Piling on the pressure?

Are  you worried your child won't do 'well enough' in their GCSEs, A Levels or SATs? And what is well enough? Top grades or achieving their own potential?

Tutoring is a great way to help children fulfil their own potential and gain the very best grades that they are capable of achieving. It can also give them that edge to pass the 11+ and get into grammar school - if they already have the potential to make it to a selective school.

Supports learning

Good tutoring, like the education we provide at INICIO, supports a child's own individual needs and complements what they are learning at school. It helps the child learn in the right way for them and achieve the sort of results their families should be proud of. But it shouldn't pile on the pressure.

We were saddened to read recently that some families put so much pressure on their kids' achievements at school, that tutoring completely takes over their lives. If that grammar school really is too big a leap and your child only scrapes in, maybe it's not the right choice for them. Children under constant pressure to do well, and achieve results beyond their own capabilities, will always struggle and will end up unhappy. 

Progress

Here at INICIO, we believe tutoring is useful throughout a child's education. We offer support in a friendly and caring environment, where children will feel at home. We tailor teaching around the child's individual needs. With just one lesson, of an hour and 20 minutes a week, children can make really good progress with us - whether they need a bit of help to keep up or they are high attainers pushing for top grades. It is the right choice for many families, who see it as a key part of setting their children on the right path in life. There is no shame in tutoring and wanting the best for your child, but nor is there a need to push them so hard that they have no other life at all.

At INICIO we are proud to support families and children through their education and to see the difference it makes to their confidence and achievements. 

The summertime slump

What is the summertime slump? Does it exist? How can you avoid it? Should you even avoid it?

Six week break

Six weeks away from school! Six weeks without books or lessons, six weeks without homework and marking. Do they affect children? Of course they do. All teachers are aware of the summertime slump and the way it affects kids as they move into their new school year. For younger children, moving into year 1 or year 2, missing out on six weeks of school is a massive chunk of their school career. It's not unusual for them to take until October half-term just to get back to where they were at the end of the last school year.

Opinion is divided as to whether the summertime slump matters. Because if it affects everyone, surely it doesn't? But, like many things in education, it doesn't affect everyone equally. Rightly or wrongly, some parents will continue to push their children hard to keep learning throughout the holidays. Other families will take their foot firmly off the pedal - and it will be those children that fall behind in September.

There have been calls to make the summer holidays shorter to reduce the effect of the summertime slump, but that opens up a whole can of worms around pricing and availability of holidays.  The likelihood is that this isn't going to happen any time soon, so it's up to you, as parents, to decide what's right for your family.

Keep up the good work!

Here at INICIO, we say why not take the middle ground? Don't turn off education completely, but don't push too hard. After all, the summer holidays are supposed to be time to take a break and recharge the batteries.  At INICIO, we're open all year round and would encourage families to keep up with their weekly lesson of an hour and 20 minutes to halt the slump. 

You can also encourage your children to keep reading - buy some new books or go to the library (many libraries do the Summer Reading Challenge for 4-11 year olds - great for getting kids enthused by books). Whether you're off on holiday or staying at home, encourage them to look at the world around them - and if they spot anything new, let them look it up on the internet and find out more. Does your school use online tools like Bug Club for reading or Mathletics for maths? Many children find these as much fun as games, but they are learning as they play. Why not encourage them to play a few times over the holidays?

Puzzle books, magazines, online games and even the right sort of television can all help towards learning. The holidays are also a great time to practise sport; a fit and healthy body helps with a fit and healthy mind.

Enjoy the break, but enjoy a bit of learning too. Happy holidays!

It's not too late!

With GCSEs and A Levels already well underway, is it too late to think about good exam technique? What if your kids haven’t done enough revision.

Revision

We say it’s never too late! By now your kids should have an idea from their first exams about whether or not they’ve done enough effective revision and will know whether they need to revise harder or differently for their remaining exams. 

Everyone learns in different ways and we would advise young people to stick with what works for them; for some people it’s writing things down and reading them over, others prefer putting all the information into a diagram. And what about speaking and listening? You could record your notes and listen back to them.

We know teenagers well enough to know that they don’t always welcome parents' help, but we also know them well enough to know that they turn to mum and dad when they’re feeling down and vulnerable.

However your kids learn, if they’re feeling at all worried, this is what we would advise:

• It seems obvious, but make time to revise! Draw up a timetable if it helps, and stick to it.
• Don’t get distracted by things like social media when revising - stay focused!
• Reward yourself with regular short breaks - have something to eat or drink, get some fresh air and go for a quick walk. But then get back to it!
• Read over your notes and write out key points.
• Test yourself - or get someone else to do it.
• Highlight key points in your books, but don't forget the context too.
• Switch between subjects regularly - too long on one subject and you'll get bored and lose concentration.
• Last minute cramming is OK, but only combined with hard work beforehand!
• Get a good night's sleep before the exam - you'll never perform at your best if you've been awake all night cramming.

