1. Plan. Being organised pays off, whether that’s coming up with a revision schedule long before exams or booking in 11 plus tutoring well before your child sits their entrance exams then planning is the key.
2. Recognise. This resolution is for both parents and students. Tutoring is fantastic and can mean you can overcome academic problems you have. But tutoring doesn’t happen unless you are willing to recognise that a problem exists. As a parent it can be hard to face up to the fact that your child might not be doing as well as you’d hoped and as a student it can be downright embarrassing to admit you are failing in an area or topic. Communication is really important – if you think your child is having problems then talk to them (and their teachers) as soon as possible, early intervention by teachers or a tutor can easily resolve a problem. If a problem is left unchecked then it becomes harder to deal with later on and your child can also suffer a serious knock to their confidence. Tutoring isn’t about saying you aren’t good enough, it’s about saying you want to be better and you are smart enough to see there is a way to do that. Parents tell our tutors that the most common problem areas tend to be in the topics we need the most on a day to day basis – so English (primary, GCSEs and A Level) and Maths (primary, GCSE and A Level).
3. Future. Encourage your child to think about their future now. It’s really easy to forget that the choices made in secondary school can dictate the path our life takes. Find positive ways to encourage your child to focus on their school work when needed and help them out if they start to struggle. It’s also a good time to reflect on where you want your future to be – after all tutoring isn’t just for children!

Here’s to a happy and successful 2012. If you need help with one to one tutoring in subjects including English, Maths and History across Manchester and Cheshire including Altrincham, Bramhall and Sale then contact us today.

-          Be actively involved in your child’s education. It could be as simple as reading and talking to them from an early age. You should have constant interaction with school and their class teacher to make sure they aren’t slipping behind and you are doing what you can at home.

-          Emotional and social development. August babies don’t just suffer from academic lag; the few months between the ages of 4 and 5 generally feature a great deal of social and emotional development. It’s worth encouraging activities and relationships that build confidence.

-          Consider tutoring. At 121 Home Tutors, we help all kinds of students (not just August babies!) but it might be that their early start at school has put them at a slight disadvantage. Private tutoring, even at primary school level, can help tackle problem areas early on and help your child develop into a confident student in the classroom. You can read more about primary tutoring in Manchester with 121 Home Tutors here.

If you’d like to know more about primary school tutoring and private tuition in subjects including English and Maths then contact 121 Home Tutors. We have primary level tutors across Manchester and Cheshire (including Knutsford, Macclesfield, Didsbury and Wilmslow).

As such, if your child is attempting to gain a place at an independent school near you, it’s crucially important that you understand the way the selection process works. Many independent schools offer past papers to help your prepare, which you should definitely accept if they are on offer.

Typical test components often include:

• Maths – essential skills based on the topics your child should have covered in the upper years of primary or prep school.
• English – often in the form of an extended essay question to assess your child’s written fluency and skill with spelling and punctuation. However, comprehension tests are sometimes involved, too.
• Verbal reasoning – logic and problem solving puzzles similar to the ones sat in the traditional 11+ test. An ability to ‘frame’ the problem rapidly (i.e., understand and conceptualise it) is very important.
• Non-verbal reasoning – logic problems based on shapes, sequences or patterns. They often take the form of ‘odd one out’ or ‘what comes next’ questions. These are perhaps slightly less common in independent school entrance tests, but it’s not at all unusual to come across them.
• An assessment day, during which potential entrants will come in and experience a day at the school and monitored to see how they get on. This has recently been introduced, for example, at Manchester Grammar School.

In addition, the school may ask to see a portfolio of work from your child’s primary school. There will usually also be an interview, but interviewing well won’t make up for poor results in the academic tests. Getting a high score really is essential.

So, as a parent, what can you do to ensure the maximum chance of success? Once you’ve established the structure of the entrance tests you’ll need to come up with a preparation strategy: don’t expect your child’s current school to help much, especially if it’s a state primary.

You probably have a good idea of your child’s strengths and weaknesses, so the key to a successful strategy lies in working out where the potential problems will fall in the tests and working to address them. There are plenty of good revision guides on the market to boost English and Maths skills.

