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More and more families are opting for online tutoring sessions as opposed to lessons in person and it is rapidly becoming a convenient option for many. Demand for tutors is rising and the number of online tutoring companies, tutor sites and agencies is expanding fast.

The benefits are clear:

– on a practical level, it saves time, money and ultimately the planet by reducing transport and travel

– it is often a more intense and productive learning experience for children

– most importantly, online sessions give children access to higher quality, expert tutors who might not be available to them locally.

Finding the ideal tutor who matches your child’s learning style isn’t always easy though, so what sort of things should you look for when choosing?

Does the online tutor have exactly the right experience for my child?

An expert tutor can look at a student’s work and almost immediately pinpoint the area which a student needs to focus on to improve their performance in a subject. The in-depth knowledge of the appropriately experienced tutor enables rapid progress with a student, which should, in the long run, save you money in tutoring fees.

If you want last minute exam preparation help with GCSE Geography for example, find a tutor with teaching qualifications who has had many years of experience teaching previous students in schools, preparing them for GCSE Geography. The chances are high that they would have the right level of experience, know the subject matter inside out, understand exactly how students should answer questions to gain top marks and be aware of all the pitfalls for students in their subject.

When I begin working with a new student who is preparing for independent school entrance tests, which is my specialism, I always ask for examples of a student’s work before we have our first lesson. After reading through their samples, extensive experience with a wide range of schools and students means I can instantly identify strengths and weaknesses which we can work on straight away to improve their chance of success in the admissions process.

It might be tempting to employ someone who has recently graduated from university with a first in their subject who charges a lot less for their tutoring services than more experienced private tutors. As outlined above, this may be a false economy, depending on your requirements. In some situations however, the inexperienced tutor might be perfect if, for example, you want your child’s tutor to provide generalist support, encouraging and nurturing them on their learning journey. Young, enthusiastic graduates have many positive traits and can be wonderful role models for students even if they have little or no teaching experience or tutoring experience as yet. I am certainly grateful for the many families who entrusted me to help their children when I was starting out – I remember charging just £10/hour with my first students! If you need more targeted help though, seek out someone with exactly the right experience – work out your goals and choose your tutor accordingly.

Would the technology work for us?

Online lessons require a good internet connection, to be relaxed, enjoyable and successful. Both you and the tutor must have good internet provision for whiteboards, worksheets, and presentations to operate smoothly. I had a student once who visited the Maldives for several weeks every year. We continued lessons, but when she was there I was unable to share any resources during lessons as the internet strength was simply too poor. This made lessons quite tricky, requiring some imagination and certainly would have been a problem long term.

Many bespoke tutoring platforms have sprung up recently, all offering a variety of benefits from using their software to host both group and private lessons. Access to an interactive whiteboard is essential and a method of sharing screen and materials is also important but a paid subscription to Zoom is often sufficient for most teaching methods.

What hourly rate should I expect to pay?

There is quite a large price range in the online learning environment. As touched on earlier, an inexperienced tutor might charge £20 per hour whereas a very experienced tutor might charge 3 or more times as much since they are giving you an hour of their time face-to-face, preparation and marking time, plus the 20 years or so experience which lies behind what they teach. You will also find that going through an agency will cost more due to the additional administrative costs that an agency incurs for advertising, staffing their representatives, managing their website etc..

Some agencies are excellent, working on developing great relationships with both tutors and clients so that they can match them perfectly. Other agencies however, charge a premium and invest little in relationships with tutors, missing out on the opportunity to add value to their client offering. Use personal recommendations, look at reviews, but also read through the details of tutors on an agency’s site – are they qualified teachers with actual classroom experience?

When working with a very wealthy client long term, I came across a tutor they employed who charged £400 per lesson. The tutor had gained a reputation of being the go-to person for a particular subject and, as I was in the household nearly full time, I observed her sessions many times. I didn’t really notice anything exceptional about her teaching and the child she worked with didn’t enjoy her lessons. The tutor knew her stuff, but children are extremely good at spotting people who are not genuine, caring and authentic and I am now slightly wary of tutors who charge inflated prices and therefore their work is all about the business – there may be someone out there who is kinder, equally experienced, and cheaper who could help you more.

How well does your child get on with your potential tutor?

You’ve done your research, narrowed down your list of prospective tutors, and found a well qualified, perfect tutor with exactly the right experience who charges an hourly rate which comes in under budget – great! Now it’s time to see if it’s a match with your child.

I would always recommend that you arrange a trial lesson, or a couple of lessons as a trial,  to see how your child gets on with the tutor, making this clear before arranging the sessions. After the lesson, you can hopefully give positive feedback to the tutor and organise a program of lessons going forward. 

The trial lesson gives your child a chance to meet the tutor, interact with the sort of lesson materials they use and experience their teaching style. You will then be in a better position to assess whether the tutor gets on well with your child, is able to sustain their interest and takes time to prepare the lessons thoroughly. You can then feel more confident about committing to book lessons or a lesson package going forward.