5 Reasons to Opt for 1-on-1 Tutoring

Would your child benefit from one-on-one tutoring sessions? Like a lot of parents, you might be asking yourself this question.

Your child may be struggling in primary school. Or they're doing really well, and they're starting to feel a little bored in class. They might be a little nervous, and you just want to help build their confidence in the lessons. Whatever the case, if you decide they need additional support, you will quickly find out that there is a world of choice for parents. One-on-one tutoring means one online academic tutor, one student—as it's simple as that. A one-on-one tutor works with only one student at a time, spending between 30 minutes and one or two hours with a child. Normally, they spend this time focusing on one subject, most often math or English, in primary and then math or science at GCSE and A-Level.

It's like a normal class lesson in many ways, except that all teaching is aimed at one student instead of many. 1 on 1 tutoring can be either through a private arrangement with a tutor or as part of a tutoring company or a math program; tutors can then work with your child either at home or online.

5 reasons to opt for 1-on-1 tutoring are as follows:

1. Your child will receive individual attention from a one-on-one tutor

It's the most obvious benefit of academic tutoring, but it's often overlooked! Modern classrooms could have between 20 and 30 students per teacher. With so many children, it's very difficult for a teacher to give a student a long-term personal focus – especially if they're middle-of-the-class or just struggling a little. The same could happen with group-based tutoring. Although there are fewer students, tutors generally have to try and divide their time equally between them. This could mean that students who need a little more attention to make progress may not get as much help as they need. One-on-one tutoring ensures that the student gets the time and attention that brings the best out of them, and that means that they can make progress that much faster.

2. Learning takes place in a low-pressure setting for students

This benefit may be a bit more subtle, but it has just as much impact: being in a comfortable learning environment And if you choose private tuition where the tutor comes to you or online tutoring from the comfort of your own home, this benefit will be increased. You'd be surprised how often a student with a little opportunity knows the answer to a math problem. But in class, they might freeze or panic because they're afraid to get the wrong answer in front of their friends. One-on-one tutoring gives your child a safer, more relaxed place to learn where they might feel comfortable making mistakes. And it's important to make mistakes – most of our learning doesn't come from getting the right answer; we learn by getting something wrong and working out why it happened. One-to-one tutoring also gives more nervous or shy children a chance to practice answering questions outside of the classroom. This helps boost their confidence; they might even begin to give answers in class!

3. Your child will enjoy one on one tuition lessons more – even maths!

Another subtle benefit of one-on-one tutoring, whether a student enjoys a lesson, is usually a good indicator of whether they're going to make progress. But in a classroom or group setting, activities are intended to appeal to many different learning styles at the same time. This could mean that your child is not fully engaged in their work, which means that they will learn less. In a one-on-one tutoring setting, the tutor can tailor their lessons to the student's individual learning preferences so that they can progress at their own pace without being forced to move on or hang back for other children to catch up.

With more individual attention between the academic tutor and the student, they can also improve engagement, keeping the child much more involved in their lessons. Online lessons can extend this focus even further – it's surprising how motivated a child is to attend a math class when they know it involves some extra time on screen.

4. One on one tutoring can help your child learn more than just the answer to a problem

Tutoring can fill gaps in the student's learning that may have arisen during school lessons. But it's unfair to tutors (and one on one tutoring in particular) to suggest that this is all they're good for. 1 on 1 tutoring aims to improve the student's understanding of the subject as much as their ability to do so. Rather than just teaching children how to do something, tutors will give equal weight to why the formula is used or why the answer is what it is. This approach not only ensures that the student really improves on their subject, but it also encourages them to apply the same thinking processes throughout their learning. Effectively, it makes them better learners!

5. One-on-one tutoring is a better value-for-money

The cost of one-on-one tutoring is often cited as a concern – and may at first appear to be a more expensive option. In fact, however, the cost is a benefit of one-on-one tutoring, or rather, cost-efficiency. As we have already discussed, individual tutoring can accelerate the student's growth rate beyond classroom teaching and even small group teaching because of the extra time and attention spent on each child. This means that it often pays for itself very quickly. If your child achieves their goals a few months faster than they can do through a group tutoring program, the value is obvious.