Choosing a tutor without the brochure language

Most tutoring sites sound alike. The useful differences show up when you ask ordinary questions and wait for a specific answer. Use the same list wherever you enquire, including here.

Who is in the room? A name and a qualification tell you more than “experienced tutors”. If the centre cannot say who teaches your child’s subject this term, ask why. At Master Academy the tutor profiles are not published yet. That is a gap, and you should treat it as one until the names are on the tutors page.

What happens in the hour? Find out how long the lesson is, how much of it the student spends writing, and whether a wrong answer is marked or only watched. A lesson that is entirely a demonstration can feel productive and leave the student unable to start alone.

How big is the group, and what happens if it is the wrong size for your child? Some students need other people working nearby. Some shut down. One-to-one and a class are different products. Ask which one you are being offered, and whether you can change after the trial.

Can you see one lesson before you pay for a term? A free trial is only useful if it uses your child’s real work. Bring a test. If the trial is a sales presentation with a worksheet from 2014, you have learned that too.

How will you hear what was taught? If you need a message after each lesson, say so before you enrol. Do not assume a portal exists. Ours does not, yet.

What is the fee, the notice period, and the absence rule? Get them in writing. A page that hides the price is not being modest. It is unfinished. Our fees are not published yet. Ask on the phone, and do not accept a number that appears only in an advertisement we did not write.

Finally, ask what the centre will not do. A trustworthy answer includes: we will not write the assignment, we will not promise a band, and we will not invent a result. If you cannot get a plain “no” to those, enrol somewhere else.