How To Be An Excellent Tutor

Featuring: Ellie Fields (English), Sid Garg (Maths), Sophia Evans (Maths), Axelle Diot (MFL), Jamie MacInnes (MFL), Michelle Chen (Science)

This year has been one full of challenges and, of the many things we should be proud of as a staff body, is the phenomenal pastoral care we’ve provided for our students throughout this difficult time. At the heart of this is the role of the pastoral tutor. We thought that, as the year draws to a close and we start to look forward to September (!), we’d speak to some of our wonderful tutors to get their tips and advice on how to be a fantastic pastoral tutor in preparation for next year!

• What makes a good tutor?

A tutor should be someone who students can trust. This means that there is a genuine and caring relationship where students feel like they are seen and heard by their tutor on a daily basis. (Ellie) 

The students must know that you genuinely care about them, and should feel comfortable sharing information with you. If they know you have their best interests in mind and will support them in all fairness, your relationship will grow stronger. I believe the role of a tutor is to be there for students, no matter what happens. (Axelle)

In my opinion, a good tutor is almost a parental figure. You need to have a close relationship with your tutees but have very clear boundaries about what is and isn't acceptable in your form / wider school life. A tutor needs to settle their students at the beginning of each day and ensure that they are mentally prepared for the classes to come. (Jamie)

I think the overriding objective is to ensure that pupils understand that they represent the tutor group around the school and you as a tutor represent them around the school in turn. This helps set expectations around their conduct in such a way that there is a "want" to have high expectations rather than out of necessity to stay out of trouble. In my head, I think of the role of our tutor group as a "home base" for them at the school and their first point of contact. This means that staying up to date with changes and events around the school is important. (Sid)

• What did you find most helpful when you first started as a tutor? How did you develop your skills and confidence as a tutor?

Do your homework on your students-  reading data on the students gives you an idea of the class dynamic. I personally spoke with previous teachers of the class to consult with them regarding seating plans and get background info on certain students (Sophia)

Shadow/observe those you struggle most with- in order for them to know I was interested in their progress and in improving our relationship. I would then have conversations with my tutees about things that I have picked on and would compliment them (beautiful handwriting, excellent work completed in a lesson I observe them in, great question they asked in a lesson, etc.) (Axelle) 

Show you are listening- It was useful to find small/easy ways to show the tutor group that you care about them and are listening to them. No matter what their skills or interests are, you are the tutor for all of them, and finding a way to relate to them helps build a positive relationship. A positive relationship is the foundation for me. (Sid)

Use the support around you- As an NQT, the support from the Year Coordinator as well as my DoL was vital to building the environment in my form. Without reaching out and using the support available at WA, my form group would not be as settled as they currently are. (Jamie)

• What are some of your most recommended start of year routines/tips/tricks?
• Making phone calls home in the first couple of weeks both positive and negative is also really effective. (Ellie)
• Students start reading at 8.25 as opposed to 8.30. Therefore, the students who arrive late and ones who are slightly more disruptive arrive to a quiet and calm setting. (Jamie)
• Using a tutor slide in the classroom projected on the board. It has daily notices but also a quote, word and news story for the week. Asking certain students to find this really helped me build those initial relationships and soon the whole class wanted to contribute! I also put a riddle or an optical illusion that seems to engage the whole class and build a positive and cohesive atmosphere. (Ellie and Michelle)
• Show your personality. There's a difference between being a tutor and being a teacher and when it comes to the tutor-student relationship I think it's important that they see more of your ''human" side. (Sophia)
• Be consistently positive. Say hello to every student. Be consistent even if their mood/attitude changes throughout the year. (Sid) Your tutees must feel equally important to you, with no favouritism or unfairness. (Axelle) 
• Establish routines from the start. Make sure you have clear routines and you stick to them for everyone. (Axelle) Are you going to get students to read each slide? Are you going to take volunteers to read? Make sure you're constantly checking equipment, if you check a lot during the start of the term you'll notice that they will maintain this throughout the rest of it (usually...) (Sophia). Show them that you care about uniform and equipment expectations. (Sid)
• Get to know students quickly. Be interested in the students' lives very quickly. What are they passionate about? If it's art, ask them to share it with you (drawing, playing an instrument, etc.). If they do a sport at school, go and see one of their games. It is really important for you to be interested very early in the academic year. (Sophia) At the start of term, having a birthday wall is a great way to make the classroom feel personable for your students. (Michelle)

• Can you give an example of a challenging scenario you had as a tutor and how you dealt with it?

One student in my tutor group had quite a problematic internet history. Working with the head of year we had a meeting with his mum and provided some resources for her to do with him at home. I am calling her each week to check-in and getting feedback from his teachers. Whilst I don't speak to him directly about it in lesson, he is sat at the front so I can check in with him and I use a lot of positive praise. (Ellie)

I at one point had all of the core teachers of my tutor group complain about their behaviour and email me for a meeting. The issue was not with just one or two students but with the whole class. As a result, we devised a plan to monitor their behaviour closer (leaving the :) and :( on the board for Maths, Science and English which worked quite well to see who the recurring characters are. I also kept some students behind (just a few extra minutes) if their names were on the board under the negatives side. Even if it's only for 2 minutes the difference between seeing all their friends leave and they stay behind had quite an impact. We also (core teachers) ended up writing a list of students we wanted to target for phone calls and split them up between us. This I think is a useful strategy if you're having problems with more than 8 students as you can get support with contacting home (not feeling too overwhelmed). (Sophia)

I had a parent contact me regarding their child's worsening mental health and, in particular, anxiety. The parent was understandably very worried about their child's wellbeing and in order to allay any worries, I talked her through the support services that WA can offer. Following our conversation, I completed a WAIT referral. The student is now seeing the school counsellor and has been referred to CAMHS. This action has been very positively received by the parent and student. (Jamie)

When there was a pastoral issue between two students, I separated them in the classroom, had conversations with them separately about what is expected of them, and probably also adapted expectations for the whole class. It is important to judge when a strict environment is needed to maintain order and when it is appropriate to have lively discussions about topics in TTB. (Sid)

• What are some of your ultimate tips for being a great tutor in general?
• Be positive! I always think you don't know what their time at home is like and someone smiling and saying hello in the morning makes a huge difference. It also really helps me if I am feeling tired or stressed to smile! (Ellie) Make sure you end the day on a positive note, even if you think they have had a bad one. (Sophia) The classroom mood is often a reflection of your own! (Sid)
• Have a sense of humour- Don't take anything personally (Sid) 
• Work with the team- As a form tutor, you are not qualified or expected to handle each problem alone. From my experience, knowing who to go to for help is essential. (Jamie)
• Be a champion for your students- It is also important to celebrate your students' wins: sports matches, one of your tutees leading in the assembly, great feedback from a teacher, winning the line up, etc. (Axelle) I have recently been attending the Yr 7 Basketball games and the students really appreciate the support. (Jamie) Each week a student in my tutor group is the star of the week with their name hung up in the classroom for everyone to see. (Michelle)
• Prioritise parental questions- When parents / tutees have a question or an inquiry, I will make sure this is resolved extremely quickly so they know I will help them. In the case, this cannot be resolved quickly, I will make sure to keep regular contact with the family so they still feel supported. (Axelle)
• Make the most of unexpected teaching moments- Make sure you take those questions in TTB that may seem a bit off-topic but can be teaching moments that the students may not be getting in other lessons (prime example would be questions about LGBT in pride month) (Sophia)

Thank you all for such fantastic ideas! If you have any you’d like to share, please get in touch