The Relaunch of the Blog

After a break from blogging, I'm back with some insider information about what is going on at Tutors' Alliance. As well as talking about revision and my experience of exams, this blog will discuss what is happening at Tutors' Alliance. We have a number of exciting developments coming up in the next few months, so watch this space! Each blog entry will cover a different aspect of education which interests me but if you have any ideas of what you would like to see discussed, please let me know on Twitter, Facebook or by sending an email to info@tutorsalliance.co.uk.

Valerie.

SEN and labels - the great debate

It was reported in many press education sites (including http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/sep/14/half-special-needs-children-misdiagnosed) this week that a recent Ofsted report has identified serious problems with regards to the way in which children are classed as having SEN. The criticism was that schools' day-t0-day teaching is not of a sufficient quality which leads to some underachievers being classed as having SEN. Those identified as such create a drain on resources because they are given specialist help. If classroom teaching was better, fewer pupils would be identified as having SEN.

It is very dangerous for schools to label children as having SEN and providing extra help where this is unnecessary. It can have a negative effect on pupils' confidence and could contribute to further underachievement. The main problem lies in the fact that classes are just too big to be able to offer dedicated one-to-one support to pupils in the mainstream classroom. Teachers are left with an impossible task whereby they are meant to teach to a great many pupils, keep control of the class and identify individual weaknesses of pupils. Pupils thrive with one-to-one tuition because the dedicated support a tutor can provide is so different from the kind of education the pupil gets in the classroom. Of course, what a pupil learns in class is important but extra assistance from a tutor allows pupils to ensure they have properly understood what is happening in class and the tutor can work at the pupil's pace.

Perhaps cynically, there was a suggestion that labelling pupils as requiring SEN assistance led to a greater provision of funding to the school. I would very much hope this is not the case but if it is, it is necessary to find a new way of funding SEN so that all pupils are given help when they require it and to the level they require. Those who do not require SEN assistance but are underachievers should get the help they need to ensure they do not become victims of the system. Only by identifying a pupil's needs on an individual basis and identifying those needs correctly will we be able to give that pupil all the help her or she deserves.

Waterloo Road for tutors?

I watched Waterloo Road the other night and it got me thinking. The television show set in a fictional comprehensive in Rochdale is immensely popular. One of the (now former) actresses, Denise Welch, won the Best Actress award at the TV Choice awards for her portrayal of the French teacher with her knowledge of the language as skimpy as her skirts. Waterloo Road is among a number of television series set in schools (Teachers, The In-Betweeners, Grange Hill...). What if there were to be a television series set in a tutoring agency? Who would the characters be? Here are my ideas for The Agency...

Gordon - the agency boss. A former headteacher who gave up the classroom to make some cash. He wants to compete with his friends who run engineering businesses with multi-million pounds turnover. A real character who believes his agency has the potential to take over the world.

Sally - a stressed teacher. She has a real heart and struggles keeping control of the classroom. She decided to start tutoring in a bid to remind herself of why she wanted to teach in the first place. She is a well-respected tutor but outside her tutoring sessions, cracks are starting to appear.

Michael - a bit of a loner. He had always wanted to be a teacher but did not have the confidence. He prefers the one-to-one setting of tutoring but still has the odd crisis of confidence, particularly with bright pupils who ask him lots of questions.

Katy - a postgraduate university student. She has severe financial problems and is frantically trying to cram in as many tutoring sessions as she can as well as living off a diet of caffeine in order to get her dissertation finished.

Izzy - the secretary of the agency. Bright and breezy, she tries to juggle the requests of parents with the availability of the tutors. She feels undervalued by Gordon but gets on well with all the tutors. She throws her energy into her job in a bid to hide her dark secret...

Graham - a retired maths teacher. He cannot accept his body is slowing down and he feels that if he keeps tutoring, he will keep his brain active. He loves his job but he does not know how much longer he will be able to tutor.

What do you think? Any ideas for story-lines? Would you watch The Agency? Should I get in touch with a production company or stick to the day job?! I'd love to hear your ideas.

Back to School - for Pupils and Tutors

This week marks the start of September and the return to the classroom for thousands of pupils. For tutors, business is picking up again rapidly as parents secure their services early in the term. Now is the ideal time for tutors to reflect on how their business will be run in the next academic year.

Tutors should ensure that all their tax, national insurance and financial records are correct. Tutors who are self-employed or who are paid by an agency which DOES NOT deduct tax and national insurance contributions must register with HMRC within 3 months of commencing self-employment. All self-employed tutors must ensure that they complete a self-assessment tax return by 31 January each year.

There has been much debate in the private tuition industry about the legal status of tutors who work for an agency. Although some facts are indicative of self-employment (such as the choice of when and where to work and the fact tutors provide their own materials), others (such as the control which the agency has over the tutor by setting his or her rate and the fact that tutors must perform the work personally) are more indicative of employment. It is a tricky situation when there are factors indicative of both employment and self-employment and agencies should take legal advice as to whether their contracts are contracts for services (self-employed) of contracts of service (employed).