If the entrance test involves an 11+ style verbal reasoning component, you might also consider some practice tests – the Bond Assessment Papers are probably the best available.

Aside from that, there are various other general things you can bear in mind:

• Vocabulary can make a big difference. This isn’t just a question of succeeding in English tests; good wordpower will help your child make sense of verbal reasoning questions quickly, ensuring an accurate understanding of the problem and saving valuable time in the test. Encourage reading over the summer, along with use of the dictionary to find out unfamiliar words.
• Even if there isn’t a specific English test, spelling and punctuation matter. If your child is a borderline case, the school may look at the quality of his or her writing in written answers to verbal reasoning questions. Look at your child’s previous work, make lists of ‘problem’ words and encourage him or her to learn them. Revise punctuation, especially apostrophes to indicate possession and plurality.
• Good mental arithmetic skills are important. Again, quick, reliable arithmetic can make all the difference in reasoning tests.
• Finally, puzzles, word games and logic problems are always beneficial for sharpening the brain before entrance tests, and bright children can find them very enjoyable. Even simple crosswords and Sudokos can make a big difference and help your child develop fast, accurate logical thinking skills.

Finally, one of the best ways to give your child a head start is to hire a tutor. If you’re based in the Manchester, Stockport, Macclesfield, Wilmslow or Cheshire areas, contact us to discuss your situation – we have a number of tutors who are very experienced when it comes to coaching children for independent school entrance examinations.

Here are a few tips to manage the transition:

• New school visit. If your child is already in nursery or preschool then they may do this with their current carers. If, on the other hand, they are a little older and changing schools rather than starting for the first time, you may have to organise it yourself. Don’t hesitate to contact the school and ask if you can visit. This takes away the fear of the unknown and these visits often deal with big issues for younger kids, such as knowing where the toilet is and where they will hang their coat. If you live locally then it’s a good idea to make a walk past their new primary school part of your routine.
• Find out if friends or neighbours children are attending the same school. Obviously if your child is moving school as a result of your family moving to a new town these might be “new” friends in any case, but it will still really help your child if they see a friendly face. Some schools have a system where older children shadow the younger children in the first few weeks so they have someone to guide them and lessen the chances of them feeling lonely.
• Focus on their interests. If your child mentions they fancy trying karate or a friend is part of the ballet club then encourage them to get involved. It’s a good way to help them foster friendships and become more confident.
• This might be a time for them to be a little bit more grown up but, for very young children, a comforter won’t hurt. Maybe they have a special blanket or toy which can be stashed in their rucksack or bag to combat any wobbles.
• Get to know their teacher. They’ll be looking after your child for the next year and it’s important that you feel able to go them with both academic and pastoral concerns. If your child isn’t settling or seems to be struggling academically then do go in and speak to their teacher. Teachers at this level are well versed in helping children settle into the primary school system and encourage them in areas where they may be struggling.

If you’re worried that your child is falling behind academically with school work or lacking confidence after starting primary school, he or she could benefit from one to one tuition. If you’re based in the Manchester, Stockport, Wilmslow and Cheshire areas and would like to discuss tuition options, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at 121 Home Tutors. We’ll do our best to help.

But what about the primary age group? If anything, the problem of forgetting knowledge and skills is even greater for kids in Years 1 to 6. They are less mature – six weeks’ holiday is practically a lifetime when you’re eight – and, unless they are soon to take entrance tests (discussed in our last post), they don’t have major targets to aim for in the way that GCSE and A-Level students do.

