Dear Parent/Carer
TUITION WITH MYTUTOR
We are really pleased to be continuing our partnership with an online tuition platform called MyTutor this module. MyTutor currently works with over 600 schools offering personalised and tailored online tuition in English, maths and science. MyTutor is an approved Tuition Partner for the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) that you may have heard about through the news; the NTP is a government-funded scheme that gives schools access to high-quality subsidised tutoring to help pupils whose education may have been affected by school closures last year.
MyTutor matches students with subject specialists who are trained university tutors; they will work with us to reinforce classwork, fill learning gaps that we have shared with them, and ultimately raise students’ outcomes and as importantly, their confidence within these subjects. The tutors are bright, inspiring role models, studying at top UK universities; all have recent exam experience and an A-A* in the subject they tutor. We have identified your child as a student who would greatly benefit from this additional support.
How will the lessons work?
These sessions will be held at various times during the school day and all pupils involved have been issued with a personalised timetable which outlines when their ten sessions will be (twice a week for five weeks). The programme commences this week and the days and times vary over the next five weeks so that pupils do not always miss the same timetabled lesson.
Students log on to the platform each week using their Chromebook and have a live hour with their tutor and two other SCWA students (each on their own device). These sessions will be conducted in the library and pupils will register with Ms Richardson who will be on hand in case there are any technical issues. Students will need headphones for these sessions and they are encouraged to bring their own.
Full participation in the programme is expected and failure to attend scheduled sessions will result in pupils being withdrawn from the programme. As this is a virtual tutoring session, pupils are also able to login from home if they are absent from school for any reason.
The lessons
Each tutor session is three-to-one and is a live, interactive online lesson. Your child will be able to see, speak, draw and type with their tutor. You can see a preview of a lesson here at My Tutor preview video. In the first lesson, the tutor will:
- say a friendly hello and do a quick introduction;
- talk to your child to understand a bit about how they like to learn and any specific topics they find tough in their tutored subject;
- use guidance from your child’s teacher to tailor the lesson, focusing on areas where your child could use some extra support.
After each lesson, the tutor will write up a report so that teachers at the academy can keep an eye on what’s been covered and get updates on your child’s work.
Safety first
The MyTutor tuition programmes are trusted by 1000+ schools, and the organisation has put several measures in place to keep young people safe during these online lessons including:
- personally interviewing every tutor and making sure they have a clean, enhanced DBS certificate, with the barred list checked;
- ensuring all communication takes place on their platform and no personal details are shared;
- ensuring all lessons are recorded so students and parents can watch them back for up to three months.
For more information on how MyTutor keeps pupils safe, please read the full My Tutor Safeguarding Policy.
How can parents/carers support the programme?
You can help keep your child’s studies on track by:
- Reminding them of their weekly online tutor sessions. The students will log into their MyTutor lessons each week at: www.mytutor.co.uk/schools/login.
- Checking in to ask how the lessons are going and encouraging them for their commitment.
- Reading through the MyTutor Parent & Pupil Cheat Sheet for all the info you need on how MyTutor works and how to help your child get the most from their lessons.
We hope that these tutor sessions will be really valuable for your child and that they benefit from the experience. If you have any further questions or would like more information then please do not hesitate to contact me via email at stephen.smith@scwa.org.uk.
Kind regards
Mr S Smith
Assistant Principal
