Maths tutor needed! Does your child need a an extra push?

A ‘maths tutor needed’ sign comes when your child starts to hate maths, or is dragging behind the rest of the class. In an ideal situation, you’ll have picked up on the cues before it gets that far, but sometimes, it can snowball, and the odd comment from their class teacher ends in a report that shows your childhas either slipped back or not made any progress at all.

Maths tutor needed: sign no. 1

Stropping, or blatant refusal to do any maths work is a sure sign that something isn’t right. This is especially true if your child used to enjoy doing maths before.

Without getting stressed, have a heart to heart with your child to try to work out where the problem is. Do they have gaps in their knowledge? Are they having a hard time with their class teacher’s explanation of maths topics?

Maths tutor needed: sign no. 2

If you have a good rapport with your child’s teacher you will, hopefully, get regualr feedback on your child’s progress. If you can work together, a good teacher will be able to map out activities you can do with your child at home to reinforce their understanding of a particular subject.

Some teachers may suggest you hire a maths tutor. This isn’t always a sign of them washing their hands of the issue, but in a class of 30-plus children, there is little scope for the teacher to always give one-to-one attention at the level your child may need.

Maths tutor needed: sign no. 3

Basic topics like addition, subtraction, timetables an division should not be a struggle from year 2 onwards. If they are, nip them in the bud early. Don’t wait for your child’s school to provide all the necessary resources, you may need to download some worksheets online or buy some books.

Once you’ve identified the areas of concern, speak to your child’s tutor about it and ask for recommendations of books or resources you can use at home.

Maths tutor needed: sign no. 4

If you can’t work with your child’s class teacher to work through the issues, you should consider the services of a maths tutor.

A good, experienced academic tutor will be able to work through the issues quite quickly, helping to build your child’s confidence and knowledge, which will help bring them back on track or ahead of the rest.