Private Tutoring – How Times Have Changed

Not so long ago, the idea of parents seeking additional help beyond the traditional school environment was considered off, perhaps even an admission of failure. Not many things change for the better over time, but one thing that we think has is the reaction across society to parents using this kind of initiative. Rather than starting from a negative mindset, it has become something that starts with questions such as “What can I do to improve my child’s chances in life?” or “How can I supplement the school’s education with something more tailored to my child?”

This positive reinforcement of parents actively seeking out doorways into a more personalised, curated education for their child has coincided with a greater recognition of neurodiversity and the drawbacks of the traditional “one size fits all” state educational mindset.

COVID-19 had a role in changing people’s perceptions of private tutoring. Once considered an “extra” for parents who were lucky enough to afford it or were pushing their children academically, perceptions evolved fairly quickly as the parents of young people who had lost out on large swathes of their education looked to find ways for them to catch-up and in an increasingly uncertain landscape of lockdowns and ever-changing rules on how and when schools could open, it soon became a mainstream, acceptable choice and even the best available option.

The ways that private tutors work with parents and their children, these days tend to be viewed as productive partnerships where useful information flows in every direction- parents can advise tutors about specific difficulties within the classical school setting, tutors can home-in on those particular areas of concern, and children in a one-to-one setting are far more likely to share their feedback and ask relevant questions as they will tend to feel much more confident. This is particularly the case for those students with ADHD / ASD or any other form of neurodivergence.

The option of online tutoring or distance learning has also brought more families into the solution – for example, enabling those who live in rural or remote areas or do not have their own transportation. Disadvantages such as this should not become barriers to a quality education, and so the distance learning option has become an important option that we offer.