So what can you do to keep him or her sharp and productive over the school holiday without pushing too hard? Here are some tips:

• If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know that we’re great believers in the importance of keeping up with reading. Having a book on the go throughout the summer maintains and improves comprehension skills, as well as firing the imagination and developing general knowledge. And let’s face it – if your child gets into reading it’s a great way of keeping him or her occupied during the long summer days!
• Puzzles and games are great for developing maths and reasoning skills. Even something as old-fashioned as Monopoly will help keep your child sharp, and if you’re going on holiday books of puzzles are a great way to while away long car journeys. Try to steer your child towards more challenging puzzles and games. Older children, in particular, will do better with puzzles like Sudoko, maths problems and verbal reasoning than with simple word searches and ‘spot the difference’. If you don’t have many good educational games at home, check out the Science Museum’s online store or the brilliant collection of educational toys and games at Brightminds.co.uk
• On the subject of museums, why not plan a few visits? Many run great events for kids over the school summer holidays; if you’re heading to London the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum are surprisingly kid-friendly and a paradise for the curious. Further north, Eureka in West Yorkshire is specifically designed to get kids into science.
• Even if you’re not planning a family visit, all three of those museums have great online areas. Eureka, for example, has a selection of free kids’ games. The NHM has a full Kids’ Area, containing live camera feeds of ants’ nests and more. The Science Museum’s Online Stuff includes a section of games that are great for older kids. In particular, if you have a child in the 10-12 age group, the Museum’s Thingdom online game, which teaches kids about genes and evolution, is brilliant. Overall, the Museum’s collection of free educational games for kids is one of the best available anywhere – you can find the full listing here.
• There are other great websites that can help maintain your child’s skills. Sites like The KidsKnowIt network and Learninggamesforkids.com offer an array of resources and free online learning games that can help your child stay sharp and occupied – while having fun! Some sites are a bit American in style, but once you work out that the year numbering in the US K-12 system is pretty much the same as in the British Y1-13 system, it’s easy to find material suitable for your kids. They might also like the BBC’s DynaMo and Digger and the Gang pages – the latter is divided up into activies by age range.
• Is your child showing the beginnings of talent for practical and technical subjects? You might think about getting hold of some Meccano or LEGO for them (if they don’t already have it). Meccano products are available in four age ranges (2+, 5+, 7+ and 8+), offering great opportunities for kids to explore their practical skills and develop their reasoning ability – find out more on the Meccano website. LEGO also offers some great stuff: if you have very bright children in the 10+ age range who are showing a real flair for technical subjects, you could nurture their talents with some of the amazing products in the LEGO MindStorms series. If your kids are are slightly younger (or you want to spend slightly less!) then many of the products in LEGO’s TECHNIC range are also ideal.
• How about hiring a tutor for some summer tuition? Nothing beats personal help, and here at 121 Home Tutors we do quite a bit of work helping younger children in the Greater Manchester, Stockport and Macclesfield,  Wilmslow, Cheshire areas. We can offer fun, one-to-one, tailored summer tuition to meet your child’s needs and ensure that he or she doesn’t fall behind over the long summer break from school.

If you’d like to talk about any aspect of what we do, or discuss summer tuition options for your primary age children, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!

To take our own region as an example of how Eleven Plus (11+) / entrance exam timings tend to work, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls and Altrincham Grammar School for Boys usually kick-off a test season that continues through to mid October/November. At 121 Home Tutors we have many students that enrol for last minute, summer holiday tuition and ‘cramming’. We advise that those planning to sit the early September/October entrance exams (for example the Trafford Grammar schools tests) work to a regular timetable of study. Even half an hour per day can make a crucial difference.

Young minds can very easily forget things they have learned, and with a summer holiday that varies from five to ten weeks, keeping numeracy, literacy and reasoning skills fine-tuned is essential. Competition for the state grammar schools in the Trafford area is very intense, especially in the current economic climate. Pass marks over 80% have become the norm.

So what can you and your child expect of ‘your’ entrance tests, and what can you do to prepare? Well, if your son or daughter is gearing up to sit an Eleven Plus (11+) or similar entrance exam, you have probably already found out from your prospective school or schools roughly what the contents of the test will be. Local entrance tests always have Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-verbal Reasoning components, and some also add an English component:

• Maths –This is usually based on core skills learned during KS2 but at the demanding end of the spectrum. Children should be aiming towards a level 5 standard.
• Verbal reasoning – typically, these are logic problems, involving both number and word type puzzles. A rapid ability to ‘frame’ the problem (i.e., understand and conceptualise it) is very important. For children not in Trafford primary schools verbal (and no-verbal) reasoning will be new to them as its not likely to be covered in school.
• Non-verbal reasoning – logic problems based on shapes, sequences or patterns. They often take the form of ‘odd one out’ or ‘what comes next’ questions.
• English – Some schools use comprehension-type tests, others test fluency and accuracy of writing by requiring candidates to write a short essay or story. Spelling, vocabulary and punctuation, use of language and handwriting are some key skills the schools are looking for.

