Maths Tutoring
I can support your child with maths. Whether they need support for maths gaps (due to missed school, changing school systems or a learning need e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia), learning maths facts, just that bit more practice or they are keen for some extension.
I will help your child build their confidence in their maths ability and shift their mindset about maths if needed. Your child will receive personalised tutoring based on their needs, strengths and interests. With your permission I also contact the school, to align the tutoring where possible with what is happening in the class; and to give and receive feedback from the teacher.
If it is not clear where your child is with their maths, I offer assessment for math gaps as one of my services. This can then be used either to inform the school and/or to inform my tutoring with the child. ​
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For answers to common questions, please read on below:
What support can your child expect?
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The type of support your child will receive will be personalised depending on their needs, as established in our intake, through school reports and other external information, as well as the assessment if needed.
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Maths support: Your child may only need some reinforcement or a little more practice of the maths currently taught in their classroom; learning maths facts and/or to work on their confidence in their maths skills. In this case, the tutoring will be aligned with what is happening in class, with extra practice of skills, concepts or vocabulary, or pre-teaching, and there will need to be regular contact with the teacher. Your child might need more as they have missed certain maths concepts, skills or strategies due to e.g. school changes, COVID, illness, or a learning disorder (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia) etc. Then focus will be on filling those gaps - through any of the following means: teaching the maths using different (or simplified) strategies or methods (including visual models and manipulatives), longer explanations with smaller steps, recapping of earlier skills/strategies needed for the new skill/strategy, extra and over-practice, a focus on a select number of strategies, extra practice for learning tables and maths facts etc. The ways I can support your child are myriad and will be selected according to their needs, learning styles and strengths. I will constantly be monitoring and adapting my teaching to meet them where they are. There are always more ways to teach something so it will click and your child will get the a-ha. I am nothing if not tenacious. I know all children can learn maths, given the right instruction, time and practice. Tutoring will be aligned with school where possible and I will be in regular contact with the teacher to check how things are going in class and share what your child is doing with me.
Extension: For those requiring extension, I will focus on problem solving, puzzles, challenges and investigation. Your child will get a chance to look at maths in a different way and build their problem solving skills in the process. If your child has a fixed mindset (and are afraid to take risks or push themselves in their maths), I will challenge them appropriately and build towards a growth mindset. Â With your permission, I will contact the school, so that I can align the topics of our problems and investigations with what they are learning in school; and of course have regular contact to give and receive feedback on how your child is doing.
What can I expect from the assessment, if we agree to one?
Your child will be assessed for maths gaps and their understanding using one of several assessments that I have. Which assessment I use will depend on the information from our intake and any other information provided (from school or external agencies). These assessments are informal and focus on what your child is thinking, not just the answers. This is to get at what they do or don’t understand conceptually, what, if any, misconceptions they have, and/or what strategies they have or haven’t mastered. If you would like to know more about the types of assessments I use, feel free to contact me. I will then provide either: 1. If you plan to tutor with me: a detailed and clear tutor plan with all the information from school, yourselves and the assessment collated, and from the assessment clear goals to work on or 2. If you do not plan to tutor with me (or this can be requested additionally): an assessment report detailing all the information gathered in the assessment; by topic, concepts and skills along with any other pertinent observations.
Will they need to do homework?
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This will be agreed with you and recorded in their tutor plan. For general learning, we will need to look at all the factors e.g. number of sessions with me, their schedule, their needs for practice etc. I do strongly recommend it for learning maths facts and I am currently using the programmes Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots to support this (this is included in the tutoring fee), and flashcards and physical games as well as other sites can also be used. If you child is having maths extension with me, I would recommend they do some independent work on the problem in their own time between sessions.
Where are sessions given?
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Sessions are usually held at my office/classroom at the Bouwmeesterstraat 49. This year there is the option to provide sessions at Rivers International School, both during school hours (with agreement from teachers and subject to logistics) and after school.
What does a typical session look like?
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​Maths support Sessions begin with a recap of previously learned strategies, skills or maths facts practice. The main part of the session is the current focus of the learning, where use is made of manipulatives, visual models and any other strategies suited to the child. Each session ends with a game linked to either the maths facts being learned, general maths fluency or current main focus. There may be some homework provided though this will mostly be practicing the maths facts the child is currently learning, if needed, and practicing maths fluency through different physical games, online practice and flash cards. I am currently trialing the use of Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots for maths facts learning.
Extension An extension session usually begins with a recap of where we were with our current problem, or the introduction of a new one. Each problem or investigation goes through similar steps, though at the beginning we may focus more on some of the steps. Broadly, we will look at how we can figure out what the problem is asking; how we might go about solving the problem and recording our work; doing the work and then reflecting on what we found and how the solving went (e.g. what was the answer?, was it what we expected?, what tools did we use?, how helpful was our recording method?, what are follow up questions we might ask?, etc)
What are the tutoring steps with you? ​
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Please click this link for more information about how tutoring works with me.
Why should my child be tutored in maths by you?
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I have specialized in Maths Tutoring and, besides my 11 years in the classroom, I have 9 years supporting children with Maths one to one and in small groups both in school and as a private Tutor. I also have an Advanced Diploma: 'Overcoming Barriers to Learning in Mathematics' accredited by the University of Worcester in July 2017.
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Please see About Ilona or Home for more information.