Having problems with private tuition

geek84

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Hi Folks

My son has private one-to-one tuition in GCSE science. There is a tuition centre nearby who have a variety of qualified teachers in the core academic subjects, who give the tuition in small classrooms based in the centre building. The centre is run by a husband and wife. It seems quite popular since there are plenty of students who are always coming in and out of the centre, The centre does seem to be situated in a location where parents want their children to excel in school.

However, I'm not happy with the service they are providing. On a number of occasions they have overcharged me for the lessons, and when I spot their mistake, they just simply say sorry. On one occasion they cancelled a lesson without prior notice, so as soon as I got home after dropping my son of at the centre, he phoned me requesting that I pick him up since the teacher has not turned up. As you know, we all lead busy lives and don't like our time being wasted.

It also seems that most of the teachers are friends with this husband and wife team and they all teach at the same secondary school. I feel like putting in a complaint regarding the service that I have been provided but feel it will fall on deaf ears !!

Any advice greatly appreciated.
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PeacefulWaters

Find different tutors.

balletshoes

i would agree with peacefulwaters, if you don't like the tutor service you are paying for, find another one.

Spendless

If it's difficult to find alternative tutors, then carry on as before re checking their charges. Are you dropping your son off by car? If so, I'd suggest waiting a couple of minutes until he can send you a text saying 'teacher here' before driving off.

tea_lover

What would you want to achieve with a complaint? If you're not happy with the service surely you're better off going elsewhere. I can't see any benefit in complaining.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

If the actual teaching is good, and your son is enjoying it (or tolerating it if that's as good as it gets!) and making progress, then surely you can ignore a few amateur admin errors?

onlyroz

Apart from these issues, what is the standard of teaching like? Is your son making progress?

gjs6385

I agree with the above - look first and foremost at how much your son is progressing and most importantly whether he is enjoying it and feeling comfortable. That would be my most important reason for choosing (and remaining with) a tutor if it was my child.


You could have a word with the tuition centre about anything else maybe one day when you have dropped your son off or go a few minutes early to pick him up.


After all, it will only be a short term requirement to get him through his GCSE's and I can't imagine you would want to disrupt your son's learning for the sake quibbling over what could be a few pounds (I appreciate it's your hard-earned money) and some administration errors for which they have apologised.


Saying that, if your son isn't happy and doesn't feel like he is making progress then I would suggest that you switch asap anyway even without your concerns.


I wish your son success with his GCSE's and it's nice that you are supporting him in paying for his private tuition!

pinkshoes

Does your son's school not offer extra sessions?

I would probably find a 1-2-1 tutor better than something like that.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

geek84 wrote: »

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Hi Folks

My son has private one-to-one tuition in GCSE science. There is a tuition centre nearby who have a variety of qualified teachers in the core academic subjects, who give the tuition in small classrooms based in the centre building. The centre is run by a husband and wife. It seems quite popular since there are plenty of students who are always coming in and out of the centre, The centre does seem to be situated in a location where parents want their children to excel in school.

However, I'm not happy with the service they are providing. On a number of occasions they have overcharged me for the lessons, and when I spot their mistake, they just simply say sorry. On one occasion they cancelled a lesson without prior notice, so as soon as I got home after dropping my son of at the centre, he phoned me requesting that I pick him up since the teacher has not turned up. As you know, we all lead busy lives and don't like our time being wasted.

It also seems that most of the teachers are friends with this husband and wife team and they all teach at the same secondary school. I feel like putting in a complaint regarding the service that I have been provided but feel it will fall on deaf ears !!

Any advice greatly appreciated.
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Apart from the teaching side, and that's always going to be a risk when you're getting people who have daytime jobs in schools (the alternative would be people who haven't been able to get a day job teaching - which is, particularly for subjects like Science, a very difficult thing to achieve unless they're spectacularly poor - parents would usually prefer to be around their children after school, rather than having to sort out childcare for the evenings), why would a 15/16 year old boy need dropping off and fetching like a six year old? You've even said it's nearby...

happyandcontented

I imagine that you need a tutor who is versed in the specific exam board your son is sitting. Most tutors only want to take on pupils using the exam board they use in the school they work at because they know the requirements off pat and have resources/experience of the marking schemes. If that requirement is met and your son likes the tutor, and he is making progress it seems slightly counter productive to me to change settings for admin/logistics. Who is to say that it won't happen elsewhere?

I know a lot of tutors and life does sometimes intervene and they have to cancel at the last minute.

Flexibility is key to getting a top notch tutor, if you are satisfied in all other respects other than those you detail I would think long and hard before ditching them or complaining too vociferously. The tutors I know can pick and choose, such is the demand for their services.