Why are Parents Turning to Tutoring?

Why are Parents Turning to Tutoring?

Around a quarter of children in the UK are being tutored. Claire Winter looks at why one in four families are seeking extra help outside of the classroom.

Parents often get extra tuition for their children to prepare them for important exams. They also get them to help boost their child’s skills in a subject in which they aren’t doing well or to help them excel in a subject, and impress the schools to which they are applying. It’s estimated that we spend £2 billion a year on private tutoring, which makes us one of the top spenders on tuition in the world.

Many parents believe that tutoring can be an amazing resource that gives children extra confidence, reassurance and skills to stop them feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of schoolwork.Others argue that extra tutoring creates more pressure on children. Many children are busy already with lots of extra-curricular activities and homework.

Ex-teacher Victoria Kennedy, takes the view that tutoring needs careful management to ensure it doesn’t result have a negative impact on a child. She says:

I found that children with extra pressure and expectations from parents struggled with failure, needed more encouragement and guidance to complete tasks and often suffered from a sense of overwhelm.

The education charity the Sutton Trust acknowledges the importance of tutoring but worries that extra tuition is causing the educational gap to widen betweenchildren from affluent economic backgrounds and those from poorer ones.

The charity’s chair, Sir Peter Lampl, says:

Private tuition is widespread and increasingly so. Nearly half of teachers have tutored and a quarter of teenagers have been tutored.

CEO and founder of the charity, Action Tutoring, Susannah Hardyman, also highlights the importance of tutoring.

We know tutoring works to improve grades and this impact is not limited to young people from high-income backgrounds either. As more and more young people access private tutors, the gap in attainment between disadvantaged young people and their peers will grow. Our charity uses the power of volunteer tutors to bridge the gap and ensure tutoring support can be accessed by every pupil who needs it, not just those who can afford it.

Families ® Magazine spoke to parents about their thoughts on tutoring.

Gill says:

I think tutoring can be a positive thing at junior school age; it can shore up work done in class. Know what your goal is when you hire a tutor, finding the right one is crucial.

Academic performance is important to Judith.

We want our son to get into a good Prep school, and the entrance exams are very competitive. Tutoring will ensure he gets the best chance to go to the school of our choice.