The CRB check has now been replaced with a DBS check. Discovery Tutors require all tutors to hold a current DBS check and subscribe to the update service.
Currently, our tutors work from Palgrave Community Centre, online and in some cases, in our students’ homes.
Depending upon which tutor you decide to work with, tuition can take place Monday-Saturday, during the day or after school and early evenings.
Absolutely! We are very aware that there are many different approaches to home education, so please do contact us to discuss your individual requirements. Alternatively, if you would like us to tutor a small group of students, then we are more than happy to discuss your needs. Pricing will, of course, depend on what kind of activities you would like us to organise and how long you want the sessions to be, as there is scope for home ed groups to have longer sessions if necessary. There is also the possibility that home education sessions could take place at another venue.
In person 1-2-1 sessions are 50 minutes in duration. Online 1-2-1 sessions are 50 minutes in duration Saturday classes (2-3 students) are one hour long. If attending in person, please ensure that you arrive on time when delivering and collecting your child. It is the clients responsibility to be set up for online lessons on time. Lessons cannot be extended to cater for tardiness. Home educated students taking lessons during the day, may have longer sessions subject to individual requirements.
Students' lessons are booked, invoiced and paid for in advance at the beginning of each term. There are options to pay half-termly.
Please see our calendar to check our term dates for the current academic year.
Please see the terms and conditions page for details of our cancellation policy.
We do not offer discounts as there is such a high demand for our services. However, if you need to make tuition more affordable you might want to consider having a shared lesson with another student (you will have to find your own ‘study buddy’).
Two students may be able to share a lesson (subject to parental agreement). In this case, you will be charged the shared lesson rate for the students' age range. Shared lessons are really only suitable for children of the same age. Please be aware if the share 'partner' terminates their lessons in accordance with my termination policy, the remaining student will be charged for one-to-one lessons until a new 'partner' can be found. This option is only available on tuition sessions with Di.
We do not offer this option. You may book a 'shared' session - if the students have similar needs - or two separate full sessions.
We discourage fortnightly lessons as the benefits of tuition are vastly reduced, and therefore prove to be a false economy. If you need to make the tuition more affordable, then you may find that your son/daughter has a friend who may be interested in being a 'study buddy' for a shared lesson. However, if one of the 'study buddies' pulls out of tuition, then the other is liable for the weekly session until a new 'study buddy' can be found. In some cases, we have siblings who alternate their sessions, so this could be a solution.
We are able to offer tuition during the Summer and Easter holidays, as well as during Half Term holidays. Please contact us to check availability. These sessions are likely to be during the day, rather than the evenings. Tuition during the summer holidays is particularly beneficial to prevent 'Summer Learning Loss' (also known as the 'Summer Slide'). Summer holiday tuition, supported with homework exercises, is highly effective for children who have 'fallen behind'.
Yes. To ensure that your student is sufficiently prepared, we strongly recommend that earlier intervention is better. Please inform us of the exam board they are working with and whether they are likely to be taking the Foundation or Higher papers (if relevant). It is also important for the student to understand that one lesson of tuition per week can support their learning and revision, but this should not be the only study they are doing outside of school hours.
Yes. Please be aware that if you are planning for your child to take the 11+ and/or entrance exams, it is a good idea to start preparation at the beginning of Year 5 at the latest in order to reap the greatest benefit from the tuition. For optimum benefit Y4 is an appropriate time to start 11+ and entrance exam tuition.
We are more than happy to tutor adults who wish to improve their basic skills, are working on functional skills qualifications, GCSEs or work related professional skills tests.
Yes. Our qualified teachers all have some SEND training. Our founder has attended training sessions with Professor Steve Chinn, a leading expert in this area of SEN. www.stevechinn.co.uk Much of what experts in dyscalculia recommend is excellent mathematics teaching practice. Ensuring that students have concrete experience (using manipulatives) before moving onto pictorial or visual representations of mathematics, and then moving onto abstract concepts and I have many maths resources which enable me to do this. Many students with dyscalculia require lots of repetition of skills - I ensure that those students have time to practise and consolidate their skills.
Students in Key Stage 2 should bring with them:- an HB pencil a clear ruler (15cm or 30cm) any specialised equipment required to meet their special needs (eg. a particular colour of exercise paper, overlays, special hand grips etc). Students in Key Stage 3 or above should ensure that they bring the following to each lesson:- a pad of 5mm squared paper a clear 30cm ruler an HB pencil a blue or black pen a protractor scientific calculator A4 folder in which to keep their work.
Yes, but as most people who enquire are keen to commence tuition immediately, you will be offered the opportunity to work with one of the available tutors. If you would prefer to wait for a particular tutor, then you can be added to a waiting list and we will contact you when there is a vacancy with that particular tutor. Please be aware that some days and times are very popular, so you may need to be a little flexible with your preferred timings, if you are serious about booking regular sessions.
As our students range from aged 7 to GCSE and adult learners, they attend a variety of schools. We have created a page which lists all of the schools that our past and present students attend. We also tutor home educated students, who may or may not be in the local area. As online tuition grows in popularity we are finding that our services attract students from further afield. Click here to see a list of schools.
For students attending face-to-face lessons we give verbal feedback when the parent collects the student. For those who have online lessons, parents are asked to join the video call prior to the lesson end time in order to receive feedback. We do not provide written school-style reports.
If you wish your child to have homework, then we are happy to set it. However, where homework is requested and set, we do expect it to be done and returned completed by the following lesson. If your child does not complete the homework given, then we will not set any further homework until this is attempted or completed. Some parents request homework during the long school summer holiday. We are happy to provide this at no extra charge, providing that you have booked a block of lessons (minimum of 4 lessons) during this period. If you wish to have summer homework set, but do not book 4 or more lessons, then we will charge the cost of one lesson to account for the time taken to set and, subsequently, mark the homework. Most homework will be placed in your child's personalised Dropbox folder so that you can print it at home. You will need to have Dropbox installed on your computer/device. If you don't already have it you can download it, for free, here https://db.tt/zH2iLdAe​
For more information, or to arrange a consultation to discuss your child's individual needs, please contact us via email or telephone. If you leave a message on the answerphone, we will endeavour to respond within 48 hours (Please allow longer during school holidays and around bank holidays).
We do not offer a free trial. However, your first lesson is a paid trial to ensure that the student is comfortable with the tutor. If after the first session, you do not wish to continue, there is no obligation to do so.