Preparatory work with your child
As a parent, it is possible to help your child prepare for each type of test. In our experience, getting your kids to do some preparation in the holidays doesn’t need to be that difficult – especially because if they are planning to sit the tests they are probably the bright, engaged types who will enjoy a mental challenge. Bright kids especially enjoy verbal reasoning tests. The Bond assessment papers are an excellent resource and offer good short tests – we usually advise aiming to cover a paper a day in each of the required topics.

What else can you do to prepare? There are various bits and pieces of useful advice – the school you are applying for might even give you a few pointers. Here are some broad ideas to start you off:

• Vocabulary can make a big difference. This isn’t just a question of succeeding in English tests; good wordpower will help your child make sense of verbal reasoning questions quickly, ensuring an accurate understanding of the problem and saving valuable time in the test. Encourage reading over the summer, along with use of the dictionary to find out unfamiliar words.
• Even if there isn’t a specific English test, spelling and punctuation matter. If your child is a borderline case, the school may look at the quality of his or her writing in written answers to verbal reasoning questions. Look at your child’s previous work, make lists of ‘problem’ words and encourage him or her to learn them. Revise punctuation, especially apostrophes to indicate possession and plurality.
• Strong (and accurate!) mental arithmetic skills are important. Again, quick, reliable arithmetic can make all the difference in reasoning tests.
• Past and sample papers are often available – we’ve already mentioned Bond products. Get hold of as many different ones as you can and work on them over the summer. Don’t pressurise your child too hard (you don’t want to teach them to hate logic tests…) but it can be a good idea to get your child to sit down and work through a paper a day, or at least a few a week. They generally take 45-50 minutes each. Closer to the test it is a good idea to practice doing past/sample papers to time to get your child used to the time constraints.
• Going on holiday? As well as past papers and your child’s choice of reading, pack some books of puzzles, word games and logic problems. There are loads available in the shops, suitable for all ages. Even simple crosswords and Sudokos can make a big difference and help your child develop fast, accurate logical thinking skills.

If you’re in the Greater Manchester or Cheshire area and you’d like some extra help, get in touch with 121 Home Tutors. Our tutors are very experienced at supporting children in the run up to the Eleven Plus (11+) and entrance tests, and will help you give your child the best possible help and support at this stressful and exciting time!

You might also be in interested in this post from last year on the 11+ test.

A good maths tutor will need to have a good understanding and knowledge of the material that s/he is tutoring and so it’s important that they have a strong formal background in mathematics. When teaching young children, of primary school age, a tutor with at least a GCSE grade C in maths would be recommended. Teaching older students, in high school or college, requires more specialist knowledge and so the ideal tutor would have at least an A Level, but ideally an undergraduate degree, in a subject with a strong emphasis on mathematics (engineering or science degrees often have solid maths requirements too).

Experience and training

Helping others learn requires great communication skills, patience and the ability to identify the best way to convey the material that matches the individual needs of the learner. Previous experience in either tutoring or teaching is highly recommended when choosing a maths tutor, and that experience should ideally include the grade-level of the material you are covering.

Practice, practice, practice

The best way of learning maths is through practice, practice, and more practice. It also helps to write it down (it has become very difficult to get students to show their working and write down a maths problem!). A good maths tutor will be able to identify and work on areas of weakness through explanation of the method and practice.

Tutors will also offer homework assignments, if asked, and regular testing is important. Maths tutors often help their students prepare for specific standardised tests such as the eleven plus, 11+, entrance tests, SATs, GCSE’s and A Levels – AS and A2 and so using practice tests in the same format as the expected standardised exams is helpful.

