25th December 2015 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Around 20% of school children in England have some form of special educational needs. Most commonly, students are diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia and Attention Deficit Disorder, although SEN covers a broad range of issues requiring support and attention from schools. It is increasingly common for the parents of children with special needs to hire tutors to provide them with extra support. However, this can be difficult to get right, as the tutoring industry is largely unregulated, and there are no specific guidelines for tutors or parents when arranging tuition for students with special needs.
The best thing parents can do for their children is to be completely clear with the tutor about what their child’s needs are, and ensure that they choose a tutor who will be able to respond appropriately to those needs. Many parents do mention when applying for a tutor that their child has special needs, but parents often neglect to discuss their child’s needs in more detail. The more detail a tutor has, the more likely it is that they will be able to make an informed decision about whether they are able to help. Further, parents should make time to communicate on an ongoing basis with their child’s tutor, keeping them up to date with any developments with their child, and monitoring progress.
It isn’t just parents who need to be careful. Tutors also need to ensure that they are properly equipped to teach students with special educational needs, which may mean doing extra research, finding additional teaching support materials and arranging extra discussions with parents. Further, it isn’t enough for a tutor to have achieved top marks themselves. Tutors teaching children with special educational needs should be patient, intuitive, able to adapt their lesson plans to the needs of their students. Finally, tutors who teach students with SEN should monitor their own performance, and ensure that if they feel their students require more support than they can provide, they discuss their students’ needs with their parents and schools in order to ensure that students are receiving the support they require.