Choosing the right tutor
Once you've decided to opt for tuition, the most important decision is to pick the right tutor. So, if you sign your child up for a faceless brand, you are selecting a programme and you don't know who the tutor is?
But you should!
No really, you should: According to the governments own figures (and pretty much every international study); the level of a teacher's prior education is directly linked to the attainment of their pupils.
A pupil's attainment is directly linked to how highly educated their teacher is
If your child is being taught by "Bradley", who's only just finished his AS in maths (but proclaims he's "all-white at maffs"), then you can't really expect him to understand how the mistakes he makes in the way he teaches you child G.C.S.E. maths won't show up now - they will rear their ugly heads when your child is doing A-level maths. (I should know - I spend too much of my time sorting out Bradley's mistakes.) Of course, by then, Bradley will be long gone…
The more knowledgeable the tutor, the better able the pupil is to learn (Wossman 2003)
Incidentally, the government wanted to regulate the tuition profession. They wanted all tutors to have at the very least a degree in a subject relevant to the subject they are teaching. (In fact, they only give P.G.C.E. bursaries to graduates with a FIRST or a 2:1 degree.) That's not too much to ask is it? But pretty much all the tuition organisations opposed it…
Why? Because so there are so many unqualified tutors out there! How would "Bradley" pay for his i-phone; if the tuition profession was regulated?
Of course - all this criticism could easily come back to bite me on the bum! So, just how qualified are the Math'scool tutors?
1. We don't hire other tutors
Contrary to current thinking - we won't expand, open new centres and hire other teachers, or get an older student (like "Bradley") to teach the younger ones. Math'scool is and will always remain unashamedly "small". In Germany, they have a specific word for such businesses: "Mittelstand". This reflects how innovative, adaptable and forward thinking such businesses can be.
2. So, if you are studying A-level Maths or Further Maths, your tutor will be Dr Deepak Shah
You can find out more about Dr Shah in the panel on the right...
3. If you're studying G.C.S.E. or I.G.C.S.E. maths, your tutor will be Mrs Menna Haria
You can find out more about Mrs Haria in the panel on the right...