SHOULD YOUR CHILD BE TUTORED?

Are you a parent worried about the education of your primary aged child? A small word of advice at a time when you are considering entrance tests and tutoring. The following is written by a teacher and a parent living in Kent. 

'Your child may be a high flier who just needs some practice at the way tests are structured so that they feel more confident when it comes time to take the exam. In that case they may only need a few months of tuition and some practice at home in order to pass.

Your child may be quite able but a little less confident. They are an avid reader, but they find a few areas of Mathematics quite a struggle. In my experience it is usually the maths paper that brings the scores down. Therfore six months to a year of tutoring would be recommended, focusing on any gaps in knowledge before even looking at a past paper.

Or maybe your child is a whiz at maths and really struggles at Literacy. Turn their computers off and take them to the library. It dosen't matter what they read; science fiction, vampire fiction, Top Gear Annuals, comics, What Car magazines - anything. The aim is to increase their vocabulary so they will recognize all the words in the verbal reasoning paper. Audio stories are also good and available in libraries - you can all listen to these on car journeys! Then they may need about six months of tuition.

Then finally we have the children who are 'borderline'. They do quite well in all subjects, but they don't really fly. They struggle with some areas of both Maths and English. They may also struggle with organizing their learning and doing any homework can be a major battle. How long should they be tutored for?

May I suggest that you reconsider what you want for your child? Are you thinking of the best choice for your child or what you would like for yourself? I know there can be a lot of pressure from other parents, grandparents, the media and even your child's other parent.'