Does Your Child Need a Tutor? Signs to Look For and How to Choose

Signs a tutor will help

• Marks have stayed low or dropped despite regular studying
• Your child says they understand in class but cannot do the questions alone
• The same kinds of mistakes appear in every paper
• Confidence is falling, and your child avoids or dreads the subject
• There was a disruption, such as a school change, illness or a move abroad
• The class moves too fast for your child to ask questions

Signs more practice may be enough

In these cases a better study routine may help more than a tutor, and a good tutor will tell you so.

• Your child understands the topics but has not practised much
• Marks are generally good and only occasionally slip
• The main problem is organisation or time management, not understanding

Questions to ask any tutor before you start

• How will you find out what my child actually needs?
• Will my child get a written plan, and will I see it?
• How will I know if it is working? What do you report, and how often?
• Do you teach my child's exam board and level regularly?
• Is the class one to one, so your child gets individual attention?
• What happens if we want to pause or stop?

Warning signs

• A promise of a specific grade, which no honest tutor can guarantee
• No assessment or plan before the lessons start
• The same worksheets given to every student
• No way for parents to see progress
• Pressure to pay for a long block of lessons up front

Why a diagnostic first matters

A tutor who starts teaching straight away is guessing where the problem is. A short diagnostic at the start, followed by a plan, means every later session is spent on the right topics. It also gives you something concrete to check progress against.

At Tandem Learner every student begins this way, and every parent receives a monthly update. If you are comparing options, ask each tutor to explain how they would do the same.