheaper to work with too, as there is no agency taking a fee.

The important question is not which model is inherently superior. It is whether the person teaching the child is good, suitable, and professionally accountable.

WHAT I WOULD ASK BEFORE STARTING

• What experience do you have with this subject and level?
• How will you establish what my child actually needs?
• How do you approach work between lessons?
• How familiar are you with the relevant examination or curriculum?
• How do you communicate progress to parents?
• What happens if you think tuition is no longer necessary?
• What safeguarding checks and policies do you have?
• What are your terms and fees?

Then I would pay attention to whether the tutor asks good questions back.

A tutor choosing to work with a pupil should want to know more than the child’s current grade and when the exam is.