Tutoring

The periods that teachers spend with their tutor groups are an essential element of secondary education. Some head teachers have gone so far as to say that the form tutor is the linchpin of a school. Speak to any group of teachers, though, and it's clear that enjoyment of the role of form tutor varies greatly from person to person. Some love the opportunity it offers to get to know a group of children well and to really feel anchored in a school, while for others it's an unwelcome intrusion on their subject-specific work.

This article offers ways of maximising the use of any tutorial time that you have with your tutor group. Gritty issues of chasing latecomers and absentees aside, there are a wealth of activities in which tutors can usefully engage their tutees. These suggestions are based on the assumption that personal, social and health education (PSHE) takes place outside tutorial time in your school and that these tutor groups are not the main place for delivering it.

First things first...

Spend a moment or two thinking about your own experiences of being tutored at your high school, regardless of how long ago that was. What approach did your form tutor take? Did you feel supported and nurtured? Can you remember what your needs were at that time? Is there anything of use from your own experiences as a tutee that you can draw from in your own work as a tutor?

Aims of tutoring...

Although your work as a tutor will inevitably involve some aspect of discipline and reprimand, this is not the central aim of tutoring. Regardless of how PSHE is taught in your school, tutors have the task of delivering a social side of education the mortar to the bricks of the academic learning that students achieve at school. Good tutoring can make a child's experience of school, while ineffective tutoring can break it. De-motivation, demoralisation and despondency are all possible outcomes that sound tutoring can help avoid.

Aspects of the role...

It's nearly impossible to create a contained definition of what it is that a tutor does. The role will vary from person to person and from school to school. The central essence of the role, however, is a subtle blend of facilitator and instructor, 'parent' and 'friend'. As a tutor you are not concerned simply with whether homework has been completed or how well a child is getting through his or her work. You are concerned with the whole child.

The Newly Qualified Teacher's Handbook  offers a breakdown of the various elements of a tutor's job. These have been summarised below:

Inspirer and morale-booster

At times when your group needs inspiration and morale-boosting, your role is to draw the group together and recreate their sense of enthusiasm for each other and for learning.

• Aim to identify the cause of the students' feelings as a group. Is it due to exam pressures, poor behaviour or a specific event that has had a damaging impact on morale? Send them away with one positive thought or technique that helps them tackle any troubling emotions they are experiencing as a group.

Listener

Impartial listening is also a crucial part of the role of tutor. Students won't always want a problem solver. It's up to you to determine when you should intervene and take action and when you should simply listen.

• Above all else, allow tutees or the group as a whole fully to describe their emotions.

Counsellor

All teachers use counselling skills, whether they are qualified counsellors or not.

• Always seek professional advice if you are faced with an issue that you do not feel fully equipped to deal with. Such issues may include childhood bereavement or a serious accident at school.

Communicator

Tutors are often a valuable route for communicating information to the group from other members of staff and other students in the school.

• Assess the best methods for conveying necessary information. Set standards for how people can communicate with each other while in your room, keeping in mind the tone and atmosphere that you want to create.

Problem-solver

Circumstances within a tutor group can sometimes lead to emotional tensions or outbursts, which tutors must calm effectively, and often quickly. The solutions you offer must not only be acceptable to all involved but also in accordance with the policies of your school.

• Aim to involve the whole group in any problem-solving processes.

Administrator

Aside from legal requirements to keep attendance records, there will be other admin tasks that need your attention in the day-to-day running of a tutor group.

• Don't allow administrative duties to dominate your time with your tutor group. Leave space for relationship-building and general chats too!

Nurturer

You'll be called on to boost the self-esteem and self-respect of those in your tutor group. The way in which you interact as a group can greatly enhance the sense of nurturing that your tutees feel when spending time with you and the rest of their group.

• Be consistent in your treatment of your tutees and offer them proof that they are growing and developing, and that you are genuinely interested in them.

Enabler

As a tutor you can help to enable your tutees to succeed at school. You can equip them to make the most of their opportunities and to gain maximum benefit from being at school.

• Don't impose your opinions; rather, help students make their own by drawing on the information available to them. Be proactive in your pastoral care.

Monitor of academic progress

You are in a great position to monitor academic progress as a tutor. Encouraging reflective learning in your tutees will help them to recognise the importance of what they are doing at school.

• Talk as a group about what they have learnt and how they can best achieve the learning outcomes they want. Encourage them to praise each other during tutor group time.

Monitor of social development

You will be able to follow the social development of your tutor group very well by analysing the time you spend with them. Try to make sure that all members of the group have equal opportunity to grow and to develop self-knowledge. Do they have an understanding of the impact that they have on other people, both good and bad?

• Encourage flexibility in your tutees. Talk to them about the impact they can have on their environment and vice versa. Focus on differences and similarities and how compromises and middle-ground can be reached.

Manager of behaviour

Part of a tutor's job is to manage the behaviour of the group. This is sometimes easier said than done. It's up to you to keep an eye on general levels of behaviour in your group and to discuss with them the impact of each person's actions.

• Encourage a sense of group awareness when tackling behaviour.

Praise-giver

While you may hear more from colleagues about misdemeanours than you will about successes, keep in mind that groups and individuals need to hear praise frequently to keep motivated and on track.

• As well as passing on all snippets of praise that you hear about your group, be sure to tell other tutors when their students have been particularly well behaved, or have achieved success in your lessons.

Motivator

There are bound to be times when you have to get behind your group and give them a motivating chat.

• Show your support for them in sporting and extra-curricular events. If their de-motivation ever gets too 'heavy', lighten the tone whenever possible. Try to find success to celebrate in everything they attempt.

Team-builder

Your tutor group is a team and you are at its centre. Build the team and encourage unity.

• Ask students about what they do in their lessons. Show a real interest and let them know you care about what they do when they leave your supervision.

Confidant

There will be times when tutees confide in you, but remember your legal obligations to look after the welfare of those in your care. You cannot guarantee confidentiality but there will still be times when what you are told need not be passed on.

• Always aim to find a solution when a child confides in you. This may simply mean listening so the child has a chance to get the issue out into the open. Sometimes, however, you may need to involve other members of staff or outside agencies.

Top tips for tutoring ...

• Value traits such as punctuality and preparedness for the school day. Lead by example.
• Trust is important in tutor groups. One way of developing this is to show that you are scrupulously fair in your dealings with each member of your group. Develop approachability, although this needs to be on your terms.
• Remember your sense of humour when dealing with your tutor group. You may well be together for several years, so the more you can get on in a light-hearted way, the better.
• Celebrate key moments in your tutees' lives, such as achievements, successes and birthdays.
• Be open about the strengths and weaknesses of the group and jointly consider strategies for improvement.
• Never be drawn into gossiping about other members of staff with your tutor group.
• Use your tutor group as a way of finding out what's really going in the school from the students' perspective.
• Use tutorial time as a way of instilling social niceties. Teach them to express gratitude, for example, when teachers make an effort above and beyond the call of duty, such as running an extra-curricular activity or club. In fact, expressing gratitude at the end of a lesson will always go down well with other teachers.
• Prepare for tutorial periods as you would prepare for a lesson.
• Discuss a 'thought for the day' or 'thought for the week' with your tutor group. Take an inspirational quotation (a search on the Internet will reveal many quotations sites from which to draw ideas) and discuss its meaning and implications as a group. This need only take a moment or two but the impact can be profound.

Being a tutor to a group of students is a critically important job in a school. It is not an add-on, but a core role that contributes to teaching and learning. The role requires diplomacy and genuineness, among many other skills and talents, but it's also one that offers the potential for immense reward at work.   

Originally published on Teachernet