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.
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
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.
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.
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