3 minute read - updated June 2021
At this time of year, most children are already looking forward to the long summer break. And for parents who have had the challenge of home schooling for the best part of a year, it’s tempting to let your child abandon all schoolwork and kick back and relax for the rest of the summer.
At MagiKats we very much believe in the importance of giving your child the time and space to unwind after the hard slog of the summer term. But there are times during your child’s school years when it may be important to consider some private tuition and this summer is highly likely to be one of those times. So in this blog, we look at some of the tell-tale signs that your child may benefit from a little extra help:
1. School closure recovery
The jury is still out on exactly how damaging the last year of school closures has been, but there’s little doubt that most children will not have come through it unscathed.
Some children may have had to adapt to a more assessment-based approach to tests and exams or they may be daunted by the idea of SATs, CATs, key assessments, National 5s or GCSEs next year after so much lost school. Others may have struggled to engage with home learning and slipped behind in certain areas or are finding it difficult to get back into the swing of things.
Whatever your child’s circumstances, it is important to evaluate how they have been affected by the school closures, and where they may now need some help. If you’ve got any doubts about this, why not get in touch with your local MagiKats centre to discuss it. We always take time to find out what help a child needs before they attend our private tuition workshops so that we can tailor our programme to suit them accordingly.
2. The summer slide!
We’ve written about this before, and a lot of research has been done into what has become known as the effects of “summer slide”. Research in 2017 for example, showed that, “The average student loses a month of academic-calendar learning each summer,” with older students suffering more and maths being a key area affected.
The bottom line is, lost learning is inevitable over the summer but with all the additional difficulties of the last year, mitigating summer learning loss is more important this year than ever before. Private tuition during the holidays is ideal for this. It doesn’t have to be intensive and once a week is normally more than sufficient to help ensure your child is in a strong and confident position in September.
3. Problems with behaviour
Poor behaviour at home or at school can be as a result of many things but in the classroom, it’s often a sign that your child may be struggling. Once you’ve ruled out hearing, sight or other causes, it’s worth considering private tuition.
A child who simply doesn’t understand and is struggling to keep up can often turn to naughty behaviour. This can be particularly so if your child suddenly starts behaving badly in one class or subject. Speak to their teacher, speak to your child and consider some private tuition to help ensure they can manage …and that they then go on to excel!
4. Your child is bright, and the school isn’t developing them sufficiently
A child who is outperforming the rest of the class can also turn to naughty behaviour if they’re not been challenged enough, and that’s very easy in today’s crowded classrooms.
Private tuition can help your child fulfil their potential. What’s more, as their performance and hopefully their behaviour improves, it’s a very clear signal to the school that this is a bright pupil who may need to be challenged a bit more in the classroom – something which unfortunately doesn’t always come across if a child is simply disruptive.
5. The start of a new school
The change from one school to another is always daunting and particularly so, when it’s the move from primary to secondary school. The beginning of secondary marks a big step change, with lots more homework and more challenging schoolwork too.
Again, this year, more than ever before, this is going to be daunting for many children. Lots of schools have had to limit the amount of preparation they normally provide to help children move on to secondary school – whether that’s sitting SATs (and preparing for CATs) or hosting visits to the new school.
Whilst you shouldn’t worry too much about any assessment results (or lack of them), use your child’s school report as a benchmark for identifying areas where your child may need some help. Private tuition over the school holidays provides a number of benefits. First, it ensures your child is up to date and where they should be at the start of the next year. It also helps build their confidence both academically and socially as they meet new children and socialise. Better still, it gives them something to do over the weeks ahead!
6. At the beginning of their GCSEs or Nat5s
No matter what their predicted grades, it’s never too early to give your teenager a boost. Supporting them from the beginning of secondary with private tuition can make a huge difference to their performance and confidence and also eases the stresses and strains when it comes to mocks, key assessments and final exams.
What’s more, the future of Covid is still unclear, and in the last year children have had the uncertainty of not knowing how their GCSEs or Nat5s will be assessed. This uncertainty remains and as a result, children are having to learn different skills and be more consistent in their school and course work which may form part of an overall assessment … which means cramming at the last minute is unlikely to work.
Before it’s too late
Your child can run into difficulties for all sorts of reasons. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not bright. Perhaps they don’t get on well with a particular method of teaching or with a teacher. Perhaps there are other distractions in class beyond their control, preventing them from concentrating.
Falling behind can have a very negative effect on your child’s confidence but it’s also a problem that is easy to solve. A small amount of private tuition can make a world of difference to performance, understanding, confidence and in turn, your child’s overall wellbeing.
The key is to keep an eye on how your child is doing at school and if in doubt, why not give us a call to see whether private tuition could help. We have over 40 years’ experience in education and offer affordable workshop style tuition designed to support the school curriculum whilst still being fun! School can be tough, but with a little MagiKats magic, it could be a lot easier.
