Becoming A Private Tutor

[Tarser]

I'd be grateful to hear from private tutors. I am thinking of applying to an agency to tutor children on a one-to one basis. I have a degree and teaching qualification but I'm out of touch. Do private tutors prepare their own material using the national curriculum or do they have all the material provided for them? What are the good and the bad parts of the job - any warnings, advice or horror stories? Thanks.

[jim360]

I have somewhat limited experience of tutoring but I would say that you should let your students decide what material to use. Often the parents will be concerned about exams so it can very much be a case of sticking to the Curriculum, but if you build up a long-term relationship with any particular student you might find that you get the opportunity to be more flexible as to what you teach, and how. But in the end the role of a tutor is to help the student when they are having difficulty, so you should let them decide what they find hard and try to help them.

My limited experience means that I'm yet to have any horror stories. Hopefully it will stay that way! One word of advice, though -- there are often more tutors than there are people looking for tutors, so you may find that you take a while to get a student.

[factor-fiction]

I do quite a lot on behalf of schools and local authorities (usually on behalf of looked after children who I think must attract some extra funding for tuition)/
I have never had the work provided for me except when a student has brought something along that they need help with.
If they are year 11 then you have the exam to guide you. For younger pupils I basically ask the school, parents and students for a steer on priority areas. If none are suggested I try to assess their current level/grade and draw up a plan