⏱Thursday 18th March 2021

Having already followed Matt through his application and interview, we caught up with him again to find out more about his Tutor Trust training.

Those who have been following Matt’s journey will remember that he applied to be a Maths tutor late last year. When asked how he decided which subject to train in, Matt said:

I decided to train in Maths because I am studying Engineering at university. My maths skills are up-to-date and this is the subject that I feel most comfortable teaching.

Although it is always useful to train first in your strongest subject, the Tutor Trust does offer its tutors the opportunity to transfer their skills to another subject later down the line. Matt tells us:

I have considered training in other subjects, particularly Science, but I decided to start with the subject I know best [Maths] before expanding my skillset.

Wise words! While the Tutor Trust offers plenty of support to new tutors, the prospect of starting your first assignment can sometimes be intimidating and training in your strongest subject can offer some familiarity as you adapt to planning and delivering lessons.

When asked about the online training, Matt says he was pleasantly surprised by just how much support was on offer:

The online training was very in-depth and prepares you well for planning and delivering your first sessions. It took me about a month to complete around 20 hours of work so the Tutor Trust don’t expect you to start tutoring the moment you get the job.

While the training covers all aspects of tutoring, Matt particularly enjoyed learning how to structure a session:

My favourite part was putting together our own lesson plans. This was the most engaging part of the training because it allowed us to think back over what we had learned and put our new skills to the test.

Lesson planning is a very important part of the Tutor Trust’s training programme - all new tutors are asked to submit a sample session plan following their training to be marked by the Quality Control team. Far from ‘a test’, this is when new tutors receive feedback on their planning, so that they can create an effective plan before they go into schools, making them feel even more supported for that all-important first session! Matt says:

Getting feedback on my lesson plan really helped to solidify everything that I had learned. It made me feel much more confident about planning and tutoring!

The Tutor Trust’s training is split into blocks, one of which is Subject Specific training. This is where you learn to specialise in your chosen subject, in Matt’s case, Maths. Matt says:

The entire subject specific block focused on tutoring just Maths. We looked at different methods of teaching and were taught to identify common mistakes that pupils make when working out an answer.

Of course, subject specific training for English, Science, or Primary (which focuses on both English and Maths) will differ from Matt’s experience, but the basic idea of all the blocks stays the same. Just like Matt, you can expect to look at different activities and ways of correcting mistakes and guiding your pupils towards a better understanding of the topic. Training doesn’t just cover planning – time is also spent preparing you to deliver your session, paying attention to pupils’ needs.

Overall, Matt was very impressed with his Tutor Trust training and feels that it has prepared him well for his first assignment:

My training took a little longer than I expected, but it was very thorough, and I have no doubt it will allow me to plan and deliver high quality sessions!

Good luck Matt! We’ll be checking back in with Matt soon to find out more about his first session with the Tutor Trust.

Date of publication: 18/03/2021