The present position is that most agencies hire tutors on a self-employed basis but do little to promote tutors' legal obligation to register as self-employed. Most agencies will not ask for any confirmation that the tutor has registered as self-employed. I have however been made aware of one agency which was told by HMRC that a pay-roll system had to be operated. In the future, we may see HMRC take a different view to agencies' assertion that tutors are self-employed.

Tuition agencies must be more responsible. It is no longer acceptable for tutors to be working and earning sums which are often significant without paying tax and NI like they would in any other job. There are no excuses. The system is simple and tutors do not need to engage an accountant as long as they keep detailed and accurate records. HMRC provides a great deal of guidance to the self-employed both on their website and through free workshops which are held across the UK on a regular basis.

So now is the time to ensure that as a tutor, you have your records prepared for the new school year. A little bit of time spent recording monies received through tuition and paying a tax bill by January is certainly worth it. HMRC has the power to issue severe penalties to those who do not register.

For a recent cautionary tale, please see this story -
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/Content/Detail.aspx?ClientId=257&NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=414345&SubjectId=36

Although the sums involved in this case were relatively large, the same rules would apply for smaller sums and HMRC are actively looking for those who do not declare their earnings to HMRC.

GCSE results hailed a success but what future do languages have at GCSE?

For the 23rd year in a row, the pass rate at GCSE has increased. This is good news for the pupils who received their results yesterday and their teachers and tutors deserve the greatest praise for encouraging them. However, the big loser in the statistics which accompanied the results is modern languages.

I studied French and German as well as Latin right up to Higher (Scottish A-level equivalent) level. I felt inspired by all my languages teachers. I recognised how important it was to speak a foreign language and I was very fortunate because I had the opportunity to learn French from the age of 7 at a lunchtime club. I suppose that I have always been surrounded by foreign language. My parents both speak French and my mum's degree is in French and German. We spent all our summer holidays when I was young in France and so learning languages became very natural. In fact, I am currently learning Spanish and I absolutely love it.

So what has caused the decline in languages? I believe there are two key factors - the fact that since 2004, taking a language at GCSE is no longer compulsory and that the teaching of modern languages in schools is failing pupils. A blog about this subject will always run the risk of sounding generalised and so I apologise in advance.

There is certainly an issue about the fact that modern languages are not mandatory at GCSE. This position should be reversed. Nowadays, many pupils sit GCSE's a year or two years early with some pupils gaining up to 14 or 15 GCSE's. It is conceivable that none of these could be in a modern language. We cannot expect a child at the age of 13 or 14 to exclude the possibility of studying a modern language. These are cliches but having a modern language increases employability considerably, particularly in a recession and improves key skills such as retaining information, command of the English language and communicating with others. It is important that teachers encourage pupils to have as balanced and as wide a range of subjects at GCSE as possible. Pupils should not be discounting modern languages before they have completed their GCSE's.

The second issue relates to an image problem which modern languages have, coupled with serious concerns about the teaching of modern languages. The image problem is that modern languages are not cool. Pupils in the MTV generation, where they are unlikely to encounter anything in the media or press which is not in English, cannot see the long-term advantages of learning a language. We need to get the message out to young people that if you want to travel around the world on your gap year or get a job working for an international institution, you will struggle without the ability to speak a modern language. We all know that once you can command one language reasonably well, learning others become far easier.

In terms of teaching languages, the technological advances which have been made over the past few years. When I first started learning a language, there was no Youtube, no online newspapers and magazines, no computer games and we simply worked out of textbooks. The sad fact is that thousands of pupils are still simply learning from textbooks. Why? Teachers need to be encouraged to engage with their pupils with these new forms of media. I used to have a penpal in the Ivory Coast. We would write and it would take weeks and weeks to receive a reply. Now, I could find a penpal and we could e-mail every day if we wanted. Imagine what an improvement that would make! I try and use technology as much as possible in my tutoring sessions and for the past couple of month, I have been fortunate enough to use an iPad. It really does make a difference and you can see how enthusiastic the pupils are about it. In a classroom, interactive whiteboards or even projectors can revolutionise pupils' attitudes to modern languages.

However, as great as this technology is, teachers must be aware that it is no substitute for good teaching. Pupils need an excellent grounding in grammar so that they can understand a video clip of a French TV show on Youtube or read an e-book. Unfortunately, there are some schools that persist in sticking a Powerpoint presentation on and allowing the pupils to copy the information about grammar. That is not teaching. The pupils become confused and will become turned off modern languages very quickly. As technology advances, there needs to be very good training for teachers so that they know how to use technology in an effective way in the classroom. That way, modern languages become exciting, different and pupils will actually want to study modern languages further. Languages will cease to be seen as difficult if they are engaging and if pupils can see the benefits to their future careers by learning a language.

So for modern languages uptake to improve and to get French back into the top 10 of subjects, we need to look at all aspects of the teaching of this subject. In the past 10 years, the number of pupils studying French has dropped by around 48%. This is already having serious repercussions at university level and in the workplace. It is much more difficult to learn a language at 30 or 40 than it is at 13 or 14 when a pupil's brain resembles a sponge! This is my personal plea to the government - please reinstate compulsory language learning at GCSE level. Choice is not always a good thing and in this instance, it is not in pupils' best interests.

