Many families are opting for private tutoring for their children, leading to a significant growth in the private tuition sector. According to The Sutton Trust, over 30% of 11-16-year-olds received tutoring in the last academic year, with this number increasing even more rapidly following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, only 11% of students reported having received tutoring.
The reasons behind the rise in private tutoring are compelling.
A failing education system
The private tutoring landscape has changed. It has become an important part of propping up a failing state education system where students are increasingly experiencing qualified teacher shortages and families are looking for ways to bolster their child’s experience.
Schools are also recognising the benefits of small group tutoring within school time, using them to support small groups to make more rapid progress, and trying to mitigate the impact of non-specialist teachers in important core subjects. This was supported by the temporary tutor funding from the government following the disruption caused by Covid. But schools face the double challenge of recruiting qualified tutors and then paying for them from impossibly tight budgets now that funding stream has ended.
Rising number of home educating families
More and more families are turning towards electively home educating. One significant reason for this is a decline in juvenile mental health. The number of families citing mental health concerns as a reason for opting for home education rose by 64% between 2022 and 2023 according to BBC reporting with some 92000 students identified as home educating across England in Autumn 2023.
So is it worth it?
The short answer is, Yes. Evidence clearly shows the benefit of tutoring but an experienced, qualified teacher, with a proven track record in supporting students to exam success comes at a premium for 1-1 tutoring. Specialist teachers can reasonably expect to earn in excess of £50 an hour and this prices a lot of families out of the market. Ironically evidence from the Education endowment fund suggests students from low income families benefit the most from tutoring. But they are often priced out of the market.
There are more affordable options. Although a lot of families believe 1-1 tutoring is most effective, small group tutoring has been proven to achieve the same gain in progress (+2 months for students from average income families and +3 months for students from low income families). So finding a small group tutoring option can be the best of both worlds. A lower cost to families and higher quality, more experienced tutors.
If you are looking for an experienced, qualified, expert tutor in English, Maths or Science, contact us to find out what availability we have at affordable, inclusive costs.
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