Good luck!

We wish all students (and their parents!) the very best of luck over the next few weeks and really hope that your hard work pays off with the results that you want.

And if it’s not your turn for exams this year, breathe a sigh of relief for now, but think ahead! Whether your child is a high achiever who wants to gain the best possible results, or someone who struggles to keep up, we offer tailored one-to-one tuition in a whole range of subjects. If you want your child to really fulfil their potential, please talk to us about how we can help.

Why the recent increase in private tuition?

Over the last decade, we have been seeing a steady increase in private tuition here in Britain, and it's a trend that won't be disappearing any time soon. The increase is global, with Japan leading the way in private tutoring. In South Korea and Turkey, spending on private tuition is almost equal to the amount spent on education in the public sector. What exactly does this phenomenon mean for UK students?

Demand

This increase in private tuition comes largely from the continuing demand for higher education and degrees. With increased competition for employment, students and families are looking to tutoring to help them remain competitive and get into sought-after schools and universities. This is especially true for middle class families looking to work in the service industry and needing degrees to make them eligible for jobs. Private tuition helps them to achieve their goals and creates further demand for private tuition as others strive to keep up or get ahead of the game.

At university level, students want more contact time from lecturers to help them make sense of their studies. But a recent report by the Higher Education Institution and consumer group Which? shows that many students are actually getting less lecture hours than they should be receiving from their higher education. The findings supplement a report by the Quality Assurance Agency, which found huge discrepancies in student study hours in UK institutions. As a result of this, students are using private tutoring to close the gap in achievement and give them more time with someone who can support their learning. And as British cities and universities become more multi-cultural, more students will need help outside the classroom to adjust to the British education system.

Confidence

Private tuition also gives students a sense of personal achievement. Students who receive private tutoring are building their own confidence to help them achieve academically, and finding education more engaging.  Tutoring allows them to work and learn at a comfortable pace. As teachers in schools are hard-pressed to find the time to work with individual students during lessons, for some children and young people, classrooms can be unproductive environments. These students may find the work hard to follow and may struggle to remain engaged, even when the quality of teaching is high. 

Private tutoring provides the support students need, which can lead to an improvement in their work, grades, behaviour and engagement in the classroom. Having a tutor to assess and support a student on a one-to-one basis can heighten intellectual curiosity and, for many students, a private mentor gives greater value to the information they are learning.

The growth in private tuition demonstrates a positive trend in how society values education and learning, and more families are looking for opportunities to make sure that their children get the attention they need.

If you would like your children to have that opportunity, please get in touch with us on 01858 462648 and talk to us about how we can help.

10 benefits of private tuition

There are many reasons for investing in private tuition. Here are 10 things you can expect to benefit from:

1. Much smaller student to teacher ratio
Because private tuition takes place in small groups or one-to-one, students are able to focus better and are taught in a way that specifically meets their own unique needs. Here at Inicio, students attend in groups of up to six children, but teaching is always one-to-one.

2. The right tutor
At school, you don't have a choice about your teachers, but we match the child and the tutor following our first meeting with the child. This means students have a mentor who teaches in the most effective manner for their learning styles.

3. Extra review
Often in school there is only a limited time to review a child's work and understanding. That may not always be enough. Having a private tutor gives students an extra chance to review the areas in which they may be struggling. 

4. Homework help
With a tutor, students enjoy having a guide who can make the topics that they're covering for homework less stressful, less of a chore and more of an effective learning experience.

5. Test practice
For students who struggle with studying for tests, private tuition helps them to develop better study skills and ultimately to perform better in exams.

6. Confidence
Because tutors develop a more personal relationship with their students, they are able to see and cultivate the potential within them. This is all too easy for teachers in school to miss, especially if a child is well-behaved or of average intelligence. This gives students increased confidence in their studies.

7. Saves parents and students time and effort
Parents with busy schedules don't always have time to help their children with school work. Having a private tutor takes the pressure off (although we would always encourage parents to spend time with their children wherever possible!). 

8. Stronger drive to perform to their very best
Because private tuition means the instructor is really focused on the success of the student, students are far more likely to have an increased drive to perform to the very best of their ability.

9. Safe environment for open discussion
Sometimes students may not be as willing to ask questions in a large class, but working with a private tutor gives them more confidence and the freedom to speak out.

10. Students get taught by innovative methods 
Because private tuition is one-to-one, tutors are willing to experiment with new teaching styles that work more effectively for the student.   

If you feel you or your child could benefit from a private tutor in Leicester then why not visit our learning centre in the centre of Market Harborough to see for yourself and to talk with our friendly staff about the options available.