From the view of teachers, tutoring services are thought of as a luxury due to their expense. With school budgets being more tight than they have ever been before, teachers are looking at different ways to save on funds. Unfortunately, one method of saving involves cutting tutoring services for pupils.

Despite this, thanks to the National Tutoring Programme, some schools in the UK have become eligible to gain access to grants of around 50% of tuition costs, which will be able to cover the learner’s expense of tutoring in schools. This should benefit young learners who would have otherwise struggled without these tutoring services. The remaining 50% of costs could be covered by other school budgets.

What’s great is that even schools which are not eligible for the grants will be able to benefit from the programme because cheaper packages for core subjects are available from approved tutoring providers.

The younger generation has expressed that they like online tutoring methods due to the new innovations in technology. This want for new technologies might sometimes create stress for teachers who fear the unaffordable costs of new technology systems. Regardless of these fears, the online tutoring services we are seeing today are entirely web-based and are compatible with all devices including smartphones. This means that all a pupil needs to benefit from these online tutoring services is a working electronic device and internet access.

Whilst online tutoring does need a decent amount of communication between the tutor and the teacher, good tutors will have the skills to support pupils in getting the most out of their tuition services.

The strongest tutors are capable of offering their students all the information needed before their tutoring session even begins. This goes hand in hand with the tutor understanding the student's background and personal requirements so they can offer the best tutoring approach individually to that student.

High-quality tutoring services will always keep the teachers notified of how the tutoring sessions are going, offering feedback on the pupil’s progress and suggesting ways in which teachers can also assist with the student’s progress.

Final Thoughts - Can schools afford tutoring services?

A change in mindset needs to be adopted in schools. Tutoring can benefit students in many ways, and whilst tutoring may appear a luxury from teachers’ perspectives there needs to be a shift in mindset from not being able to afford tutoring, shifting towards not being able to afford to not offer students tutoring services.