Signs Your Child May Need a Tutor
- May 3
- 8 min read
Taking the leap to hiring a tutor for your child can be daunting if you aren’t quite sure if tutoring is the solution. As a Tutor, I’ve worked with countless families who have been on this journey and have helped them to decide whether tutoring is the right path, and if it is, how to best use it to meet the student’s needs and get them to the next stage in their journey. So, if you too are wondering whether it’s time to hire a tutor, look for these key signs.
1. Feeling Anxious, Overwhelmed or Unsuccessful in the School Classroom
School classrooms are hives of activity. But they can also be sources of stress, especially if the student feels the lessons move too quickly, if they don’t feel comfortable asking questions or admitting when they need help or if they are surrounded by peers who are working at a different level or who are unsupportive. Very quickly, it can feel like the student is swamped in a sea of knowledge and they berate themselves for not being able to keep up. Tutoring allows the young person to learn at the pace and in the way that suits them and provides a safe space to ask questions and pause to explain why the answer or approach is right rather than just moving on. The student is then empowered to reposition themselves as successful with the subject and they feel more in control.
2. Lack of Progress in School Lessons due to a Disruptive Environment
In busy classrooms with large numbers of pupils, it can be hard to consistently foster the optimal environment for learning. There is a plethora of distractions which may mean that at times, the teacher has to respond to challenging behaviour, limiting the focus on learning. This can be really frustrating for students. They want to get onto the next task, but things aren’t going anywhere. Tutoring can help by providing a calm and focused learning space and homework set from tutoring could be taken to school to help maximise learning time.
3. Lack of High-Quality Resources from School
Schools often provide an array of resources to help students study. For KS3-KS4 English, this might include copies of Literature texts to annotate, revision guides, knowledge organisers, context guides, key quotes, model essays for English Literature, checklists for writing essays or creative writing or persuasive pieces. For English Language, guidance about how to answer each question and access to past papers. However, there is inconsistency between schools and so your child may find that they lack some of these vital resources, leading to uncertainty around whether they have the right knowledge when they come to revise for tests. In a world where AI is increasingly used and where there is a lot of online content which is not academically robust, it’s really important that students are using resources they can trust. Tutoring unlocks access to this and gives students both the academic confidence they need and peace of mind.
4. Gaps in Learning
Your child might feel confident in some topics within a subject, but less so in others. This might be because they understand some more than others but could also be due to inconsistent access to a specialist teacher at school or being absent from school. It could also point to problems with transitioning between key stages, like from primary to secondary school or Year 9 to Year 10, where certain topics have been missed or where your child hasn’t received enough support to develop certain skills. Whereas in school, the curriculum is worked through across the year, the way content is covered in tutoring is far more flexible: the areas the student struggles with can take top priority, paving the way for progress. Tutors can help learners to understand how their previous knowledge connects to new skills they are developing and gradually build confidence in new areas.
5. Inconsistency between Classroom Performance and Test Results
There are many students who feel reasonably confident within a subject: if you ask them to explain something, they’ll readily do so; when they start a task, they’ll be bursting with ideas. Yet when faced with an exam paper, something else happens. Their results don’t match their general level. If this is your child, it’s a sign that they haven’t yet mastered exam technique and may not understand what is being asked or be responding in the way that maximises marks. Additionally, they may not be revising strategically, limiting their ability to translate their knowledge to exam success. Performing well in exams is very different to being generally successful in a subject and so it’s crucial to recognise that this is a separate skillset that needs to be built. Tutoring can help your child to understand what is being asked, benefit from advice about how to structure their answers, understand the mark scheme and build confidence in critiquing their work so they can apply it, gain insights from examiner reports or model answers.
6. Uncertainty around How to Revise
As an English Tutor, this is one of the most common areas I see my students struggling with year on year. Unlike Mathematics or Science, where there are key topics to cover and facts and methods to learn, it can feel daunting knowing where to start with English revision. Can you revise for it? Happily, the answer is yes! Tutoring can provide guidance around how to identify the areas the student needs to prioritise, matched with independent revision tasks which target these. I recognise that there is only so much we can cover in lessons and so I use a Progress Tracker to support my students to navigate and track their independent revision, maximising time between classes. Having a plan and being in control massively boosts students’ mental health and helps them visualise the path to their big goal.