The end of one year...the start of the next...

The publication of the A-Levels results this week heralds the beginning of another year for tutors across the UK. With one set of pupils heading out into the big wide world of university, employment, training and hopefully not becoming NEET's, another set of pupils is ready to step into their shoes. I am in no doubt that the introduction of the A* grade will make entrance criteria for the top universities increasingly more competitive and that will push the demand for tutors up. Many parents may feel that to make the jump from an A to an A*, what is on offer at school is not enough and that pupils will benefit from home tuition. This may be true but there is a consequence of this that we should not fail to recognise - the effect tuition has on exam results.

There is a general lack of research about tuition and the effect it has on a pupil's overall result will depend on the pupil, the pupil's education he or she is receiving at school and the tutor. Much is made in the press of the fact that tuition inflates exam results to the benefit of some schools and the expense of others but there is a real lack of research on this subject to back up those claims. It has already been reported this week that a significant proportion of A* grades were awarded to private school pupils and this is a statistic that is measurable. Whether it is right or wrong that the A* system benefits the private system is a different debate but at least we have statistics on it.

The lack of research into private tuition means that many assumptions are made. One of the most prevalent of these is that private tuition is the reserve of the rich. This is not true. I have seen family after family scrimp and save, scrap the family holiday and other luxuries because having a tutor is seen as more important. Education remains of great value in our society, especially in a recession and so we should not be so quick as to say that it only benefits one small group.

Hopefully, more research will help us assess the long-term effect of the A* grade and the advantages tuition bring to pupils. Parents simply want the best for their children and the brightest children are entitled to have doors open to them whatever their family background. Many parents are in the fortunate position of being able to provide tuition for their children and there is no doubt that their children benefit from it. The government must be constantly ensuring that the children of those parents who cannot afford to pay for tuition themselves still have the same opportunities. If they do not, Britain could be losing some of its brightest talent.

In this new academic year, I hope further research is carried out into tuition and university entrance requirements. The media reporting of this week will almost certainly have created more demand for tutors too as we are told gaining a place at university is becoming more and more difficult and finding a job is almost an impossibility. Let us not discourage 18 year-olds in the UK today. This is the start of a new period in their lives. There are doors out there to be opened, it is just the case of finding the right door for you. Good luck!

A* - Raising the Bar?

Today is one of the most important dates in the education calendar - A-Levels Results Day. Much has been made of the increased pass rate, lack of university places and more controversially, the new A* grade. I will assess the impact of each of these but firstly, some key facts about this year's exam results.

• Pass rate = 97.6%
• Pass rate at Higher level in Scotland = 76%
• A* grades = 8%
• A* grades (boys) = 7.3%
• A* grades (girls) = 8.3%
• A* grades of private school pupils = 18%
• A grades = 27%
• Number of pupils eligible for Clearing = 180 000
• Number of courses available through Clearing= 18 500
• Number of university applications = 660 000

This means that it would be difficult to fail an A-Level and pupils in private schools do disproportionately well. Anything we didn't know? This year, the introduction of A*s has caused much furore but will it make any difference to pupils' prospects? There is much talk at the moment of pupils who achieve A*s not getting university places. I think we can say that there is a valid concern that if pupils in private schools are at a significantly greater chance of achieving an A* grade, those universities who stipulate A* grades are going to end up with more pupils from private schools. The private school - state school debate is for another day (soon) but the figures do merit greater investigation.

The difference between the pass rate at A-Level and Higher need to be accounted for in university entrance requirements. We cannot equate the two systems in exactly the same manner but the significant difference in the pass rates need to be seen as indicative of more than different exams - they are indicative of different attitudes to education and different systems of assessment.

The shrinking in the gender gap, at least at the top level of results, is very good news. Part of this may be due to the fact that there has been an increase of pupils taking maths or science subjects, traditionally seen as more popular among boys. It has been suggested that this is due to a more competitive "market" for university places and so universities prefer to see pupils taking more "academic" subjects. Yet there seems to be a conflict in the media reporting - A-Levels are getting easier but pupils are taking "harder" subjects. Does this really add up?

The Clearing figures do cause some alarm because of the drop from one year ago. The problem is intensified because pupils who did not get a university place last year have applied and got unconditional offers this year, thus squeezing the supply despite a growing demand. Both universities and pupils are left in limbo as universities try and balance their figures of students and pupils are at the mercy of UCAS. Clearing is a great system for those who don't quite make it as it does offer an alternative. However, pupils need to think carefully before opting for a course. Will it be as good as your first choice? Have you considered the other options such as apprenticeships, going abroad to study or taking a gap year? Things will be easier when applying next year for those who already have their grades and can meet the universities' requirements. Deciding where to study for three or four years is a big decision in the life of any 18 year-old and taking anything which Clearing throws up could be the wrong thing for you.

A final point, with all these different debates raging around the A-Levels results, we must not forget to congratulate every single pupil on their results. Whatever your results, well done!