Employing a Private Tutor

What is a Private Tutor?

A private tutor is an individual who will spend time with your child outside of the school environment in order to help them with their study, thus improving their chances of success at school and also whilst sitting examinations.

A private tutor should ideally be a serving teacher or a retired teacher; someone who is well versed on how to deal with children and also able to help them learn and progress in their chosen subject.

Is a Private Tutor Necessary?

It is fair to say that no a private tutor is not always necessary in order for our children to learn but sometimes there are valid reasons for the hiring of a private tutor. The most common reasons for hiring a private tutor are:

• Your child has been ill and is not attending school
• Your child has been bullied and is not attending school
• Your son or daughter is having difficulty grasping a particular subject
• Additional time spent on a subject will ensure they pass

Is Your Child Attending School?

For some parents they are faced with the daunting task of ensuring their child’s education without them attending school. This could be for a number of reasons as we have already touch upon and it is important to ensure that whatever the reason they continue to receive the same amount of educational teaching as they would within the confines of the school environment.

For this reason your LEA (Local Education Authority) may recommend you employ the services of a private tutor. It is worth noting that in some authority catchment areas there may be the opportunity for the authority to provide you with a tutor. However this is dependent on your financial situation and also if you are actually within their catchment area.

Does Your Child Have Difficulty Learning?

A child may have difficulty learning for a number of reasons and before employing the services of a private tutor it is best to try and establish why this is the case. A private tutor may be qualified to teach your child a particular subject but they may not be qualified to deal with a learning disability or behavioural disorder.

When employing the services of a private tutor it is also important to establish if he or she has had experience in dealing with child who have learning difficulties or behaviour disorders.

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Checks

Before you undertake to employ anyone to spend time with your child – especially if there is a chance you may not be able to participate or sit in yourself – you must ensure that they are legally entitled to undertake such a duty of care. The best way to ensure that this is the case is to carry out a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

The purpose of such a check is to make sure that anyone you wish to engage the services of have no prior convictions against them in relation to the treatment of children, the elderly or other groups which may be considered to be vulnerable.

You can carry out such a check yourself or any individual you are interested in employing can but you must make sure that the check is carried out and that you are privy to the results before making a firm commitment to employing them.

For more information on this you should consult with your LEA (Local Education Authority) who will also be able to draw upon a list of registered private tutors and may be able to help source one for you given the nature of your child’s learning needs.