Feature
Education Focus
Photography courtesy of Simply Learning Tuition
Schooling has been hugely impacted by COVID-19
COVID-19 Era Education Should I Use A Private Tutor?
After six months of widespread disruption to students’ education, private tutoring is more popular now than ever. Since 2009, Simply Learning Tuition has been at the forefront of this shift towards a more personalised education, but they understand that some parents might be put off by the costs. In this article they explore the proven benefits of tutoring, as well as how it may be more financially feasible than many people realise. With Covid-19 having wreaked havoc on not just the country’s health and finances, but also the youth of tomorrow’s education, Polo Times caught up with Nathaniel McCullogh, who as both a polo player and an academic, is ideally placed to give an insight into what might be done to help mitigate the long-term impact of Covid-19 on our children’s future. A Brave New World The price of lockdown on education has been costly. A report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found that around 2 million children in the UK did little or no schoolwork between April and June. A third of pupils surveyed said they were not engaged with their lessons, fewer than half (42%) bothered to return their work, whilst 40% said they were not in regular contact with their teachers. Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation, said, “When it comes to schooling, COVID-19 has done huge damage, at speed, to our children’s prospects, putting their futures in danger. Many pupils have fallen significantly behind in their learning.” The future looks equally uncertain. Hundreds of schools have closed already due to positive coronavirus cases (the Department for Education recently announced that only 84% of secondary schools are fully open), and 14
Polo Times, October 2020
this will inevitably have an adverse effect on exam classes in Year 11 and Year 13. It’s easy to focus on statistics and forget about the individual impacts on students. As Professor Sally Power of Cardiff University said, “We tend to talk about facts and figures, but we are talking about people’s futures here, and I think that we should be extremely worried.” One of the ways in which parents have tried to kick-start curriculum catch up is through private tutoring. Private tutoring has become a hugely sought-after service over the last five years: according to The Telegraph, there are now over 500 tutoring agencies in the UK; parents spend over £6 billion yearly on tuition; 72% of children have used a private tutor for common entrance exams; whilst 43% of students in London have a regular private tutor. Given the skyrocketing demand there must be a secret behind its success, but is private tutoring really worth it?
Finding a Love for Learning There are clearly many benefits to private tutors: they can offer self-paced and selfdirected learning in a distraction-free space away from the pressures and expectations of crowded classrooms. Tutors can work with students and their families to provide a bespoke, customised service that suits the pupil’s abilities, needs and interests. It is this personal approach that makes tutoring so effective. In July, Simply Learning Tuition was featured in an article in Vanity Fair that investigated the benefits of tutoring, and concluded that “education is just one more system that can be tinkered with, tailored and fully optimized.” Our education system’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach has its limitations, and “perhaps the traditional curriculum is no longer relevant in a rapidly changing world.” ‘Optimized’ is the key word here: some parents may want a replacement for traditional education, but most want to simply enhance the learning that is already taking place, or minimise disruption in case of local lockdowns. Parents’ priorities are also deeply personal. Some may want an expert to help their child fine-tune revision and exam technique; some may want a mentor to help build up their child’s confidence; some may want a planner who can help their child balance work with intensive extra-curricular commitments; or some may want a teacher who can challenge their child in a way they are not being at school. A tutor can wear many hats, and should. Parents are also no longer looking for a tutor based on academic credentials alone; if a tutor is going to imbue ‘soft skills’ such as creativity, resilience, integrity and drive, then they need to have all of those things too. Subject knowledge is still important, but so too is empathy, passion, and being able www.polotimes.co.uk
