Primary School Tuition

Children rarely announce that they have stopped understanding something. A pupil who loses the thread of column subtraction in Year 3 can keep producing neat answers that are quietly wrong for another two years before anyone spots the pattern. Primary tuition at Rowan & Reed exists to catch those gaps while they are still small, through one-to-one lessons for pupils aged roughly 7 to 11, taught online or at home.

What a primary lesson actually looks like

Every lesson is one-to-one. That single fact changes what is possible, because the tutor can stop halfway through an explanation, ask a child to say the rule back in their own words, and wait for the answer. No queue of raised hands. No copying from the board. No hiding at the back of the room hoping the question passes.

Work for this age group comes in short tasks. A few minutes on number bonds or times tables, then reading aloud, then one or two written questions where the child has to explain their reasoning rather than just supply a number. Pupils in Years 2 to 6 usually work on maths and English; science appears more often from Year 5, when topics such as materials and forces start to need proper vocabulary. Whatever the subject, the tutor watches for the moment a child guesses instead of thinks, and steps back to the last secure point.

Praise stays specific. "You carried the ten that time" teaches a nine-year-old more than "well done" ever will. By the end of a lesson, the pupil should be able to name one thing they can do now that they could not do at the start, and so should you.

Who primary tuition suits, and who it does not

It works best when there is something identifiable to work on. That might be a child who reads fluently but writes in fragments, a pupil who is confident in maths and has gone silent in comprehension, or a Year 4 child who moved schools in the autumn term and missed a whole unit on fractions. It also suits the quiet child who never puts a hand up in class and therefore never gets the explanation repeated.

It is a poor fit in three situations. If a child is so tired after a full school day that a weekly evening lesson would turn into an argument before it began, say so on the phone and we will look at Saturday mornings or a shorter block instead. If you are looking for an assessment of dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD or any other learning difficulty, a tutor is the wrong professional; your school's SENCO is the right first call, and we will say the same thing if you ask us. And if the aim is to replace school rather than support it, this is not that service.

How it works, step by step

1. The first conversation

We ask what you have noticed at home, which school year your child is in, and whether anything has changed recently. Reports and school feedback are useful here. You do not need to diagnose the problem for us; describing what you see is enough.

2. Matching a tutor

All our tutors are DBS-checked and qualified, and we pair on subject and temperament as well as availability. A patient tutor who is good with a hesitant seven-year-old is not automatically the right person for a confident ten-year-old who wants to be stretched.

3. The first lesson

The tutor starts with a short, low-pressure check of where your child actually is, usually through conversation and a handful of questions rather than a formal test. Lessons run online or at home, whichever suits the week. Some families use online during term time and home lessons in the holidays.

4. Regular lessons with visible progress

Progress reports for parents come in plain English: what was covered, what has shifted, what still needs work. You will not have to chase them or decode a score out of ten. If something is not moving after several weeks, we change the approach rather than repeating it more loudly.

What to have ready before the first lesson

• The most recent school report, and any exercise book your child is willing to hand over. Marking tells a tutor more than a conversation does.
• The reading book or class text, if there is one, so the session can connect to what is happening in school this week.
• For online lessons: a laptop or tablet, a charger, headphones if the house is noisy, and a table rather than a sofa.
• For home lessons: a clear table and, where possible, a door that closes. Siblings watching over a shoulder changes how a child answers.
• A note of anything coming up, such as a times tables check, a school move or May SATs week.

What affects the timing and the price

Availability depends on the subject, the year group and the hours you can manage. After-school slots between 4pm and 6pm go first, particularly in the autumn term, and the run-up to May SATs week is the busiest stretch of our year. If you want a regular weekly slot, book early rather than in January.

Fees are on request, and the figure reflects the subject, the lesson length and whether the tutor travels to you or teaches online. Travel time matters for home lessons in outlying parts of the city, including addresses out past Portobello and the quieter streets south of Morningside. Fewer, longer lessons usually cost less overall than several short ones, though younger pupils often do better with two shorter sessions than one long one. Ask when booking and we will set out the options plainly before you commit to anything.

Questions parents ask

My child is seven and shy. Will a video lesson work?

Often, yes, and sometimes better than a room with a stranger in it. A child can sit with a favourite toy and answer at their own pace. We start with short online sessions and move to longer ones once the tutor is a familiar voice.

Do you set homework between lessons?

Practice is short and specific: a handful of questions, or reading a few pages aloud. If homework becomes a battleground at home, tell us and we will change the amount rather than let it damage the habit.

Can we switch between online and home lessons?

Yes. Plenty of families do online in term time and in person occasionally. We ask for a little notice so the tutor can plan travel.

What if the tutor and my child do not click?

Tell us early. We will discuss what was not working and arrange a different tutor. A child who is polite but switched off is not learning, and we would rather know in week three than week ten.

How do we start?

Call +44 131 4752394 or email [email protected] with your child's year group and the subject you are worried about. We will talk through what you have noticed, then suggest a tutor and a time. Opening hours are confirmed when you book.