A day in the life of a TP Tutor

Working as a tutor helps you change young people’s lives while taking more control of your own.

Sue‘s story

My typical working day consists of different types of English, Psychology and Humanities lessons with different students. I teach online and my students all come from different backgrounds and have different learning goals.

On a daily basis, I prepare lesson plans or learning modules for tutoring sessions according to students’ needs and goals. Also, I develop teaching or training materials, such as study materials, tests and quizzes, and retrieve past exam papers. Then I have a lesson with a student, which normally lasts for an hour. Typically, I have 4 lessons a day.

Each student has their own custom learning plan that I tailor to their particular wants and needs. Some students are assigned a Group Assessment to be completed in the first session. I use the Bramble platform, alongside Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

While I am teaching, I question my student to see if they really understand the work, as a way of encouraging them to think independently. I provide feedback to students using positive reinforcement techniques to motivate them and build their confidence. I teach students study skills, note-taking skills, and test-taking strategies. I review class material with students by discussing the text, working solutions to problems, or reviewing worksheets or other assignments.

Working as a tutor gives me the opportunity to help young people eager to learn and I’m so glad to have the chance to instil useful knowledge. It is really rewarding seeing my students thrive.

At the end of the lesson, I complete a Session Report which consists of the lesson overview. I make a record if the student was Absent or Present. Then I fill in the Learning Objective, record the student’s level of engagement and describe the learning. Finally, I complete the Additional Comment Section.

Rupert‘s story

The best part of being a tutor is how varied each week can be. Every 24 hours will hold something new, but each day ends with a deep feeling of reward.

Tutoring gives me an unparalleled flexibility to organise my life. I can spend two hours tutoring children from the comfort of my own home one day. Then, when I feel like getting out of the house, I’ll head to a primary school on the Wirral to tutor face-to-face.

The job frees you from the need to get up early and fight your way through morning traffic, allowing you to start your day the way you want. For example, I’ll rise at 7.30am to work on the Music degree I’m studying for, so by the time my first online tutoring session starts at 10, I’m awake, motivated and ready to teach.

These sessions are no less powerful for taking place online. You can still build that close connection with the pupils and watch those lightbulb moments happen, plus the digital assessment platform makes it easy to keep track of their progress.

I’ll then travel to my next tutoring destination on the Wirral to help small groups of Year 6s improve their maths skills. Travelling is much easier out of rush hours and TP Tutors often help with travel costs.

Those sessions are a joy. The children are so much more receptive to what they’re learning than they would be in a big classroom. I also enjoy the challenge of adapting to their different learning styles and seeing what clicks. The hours just fly by, before it’s back on the road, homeward-bound, for another online session at 5pm.

When this ends at 6pm, I’m feeling that sense of reward and motivation, and the rest of the evening is time for me to do what I want, whether that’s work out, play an instrument, or prepare some teaching materials for the next day’s tutoring sessions.

Working as a tutor allows you to find your own ideal daily routine while still making a really deep impact on children’s lives. I would highly recommend it to any educator looking to assert a bit more control over their working lives.