10th July 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The Department for Education has announced that schools will now have the power to set their own term dates, which will mean many schools will choose to have shorter summer holidays. Many parents will be pleased that they will not have to find childcare and activities for their children for a full six weeks. However, for some, it will mean cramming in more sessions with private tutors before the start of the new term. Most educators work and take holidays in line with the academic timetable – breaks over Christmas, Easter and a long summer – but for private tutors, it is at these times that lot of tuition requests come in.
Some parents will use the holidays as an opportunity to help their children catch up on material that they may have missed at school, or to fill the gaps with a subject that their children struggle with. The summer break allows time for a few tuition sessions to help boost the confidence of a student who is falling behind in maths or science. Alternatively, the holidays are an ideal time to spend a week or so introducing students to new topics that they might not have the opportunity to study at school; a keen History student might well benefit from supplementary tuition in Archaeology, Latin or Classical Civilisation. But what happens when parents want their child to receive lessons from private tutors every day?
This is a tutor’s dream and nightmare combined. The prospect of a steady income over the summer months is very valuable for those who tutor for a living, especially as there is no guarantee one year to the next as to whether the work will be available. Yet it is also something that many private tutors dread, because they know that that no amount of inspired classes and inventive teaching methods will stop a child resenting lessons they are forced to have day in and day out. Though it may appear to parents that children are like sponges and can soak up any amount of extra information over the summer, the reality is that the holidays are there for a reason. Children need time to relax – this is the best way to ensure they get the most out of their education.