Finding tutors for home educated children

Finding tutors for home educated children

There are many reasons to choose home education for your children, but the principle motivation is often that home education is a more flexible method for children to learn. Unlike when following a government-controlled curriculum in a large institution, children have more freedom to develop at their own pace and pursue their own interests.

Private tutors and shared goals

Home educators know that you don't have to be an expert in an area of learning to facilitate a child's interest in it. Home educated children often learn alongside the rest of their families, with education as a shared venture. Home educators can also support one another to help plug gaps in expertise. Private tuition is not about undermining those networks, but about supplementing them.

There are times when a home educated child's interests and learning progress might make a private tutor's support helpful. As home educated children get older, it is possible that a private tutor's subject knowledge and expertise could make a valuable contribution to their learning. In these cases private tutoring becomes an additional source of support, not replacing home teaching, but building on it.

Overcoming disruptions in home education

Private tutors can also be particularly useful for home educators who decide that their children could benefit from taking exams. Working towards public examinations inevitably has an impact on home education, as it imposes certain topics which need to be covered. Sometimes carrying out exam preparation with a private tutor makes it easier to keep this constrained learning separate from the rest of a child's home education.

There are times when as a home educator, you can be faced with personal problems that make it temporarily difficult to deliver home education to your child. This is another situation where a private tutor might help. Private tutors can step in for however long the problem persists. Most will actively encourage you to brief them on your teaching methods and on your child's personal needs so that they can ensure as much continuity as possible. They will then be able to continue your child's learning for however long is necessary, always consulting you over their approach.

Working with you

Many parents with school-educated children turn to private tutors to help their children to grow in creativity and confidence. Private tutors are used to being flexible and responsive, nurturing children's self-expression. This is why home educators who do decide to consider working with private tutors often find them helpful partners in their children's education. Home educated children are not going to have bad experiences with the tutor who is right for them. It is usually worth comparing different tutors' teaching styles and experiences to ensure you make the best choice.