Our tutors have experience and knowledge of the requirements for the different exam boards at the main key stages – e.g. AQA, Edexcel, OCR and for the GCSE, IGCSE, AS and A2 exams.

Student- teacher ratio

Many academic studies have recognised that students learn best when they have more attention to their individual needs. Smaller classroom sizes, or even one-on-one learning, are advisable to maximise the benefits of maths tutoring.

Location & Availability

To save time and travel expense, it is best to have the maths tutoring near you, or even in your own home. A tutor’s availability will depend on several factors, such as your location, the times you require tuition, the time of year [most tutors are fully booked close to public exam times] and the level you require – the most experienced, successful tutors get booked quickly and so often have less availability and/or a waiting list. Some tutors are only available out of school hours and/or at weekends, whereas others may be free at other times.

Pricing

Tutors need to be compensated for their time (they’ve also got families to feed!), so it’s unrealistic to expect good maths tutoring for a very low cost or free – again, the most experienced, highly successful tutors are in high demand and as a result charge higher fees. One to one, individualised tutoring will naturally cost a little extra. Whether or not that is a good investment will depend on the individual needs of the learner, and their enthusiasm to succeed at maths.

If you need a maths tutor in the Manchester or Cheshire area then contact us today.

Does a tutor need to be a qualified teacher?

Some parents are surprised to find out not all of our tutors are teachers by profession. Many of our private tutors are teachers or teacher trained but lots of our 150 male and female tutors come from different backgrounds.

Each one goes through the same stringent application process and we review each application individually. What we have found is that non-teachers can also make superb tutors – some non-teachers have a greater practical/working knowledge of their subject [for example language tutors] and a great deal of passion for their subject.

All our tutors have at least a qualification in the level above that which they teach in (so if they are teaching GCSE Maths they’ll have at least A Level Maths).

A teacher is not always one the best placed to ‘teach’ the student to pass exams. Teachers often teach and cover a lot of information that’s not always needed for a test. It’s information that’s fantastic for subject knowledge but may not be exactly what the student needs to pass a particular test.

So that’s why when you make a tuition enquiry to 121 we’ll ask a lot of questions. We need to find out if you need help and support, then we’ll focus on a particular type of tutor. If you need specific help with exam technique then we’ll find just the right match. And sometimes it can take us more than one go to find just the right tutor – there are as many different styles of tutor as there are teachers!

But we do listen to our parents and anyone receiving private tuition from 121 – if a tutor isn’t meeting your needs or standards then we’ll rectify the problem.

They include:

• Using a trusted website like 121hometutors, where you can get a specialised, matched tutor recommendation and read what other parents say about the tutors.
• Focusing on one or two subjects at any one time. Hiring too many tutors at once can be counter productive as it doesn’t give the student time to absorb the new information.
• Ensuring the tutor has been fully checked – at 121 we carry out a comprehensive checking process including taking up references and double checking qualifications. We focus on a tutor’s track record and their suitability for your needs.
• Check costs – at 121 we agree any fees before tutoring starts. Remember that the cheapest is rarely the best and education is always worth paying for. Tutoring isn’t about price; it’s about getting a quality tutor who cares about a student’s education.
• Looking at results – you need to know your child is making progress. At 121 we continually get feedback from both tutors and parents to make sure the tutor/student relationship is working. We often find the whole relationship is more honest as tutors can be open rather than being pressured to praise.

The eleven plus (11+) entrance exam tests Maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning and English (not all schools test for English – you can find out what the entrance exams consists of by contacting the school).

Often children get very anxious about preparing for the eleven plus and this can affect their performance on the day. A private eleven plus tutor, working with them at home, can explain how to tackle each part of the verbal and non-verbal reasoning sections of the exam. An eleven plus (11+) tutor can then set a schedule of learning so the student does not become overwhelmed and is confident and relaxed when they sit the eleven plus entrance exam.

You can find comprehensive information on the eleven plus (11+) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleven_plus_exam

Help me find an eleven plus (11+) private home tutor…