Tutoring help too late

I have no problem with employing NQTs and newly qualified graduates for the task. Many of them enter the profession with great enthusiasm and a fresh approach. Longevity in the classroom doesn't always achieve the best results.
I am, however, concerned that valuable time has been lost. There isn't time for rehearsals in all this.

Lillie

I have no problem with employing NQTs and newly qualified graduates for the task. Many of them enter the profession with great enthusiasm and a fresh approach. Longevity in the classroom doesn't always achieve the best results.
I am, however, concerned that valuable time has been lost. There isn't time for rehearsals in all this.

They're not NQTs. These would be graduates, but without any teacher training. Some of them would be volunteers and others would be paid a derisory amount. They will be given two weeks training. One-to-one tuition requires a thorough knowledge of the curriculum and and an ability to assess the pupils and his/her needs very quickly, so that individual needs are matched.

I work as a tutor, so presumably my email address is on some list somewhere and I keep getting ads in my inbox. I've read what's involved and it's about throwing people in the deep end.

Years ago, the Labour government had a scheme for one-to-one catch up tutoring. Only qualified teachers were eligible to do the training, which was quite thorough and there were support resources available.

Starting it in the Spring Term is absolute nonsense.

If these tutors are given detailed lesson plans I don’t see the problem.

Furret

If these tutors are given detailed lesson plans I don’t see the problem.

IF!

The details I received about tutoring opportunities didn't include detailed lesson plans.

Tutors still need to have the expertise to identify the gaps in learning and know how to bring the pupils up to speed.

Teaching isn't like assembling an IKEA bookcase.

However, it's a great opportunity for the outsourced tutoring agencies to make money!

Furret, as any teacher will tell you, a lesson plan is only a starting point. You need subject knowledge, a thorough understanding of the way a subject is assessed, and experience of the way children think in order to turn a lesson plan into productive teaching.

And who is going to write these lesson plans? How are they going to know what work students have missed?

This takes me back to discussions in the past where many graduates without teaching qualifications entered the independent sector. I don't recall their being any lesser teachers. As long as they have subject knowledge and have proved they understand the mechanics of learning, surely their input is better than nothing and will grow on the job?

I remember years ago when a graduate didn’t have to do teacher training at all but could go straight into teaching.

This never seemed right to me although I was tempted. How can a graduate be on a level with 3 years training which includes placements in schools? Teaching is a difficult job and NQT’s are carefully monitored for their first year. It’s not just about teaching but following the National Curriculum and knowing how to guide the children.

Worst teacher I ever had was a brilliant mathematician but couldn’t teach for toffee.

I did 25Avalon before the days of the National Curriculum. I was pretty brilliant at it too!

25Avalon, I think you were in my maths class!

It would be interesting to hear the view of your trained
colleagues about your performance.

Ellianne They don't have time to "grow into the job". They're being employed to close the gap quickly, not bumble along, making mistakes.

I actually remember some appalling teachers at my own private school. Even now, there are some lesser teachers in private schools. I sometimes pick up their pupils as tutees.

Closing an attainment gap for pupils who were probably already falling behind is specialist work, not for the well-meaning amateur.

Er yes! I've come across a few teachers without teacher training qualifications.

NotSpaghetti

*25Avalon*, I think you were in my maths class!

I think I was in that class too! You weren't in my chemistry class were you?

When pupil premium money came into schools 2012/2013, I had just retired and became a one to one tutor. I received all the training and went into three schools. I had 20 years primary teaching experience (mainly KS2).

The teachers had all identified which areas of numeracy and writing I was to concentrate on for each child. These children were all 6 - 12 months behind their expected level. I had the medium term plans from the teachers so knew what the children were going to cover over the following term. My lessons were aimed at 'doing catch up' but also preparing them for the lessons they were about to have and the skills needed in the classroom.

We had 1/2 termly meeting to check on the children's progress. Success rate was brilliant. What it helped with the most was the children's confidence back in the classroom.

I never took the children out of numeracy or literacy lessons. We would arrange a staggered timetable so the child did not continually miss a topic/PE/art lesson.

For me the success rate started to drop off when schools started to group children for the extra tuition.

I await further news of how schools will organise the tuition, or be told how to organise it !

Ha ha, growstuff no!

In my opinion you need the very best tutors to help and support those who are struggling most. They need experience and not just knowledge to be a catalyst to learning. They may not be old hands at teaching but they need to have a grounding in what may work with any given young person and they need creativity to find the right way to work with them.

Yes, woodmouse I'm sure you are right about 1-1 teaching.

Just read this in that article In November, headteachers will be presented with different types of “catch-up” tutoring services – but only if the school is prepared to meet 25% of the cost of this provision from its own budget
With schools already cutting staff to manage their budgets are any of them going to be able to afford this. It looks to me like a big publicity stunt with no real possibility or content.

growstuff

Ellianne They don't have time to "grow into the job". They're being employed to close the gap quickly, not bumble along, making mistakes.

I actually remember some appalling teachers at my own private school. Even now, there are some lesser teachers in private schools. I sometimes pick up their pupils as tutees.

Closing an attainment gap for pupils who were probably already falling behind is specialist work, not for the well-meaning amateur.

Exactly growstuff. If teaching was so easy, more people would do it AND there would be no staff retention issues.

Children, particularly those who are struggling, need experts, not someone straight out of uni with no teacher training.

This is just another Tory quick-fix to give the appearance of doing something. Here's betting the agencies getting contracts have personal links with at least one Tory, or Cummings.

Growstuff Chemi wasn’t quite as bad as Physics where if you said you didn’t understand you were told to sit down as you would in a minute. Never did until a new young enthusiastic teacher from training finally explained and I understood at last! Then had 3 years to catch up in one but I did it.

Guess I’m saying the quality of the teacher is so important

eazybee

It would be interesting to hear the view of your trained
colleagues about your performance.

Was that addressed to me, eazybee?

No worries. I'd prefer to listen to the views of my now very happy and successful pupils regarding my performance.

Oh well. Best not do anything then. Sigh.

Ellianne I hope I have some happy and successful former pupils too. However, I can honestly say I wasn't "pretty brilliant" in my first year of teaching, even though I had a good degree and PGCE. In fact, I'm not sure I was pretty brilliant even after 30 years - definitely not with all pupils. I can certainly say that I wouldn't have done the same kind of job when I first qualified as I do now.

Doing 1-1 tuition is emotionally very rewarding, but it's more demanding than people think and, as others have said, it requires a thorough knowledge of the curriculum and being able to spot difficulties and misunderstandings and being able to respond to them instantly. Catch up work is hard because the teacher needs to know how to help the learner make more rapid progress than normal. I know I couldn't have done that without any training or experience.

You don't need teaching qualifications to teach in a private school, nor in an expensive public school either.