Tips for one-to-one tuition

• 5 Stars

With the number of Key Stage 2 children due to receive one-to-one tuition set to double to 315,000 in 2010-2011, the presence of one-to-one tutors in schools is becoming more pronounced. Working with a child in this context necessitates a particular approach – at the start of their journey, tutors are equipped with a detailed toolkit and induction training. The following is advice is written with one-to-one tutors in mind, although the activities can easily be adapted for use by class teachers, too.

Unlike a class teacher, a tutor does not have a cupboard full of resources to hand. However, many opt for a wallet of invaluable essentials to ensure variety, interest, and good session structure. Some portable essentials include:

• Laminated number lines
• Wiper boards and cloths
• Dry wipe pens
• Laminated blank domino cards (create your own domino game using dry wipe pens, for example times tables, number bonds, words with different letter strings)
• Multilink cubes
• Laminated, high-frequency word flashcards
• Key textbooks for the ability range you are working with and list of reading comprehension questions
• Ruler, pencils, rubbers
• Maths or literacy games to break up the session
• Notebook
• APP levels