Tutors International's urgent advice for parents considering employing a residential private tutor for 2023 is to get in touch sooner rather than later.
OXFORD, UK: In a recent press release, Tutors International, the leading provider of elite private tuition services worldwide, announced a surge in enquiries for full-time residential homeschooling. The increase has prompted CEO and Founder, Adam Caller, who has over 30 years of experience in the education industry, to issue a reminder for families to assess their tutoring requirements now, in order to secure the best private tutors in 2023.
Mr Caller sheds some light on one of the reasons for the upsurge in enquiries:
“Whenever there is uncertainty in schools, more people seek out tutoring services in an attempt to provide some stability. The education system is in turmoil post-Covid. If you consider that the pandemic caused severe disruption in schooling to an unprecedented 1.4 billion students in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools in more than 190 countries, the fact that Tutors International is receiving significantly more enquiries is hardly surprising. If trends throughout this year continue, Tutors International will continue to experience an influx of enquiries”.
A Crisis in Our Schools
Published last month, the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study is the largest of its kind into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life chances of a generation of young people. Its results revealed that four out of five state school students felt academically disadvantaged as a result of the pandemic.
The report also disclosed that a large majority of students were not able to access the subsidised tutoring made available to schools by the government’s national tutoring programme (NTP), while almost 50% reported that, since resuming full-time education, the educational deficit caused by the pandemic had not been addressed.
To make things worse, inflation and the current energy crisis has meant that schools are experiencing massive hikes in electricity bills and consequently, there is less money to spend on teacher salary increases or, on much needed school repairs. SchoolsWeek last week reported that in order to meet rising costs schools will have no choice but to make dramatic cuts. A reduction in staff and increases to class sizes are likely options although 50% of schools in England are considering plans to reduce their curriculum options, with music, drama and design and technology most likely to be scrapped.
Mr Caller believes that the lasting effects of Covid, coupled with the financial crisis, will have a negative impact on young people’s education for years to come:
“There will be young people who will never catch up on lost learning and there will be those who will suffer as a result of the current changes being made in schools. We, at Tutors International, can provide a solution: full-time, residential private tuition. Families are increasingly searching for a flexible and personalised approach to their children’s education and private tuition can address their individual requirements far more effectively than a traditional classroom setting. From addressing specific educational needs to accommodating other family, work, and travel commitments, even including schooling at sea, elite private tuition can be tailored to each family’s bespoke requirements. If students want a tutor that can also nurture and improve a specific interest or talent, we will find that tutor. We have placed tutors who have doubled as sailing instructors and equestrian coaches. Our tailored tuition expertise means we can source a tutor that is so much more than a school teacher”.
Mr Caller continues: A successful private tutor will work with the environment and their student to create engaging, individualised learning activities which the student will enjoy and retain. Because the learning process itself can be enjoyable and incorporated into everyday activities, and because a tutor can identify the specific areas in which a child requires support and address them directly, students are able to make vital progress with their studies”.
Finding the Perfect Private Tutor Takes Time
Tutors International is unique in that it both recruits and employs private tutors to work with its Clients. It does not have a database of tutors to act as a pool to draw from, rather, tutors are hand-picked for each Client and a thorough and personalised search for each enquiry is then conducted.
Because of the bespoke nature of their residential tutoring service, the search for the appropriate tutor is time consuming, and so finding, then assigning, a tutor cannot happen in a short turnaround. Mr Caller is keen to emphasise that this selection process takes time and due diligence to best meet individual requirements:
“I highly recommend that families considering teaching options for the next academic year should begin discussions with Tutors International now, particularly if full-time private tuition is required. Our placement process at Tutors International is rigorous and it may take several months to ensure that the tutor, student, and family are ideally suited to each other.”
The student’s educational needs are personally assessed, as are the family’s practical requirements. A senior member of the Tutors International team will always meet the family at home to best evaluate these requirements and draft a job specification agreement, which is approved by the Client and shared with the tutor.
Mr. Caller explained that initial assessments of the student’s educational needs and the family’s practical requirements will be followed by a targeted international recruitment campaign to identify and interview suitable private tutor candidates. The family is then encouraged to meet two candidates and spend time with them. Mr Caller advised families not to underestimate the importance of finding a tutor who will integrate into the family dynamic successfully:
“Our tutors will be an integral part of your household, so there is no substitute for seeing the tutors in your surroundings, talking to them, and spending some time together before making a commitment. The selection of the right tutor is ultimately your choice, and with a realistic timeframe in place we increase the probability of finding the ideal private tutor for your needs. It is even more pressing if a British tutor is required, given that teachers in the UK must hand in their notice of resignation a full term in advance.”
Stringent Selection Process
Once applications have been received, Tutors International follows a strict selection and verification process. Time needs to be allowed for initial interviews with the Tutors International team, enhanced identity and security checks, and thorough verification of qualifications, references, and employment history. Candidates selected to meet Clients are subject to further background screening by an external international security firm. Mr Caller again stresses how important it is to factor in the time needed to find the perfect tutor:
"I had an enquiry from somebody asking if we could source a tutor to start in two days’ time. That’s simply not what we do. World-class educators are not available at the drop of the hat. They are found, then matched and then approved and this, necessarily, takes time. Added to this, I personally, have been very busy recently, meeting with families who have made enquiries about hiring a private tutor and, as a result, I now have only a few options left to meet people outside the UK. It is crucial that parents allow a recruitment period of approximately nine months so that we can ensure that we find the perfect tutor for their child”.
However, Mr Caller did highlight one exception which could see parents finding a suitable candidate within a shorter timeframe:
“For all private tutor positions we put forward two or three exceptional shortlisted candidates, who have all been thoroughly vetted before meeting our Clients. This means one or two exceptional educators are left over after the selection process, and they may well be perfect for another role we encounter. However, we pride ourselves in never compromising on candidate suitability, so we cannot make guarantees that these educators would be ideally matched to another vacancy.”
Get in touch
Tutors International invites families to get in touch to discuss individual needs and assess all options for the next academic year. A phone call consultation with Tutors International is free and a preliminary search is not as expensive as the full recruitment process, so if your net worth allows you to consider bespoke full-time residential tuition for your family, make contact as soon as possible. This maximises the chances of Tutors International being able to take you on.
Families considering private tuition for the next academic year are encouraged to get in touch urgently to allow sufficient time to recruit and screen tutors ideally suited to their individual needs. To find out more about Tutors International and the elite services it provides visit www.tutors-international.com.
