Throughout lockdown I was incredibly focused ‘on the moment.’ I was desperately trying to ensure online learning was completed while also keeping on top of work and domestic chores, chores which I felt overwhelmed by with all four of us at home each day!
I was so focused on the day-to-day routine, I didn’t give much thought to my kids falling behind with schoolwork. It crossed my mind, but I was being pulled in so many different directions. I was swamped and didn’t have the capacity to consider this in any depth.
Both my daughters Helen and Izzy took to online learning with ease. Even so, the harsh and worrying reality is they will have fallen behind. They’ve missed months of face-to-face learning. There’s inevitably going to be a negative impact and this has to be a major concern for all parents of school-aged kids.
One option to help Helen and Izzy catch up would be hiring an online tutor. As a family, we’ve had some very positive experiences of using tutors during lockdown. I have been having maths lessons as I plan to sit a maths GCSE in November having flunked it during my school days. My children, meanwhile, have been having French lessons via Zoom with a neighbour who teaches the subject.
It’s been a joy to watch as the kids’ French skills have flourished, as has my understanding of maths. Based on our experiences, I have come to appreciate online tutors offer enormous value.
With that background, I was recently introduced to Nightingale Tuition. This specialist service offers GCSE tutoring in a wide variety of subjects such as: English, maths, biology, French, chemistry, physics and Mandarin. Better still, readers of Dadbloguk can have a free introductory one hour trial session (details at the end of the blog post).
Its approach is aimed at teaching students how to retain knowledge and take exams more effectively. The Nightingale approach doesn’t stop with exams ‘though. As it says on its website:
“We’ll help students build the emotional intelligence to handle the pressures of learning, studying and exam-taking. These are skills that will help them through the important milestones of their education – and for the rest of their lives.”
I spent some time online with a Nightingale tutor and he was incredibly enthusiastic. The Nightingale approach is different compared to what I’ve experienced with other tutors. I was particularly impressed by the individually tailored, online course materials that are of a very high standard.
One of the things that surprised me was the length of lessons, another stand-out element of the Nightingale approach. While most tutors will provide 60 or 90 minute lessons, Nightingale’s are typically two hours long. This is done on purpose as exams are about two hours in length, so students need to get used to concentrating for that length of time (although breaks are incorporated into these sessions).
This year GCSE grades will be largely based on teacher assessments. Students will have the option of sitting exams later on in the year if they wish to improve on their grade.
Nightingale is in a superb position to help students who want to boost their learning before sitting an exam later this year. It’s also in a great position to help pupils who need to catch up on lost learning after months away from school.
As I say, the Nightingale approach is different to other online tutors. I’d definitely suggest booking a free consultation if you have a child who will soon be sitting GCSEs or could do with some tailored, individual learning following the lockdown school closures.
You can find out more by visiting the Nightingale website. Simply follow this link.
If you would like to try Nightingale out and get first-hand experience of its methods then sign up here and quote this reference: DBUFREE1. Be advised this is an introductory session so you can learn more about the Nightingale approach and establish that it is right for you.
