Find a good 11 Plus Tutor
When helping your child achieve their full potential during the 11 plus revision period, you may find that a tutor or summer classes can help motivate them more, and it reduces the stresses and strains between parent and child. If this is the case then we have drawn up a list of what you should look for when choosing a tutor.
- Does the tutor know all about the selection process specific to your area? It would be somewhat useless if the format the teacher was using turns out to be completely different to the actual exam as your child will then have to waste time during the actual exam trying to familiarise herself with the paper layout rather than getting on with the questions.
- You can find out the exam-layout information either by contacting your LEA or the school itself. If the school writes its own papers, it maybe useful finding out what format they use, i.e. standard or multiple choice, as yet again it will help your child to be familiar with the different types of techniques to use.
- Past experience speaks for itself; ask how much other students have improved with their help, especially when it comes to the eleven plus exams.
- Qualifications; you can ask to see them. Check in the local paper, some tutors list their credentials there.
- Another very important thing to remember is to hire somebody who has had a local authority or police check carried out. Serving teachers will already have had this carried out!
- See what tutoring methods they use; a good teacher will be able to assess the weaknesses of your child and structure lessons to strengthen those difficult areas, rather than just answering questions and setting problems.
- Availability; someone who can only help your child at nine o’clock at night won’t be the most beneficial, since your child may not be most attentive at that time and it could be counter productive since a late session could affect concentration the next day at school. You need somebody who will fit your schedule.
- Location; you may find it more comfortable if tutors came to you, or if they would meet in a public library rather than a house. Note however that the tutors will charge extra to travel.
- How much help do they expect from you as a parent? A family’s co-operation in making sure the extra homework is done or finding out extra information about exams could prove to be essential.
- Time scale; how much time you want the tutor to devote to helping your child will also affect how much they will cost. It is important to define your expectations at the start and to be honest with how much you can afford. A professional tutor will charge professional prices.
- Watch the dynamic between the tutor and child, sitting in on half a session can help you decide on whether or not the tutor is of great benefit – your child must be comfortable with him/her if you want to see success.
- When it comes to on-line tutors, references, past pupils, other parents and credential checking is the only way to go because very little is available on the internet as far as seeing what type of materials are used, if there’s anything at all.
- Feedback; not only from the tutor but also in your child, seeing how much more confident they are when it comes to test papers, and how their initial exam goes is a good indicator. If there is any negativity coming from your child, it’s probably best to move onto another tutor.
- You don’t necessarily have to hire a professional tutor; secondary school or college students can help your child with English comprehension, or help with difficult areas in maths. Even if they don’t know much about non-verbal reasoning, just helping the child with exam papers can give you a break. Kids talk to kids in a language that the student can relate to.
- The main advantage of a certified teacher is that not only do they know about the eleven plus system, but know how to convey the relevant information to the child.
- Tutorial centres such as Kumon are also helpful for making sure the foundations of your child’s education are shock-proof. The real benefit comes the longer your child spends there and the more you motivate him or her to do the work set.