7. Lack of Motivation, Difficulty Timetabling Independent Revision or Limited Feedback
Without tutoring, studying can seem like a solo activity. A lot of hard work needs to go on at home for students to secure their grades and their next steps in life, but if the student has limited access to teachers and study partners, this can feel lonely. It can also be challenging for students who find themselves distracted at home, who find motivation difficult or who struggle to prioritise tasks and allocate a set time for completion. I’ve been through this process not only as a Tutor, but as a student myself. I’ve seen how by sharing the journey, the experience is transformed. Learners can get validation for the effort they have been making and feel rewarded for the work they’ve done. This is vital in English where it can be difficult for students to mark their own work accurately due to the mark scheme being subjective. It isn’t as simple as 1 mark or 0 marks in English. Getting work marked boots students’ motivation as they can see where they are and so each homework task feels valuable. Moreover, if they have received insufficient or confusing feedback on tests or mocks at school, tutors can give them a second opinion and help them to visualise their next steps. For students who want to revise but are unsure how to put it into action, a revision timetable can be devised and regular check-ins scheduled.
8. Feeling that SEND Needs or Individual Learning Needs are not Being Met
For some students, their journey in a subject may be even more challenging due to struggling to find strategies to help them to overcome the challenges their SEND or individual needs present. This might involve working out how to organise ideas or know what key spellings to learn for dyslexic students, chunking study time to maintain focus and breaking down tasks into manageable chunks for those with ADHD or planning ahead and feeling in control for autistic students. Whilst these are challenges which may be heightened for students with SEND, they are issues we all face. So, at Open Doors Online English Tutoring, I like to teach in a way that helps all pupils overcome these challenges whilst working with each student to find out what their personal experience is with their needs so that an individual plan of action is created and regularly reviewed. Tutoring can help learners to be more reflective, self-aware and open to experimentation so that they can find strategies that work for them and to recognise the strengths that their conditions bring, not just the obstacles.
9. Tutoring for Home-Schooled Students or as Alternative Provision
While many students use tutoring to complement their full-time school timetable, for others, it might more heavily supplement it or even replace it. If you find that you’re at a stage where you feel you lack the time or the subject expertise to guide your child’s curriculum, it might be time to hire a tutor so that your child benefits from the positive experience of an alternative education that retains some structure. It also helps parents to prioritise their relationship as parent with their child, rather than being the teacher and this blurring the lines. Tutoring can provide a curriculum which is designed around the learner’s needs and interests, ensuring they maximise their study time and can see their progress. It also helps to make the learning journey shared and bring some magic moments.
10. Needing to Secure Grades or Skills to Keep Life’s Doors Open
Grades are certainly not the only aspect of learning. But they are important. Whether it’s securing a decent SATs score, passing an 11+ or 13+ exam to secure entry into your top choice of school, or success at GCSE, grades determine our next steps. So, we need to take control of where they take us. For many careers, there are certain standards applicants will need to meet to be considered. This is especially true for GCSE English Language and Mathematics, which are core subjects that many employers will require a pass grade in (grades 4-5). Additionally, there is ever-increasing competition in today’s world and so it is crucial that students make the most of their time at school so they can pursue the path they want. Many teenagers are unsure of what career they’d like to pursue and for others, they may determinedly pursue a subject, only to later realise it may not be the best choice. I understand this as someone who was set on pursuing a medical career until my late teens, when I realised that English and teaching were my passions. So, whatever stage your child is at in their journey, it is never too early to start building confidence in a subject and helping them to secure grades that keep options open. Tutoring can help break this down systematically and help the young person reach success through perseverance and practise.
11. To Stretch and Challenge
A student might be keeping on top of their schoolwork and performing well but feel that they could be going further. Tutoring can be tailored to include challenge areas which the student hasn’t encountered before or hasn’t yet mastered and provide extra homework to ensure students reach their full potential. Higher level skills can be introduced earlier for long-term mastery and a taste of what it’s like to study English at the next level. For Year 6 students, this could be early introduction of core secondary school skills, for Year 9, training in how to systematically revise at GCSE, and for Years 10-11, a taste of English at A-Level or even degree.
12. To Go Beyond the Curriculum
The English National Curriculum is designed to standardise the content pupils are exposed to and ensure they are competent in set areas. However, this doesn’t have to be the only experience of English that students receive. Nor should it be. Tutoring carves out space for students to read for pleasure, selecting books that match their interests so their horizons can be expanded and reading positioned as an enjoyable activity, not a chore. It can even involve covering extra units that would support students’ understanding of their set texts.
If you’ve identified some of these signs in your child and are feeling that now might be the time to hire a tutor, do get in contact by emailing, requesting a free meeting or post any questions or thoughts in the comments below. Open Doors Online English Tutoring is here to help your child shape their learning journey and keep their doors in life open. I can’t wait to meet you!
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