Top 10 Questions to Pick the Perfect Tutor
Need help picking a tutor for your child? Overwhelmed with the options out there, and want to make the right choice?
When you find the right tutor for your child, learning becomes so much easier and you’ll finally have peace of mind knowing that your child is in good hands, getting the attention and support they need that they can’t get in the classroom.
So, how can you find a tutor that is right for you, when there are so many tutoring companies to choose from?! You’re in luck today! We’ve compiled a handy list of key questions that will make your search so much easier.
Basic questions about the tutor…
1. Are your tutors fully qualified primary teachers? Have they been screened/vetted?
You’d be surprised at how many tutoring companies employ tutors who are not even trained teachers, or have any formal qualifications! The Australian tutoring industry is unregulated, meaning that anyone at all can call themselves a tutor with no experience.
If they do employ fully qualified teachers, make sure they actively teach primary-aged children.
Luckily, with Attain Education, all of our tutors are fully qualified, experienced primary school teachers who are very familiar with the primary curriculum and the strategies. We do not consider any other graduate, or undergraduate, to have the necessary specialised skills to tutor children in primary school.
Quick tip: check their Working with Children (WWC) and Australian Tutoring Association (ATA) credentials.
2. How will my child be matched to a tutor? Can I meet the tutor before the first session?
In order for a perfect tutor-child match to happen, you want to make sure that during the initial consultation stage, they’re showing a keen interest in knowing more about:
Your child’s individual learning needs and goals - this will ensure they match you with a tutor who is experienced with teaching the age-group of your child and can use their expert curriculum knowledge and teaching methods.
Your child’s unique personality and learning style - matching your child with a tutor who will click personality wise, as building a strong connection with the tutor makes all the difference to your child enjoying their lessons!
We include a ‘get to know you’ call before the first session. This is a great opportunity for the parent and child to meet their tutor in a relaxed environment and play ice-breaker (not education based) games together, and you’ll be able to observe the tutor’s personality, communication style and sense of connection.
3. Will my child get the same tutor every session?
Children learn better with consistency and when they’ve built a relationship with their tutor. Some tutoring companies will have a random tutor as a replacement, instead of rescheduling with you at a mutually agreed time.
At Attain Education, we believe it is important to have a dedicated tutor, where they become familiar with your child’s interests, learning strengths, and their weaknesses, and deliver an individual learning plan.
Choosing the right tutor delivers results!
95% of parents see their child’s grades improve, and 100% of parents would recommend their Attain Education tutor to other parents.
Lesson content and your child’s progress…
4. Are the lessons personalised?
Be careful with this one! Many tutoring companies advertise things such as “individual learning programme”, “customised learning” and “tailored lessons”...but as it turns out, they’re still just a generic programme that your child will work through.
Instead, find out if your child’s tutor plans their lessons, instead of following a generic programme that doesn’t take into account your child’s unique interests and learning style.
With Attain Education, each and every one of our tutoring sessions are planned by the tutor with the individual child's needs and interests in mind. We believe there is no one-size-fits-all approach to making progress!
5. How do you build a learning plan for my child, and can I contribute as a parent?
Ask them for the tutor’s process, and if you can share your child’s school report with the tutor. A good tutor will be able to take this onboard and tailor lessons to your child’s needs. If they’re using an off the shelf programme, they’ll probably be resistant to this additional feedback.
At Attain Education, we work with you to create a custom learning plan, and can work with your child’s teachers, school and any other professionals as needed. During the first session the tutor spends time assessing your child’s current level of skills and knowledge, to identify strengths and weaknesses. They then use this information to plan sessions accordingly whilst considering their personal interests and learning styles to engage them.
6. How do you track progress? Will I receive feedback about my child’s progress?
As a parent, it’s important that you are kept in the loop about your child’s progress. Ask questions to find out what and how feedback is shared with you. How detailed is the feedback - e.g. Identifies your child’s strengths and areas to work on or a general overview of the lesson? How frequently will you be updated on progress - e.g. At the end of the term or more regularly?
Attain Education’s tutors provide regular feedback that details the child’s current learning objectives, their learning ‘wins’ and identified areas that need to be worked on.
7. Is lesson content based on the Australian Curriculum and what they’re learning at school?
Ask if the tutors and learning is aligned to the Australian Curriculum. The last thing you want is for your child to be taught content and methods that are different to what they’re learning at school, which will only confuse them and hinder their progress.
All of the content that we teach through Attain Education is aligned with the Australian learning curriculum. The great thing about our tutors being primary school teachers is that they’re already experts in this area!
Personalisation equals Progress!
Avoid the standard off the shelf programmes to make sure that your child gets the most out of the tutoring and builds a genuine love of learning.
Is it a good fit for your child and family…
8. Will the tutor work in ways that suit your child and family’s lifestyle?
Tutoring doesn’t have to be another after school activity that requires running around! Find a tutoring company that suits your family’s lifestyle. There’s a good reason online tuition has exploded in recent years. Whether your priority is greater flexibility to fit tutoring into your busy schedule, or the comfortable at-home learning, online tutoring is a win for all!
Attain Education invests in the latest education tools and learning methods to deliver a practical and convenient service model. We 100% focus on online tutoring for primary-aged children, and we are experts at this! Our teachers utilise technology to drive interactive and collaborative learning experiences that kids love!
9. How do you make online lessons interactive and engaging?
There are two key factors to making any tutoring interactive and engaging; the tutor and the content.
Many tutors aren’t used to keeping children actively engaged, and they can struggle to keep their energy levels high which make the lessons fun and entertaining.
Often, the lesson plans tutors use are from generic programmes that have been hastily converted to online, leaving the child bored and disengaged.
At Attain Education, we’re all online specialists, and real primary school teachers! Both your child and their tutor are able to annotate on the screen to write sentences, demonstrate their working out, and collaborate. This means sessions are super interactive and engaging.
10. How do you keep the attention of an unwilling or distracted child?
Their response to this will give you insight into how engaging and interactive your child’s experience will be. We’d suggest looking for a tutoring company that solely focuses on online tutoring, as you’ll find that many tutoring services mainly do face-to-face with online as a back-up, which means that they don't have the tools and skills to combat these potential distractions.
Technology is a resource to make learning more fun and interactive and allows children to create and collaborate in exciting ways! Combined with our structure of having a tailored approach for each student instead of a set program, we do not have issues with students becoming distracted.
Tutoring that fits you, not the other way round
Online tutoring is the go-to for parents these days, due to its incredible flexibility and higher levels of engagement for the child.
Conclusion
Getting the right support for your child is a big decision. Spending the time needed to research and have a call with potential tutoring companies is an important step and once you do land the perfect tutor, it will be bliss for both you and your child!
The stress of worrying about your child’s learning will be washed away, and the joy of seeing your child flourish and start to love learning, will put your mind at ease.
At Attain Education, we are always willing to lend an ear to parents. We have a genuine passion for providing expert tutoring for primary-aged children. If you’re considering getting a tutor for your child, why not book a call and have a chat with us. We’d love to know more about your child and their unique learning needs, and discuss how we can help.