Most parents start looking for a tutor at the wrong moment. Something has slipped, a report has landed, an exam is suddenly close, and the search happens in a hurry. You type a subject and a postcode into Google, you get hundreds of results, and every single one says the same thing: qualified, experienced, results.
I run my own business, and I approach hiring a tutor the same way I approach hiring anyone: the credentials get someone into the room, but they are not the reason you say yes. The reason you say yes is fit. A tutor who fits your child will get more done in six sessions than a brilliant stranger will get done in a term.
Here is how to find that person without losing weeks to it.
Start with the problem, not the subject
“Maths tutor” is not a brief. Before you contact anyone, get specific about what is going wrong, because different problems need different tutors.
- A knowledge gap. Your child missed something, and everything built on top of it wobbles. You need someone patient who diagnoses before they teach.
- An exam in sight. The knowledge is mostly there, but technique, timing and confidence are not. You need someone who knows the exact exam board and marks real papers.
- Lost confidence. Your child has decided they are “bad at” the subject. The tutor’s personality now matters more than their CV, because the first job is changing how your child feels in the lesson.
- A different way of learning. Your child needs the material presented differently to the way school presents it. This is where specialist experience, including SEN experience, becomes non-negotiable.
Write two or three sentences describing the problem before you start the search. Every good tutor I have come across asks about the child before they talk about themselves. That sentence gives you the fastest filter you will find.
Fit beats brilliance
The most qualified tutor on any list is not automatically the right one. A PhD does not mean someone can explain fractions to a bored nine year old, and a long CV does not mean someone can win over a teenager who would rather be anywhere else.
What fit looks like in practice:
- They talk about your child, not about themselves. In the first conversation, count the questions they ask you. A tutor who wants to know what your child struggles with, what they enjoy and what has been tried already is planning the teaching before they have been hired.
- Their energy matches your child. A quiet, anxious child often needs calm and warmth. A child who is coasting may need someone with pace and challenge. Neither tutor is better. One of them is right.
- They can explain one thing three ways. Ask them how they would teach a topic your child finds hard. A real teacher will immediately offer more than one route in. Someone who only has one explanation will simply repeat it louder, which is what school has already tried.
The questions to ask before you sign up
Ten minutes of questions up front saves months with the wrong person. These are the ones that tell you the most:
- What experience do you have with this exact stage and exam board? GCSE AQA maths and GCSE Edexcel maths are not the same preparation. Specific experience beats general experience.
- How will you find out where the gaps are? You want to hear something that sounds like an assessment in the first session, not a shrug and “we will work through the syllabus”.
- How will you tell me whether it is working? A short note after each session, or a check-in every few weeks, is enough. What you are listening for is that they expect to be accountable to you at all.
- What happens if my child does not click with you? The honest answer is that it happens sometimes and you should stop. Anyone who suggests fit problems resolve themselves if you keep paying is telling you something useful.
- Are you set up for safeguarding? An up to date DBS check is the baseline, and for online lessons ask how sessions are recorded or supervised. A professional will have this answer ready and will not be offended that you asked.
- What do you need from us between sessions? One hour a week does not fix much on its own. A good tutor will say what practice should happen in between and how long it should take.
None of these questions require you to know the subject yourself. They only require you to listen to how the tutor answers.
Where SEN support fits into the picture
If your child has special educational needs, whether that is dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autism or a need that has not been formally diagnosed yet, the bar moves. Fit is no longer a nice to have. It is the whole decision.
A tutor without SEN experience, however kind, can do real damage to a child’s confidence by teaching in a way the child cannot access and letting the child conclude that the failure is theirs. So be direct about it from the first message. Name the need, say what helps at school and what does not, and ask the tutor to describe their experience with children like yours. Listen for specifics: tools they use, how they break tasks down, how they handle a session where attention is gone after twenty minutes. Vague reassurance is a no.
This is also where the search method matters. Asking at the school gate rarely surfaces a specialist. Marketplaces make this much easier because you can filter for it: on Sherpa, for example, you can search specifically for SEN experience, read tutor profiles and reviews from other parents, and speak to a tutor before committing to anything, which is exactly the vetting process this whole article is describing, done in one place.
And if your child has an EHCP or is working towards one, tell the tutor. The good ones will read it and plan around it.
Use the first session as the real interview
However promising someone sounds, the first session is the audition. Most tutors offer a free or low cost introductory call or lesson. Take it, and then judge it on one question: how did your child come out of the room?
Not “did they enjoy it”, because plenty of children would rather not be tutored at all. The question is whether they came out flatter or taller. A child who says “she explained it differently and I sort of got it” is telling you everything. A child who cannot remember anything about the hour, week after week, is telling you something too.
Give it three or four sessions before you make the final call, because everyone needs a settling-in period. But if your instinct says wrong fit after a month, act on it. Changing tutor is a normal part of the process, not a failure, and the cost of loyalty to the wrong person is your child’s confidence.
Judge progress on evidence, not vibes
Decide at the start what success looks like, and put a date on it. That might be a specific grade in a mock, finishing a paper inside the time limit, or your child attempting homework without a fight. Then review against it every half term.
Ask the tutor for their read, ask your child for theirs, and compare it with what school is saying. When all three point the same way, you know what you have. When they do not, that conversation with the tutor is the most valuable one you will have. The tutors worth keeping welcome it.
The short version
Define the problem before you search. Choose fit over credentials. Ask the six questions, and treat the answers as data. If SEN is part of your child’s picture, make specialist experience a requirement, not a bonus, and use a platform that lets you filter and vet for it. Use the first sessions as the real interview, judge progress against something written down, and be willing to change if it is not working.
The right tutor does more than move a grade. They hand a child back the belief that they can learn the thing they had written themselves off on. That is worth taking a week to get right.
The short version: The right tutor matches your child’s learning style, not just their subject needs. Look for someone who communicates well with both your child and you, and who tracks progress with clear, measurable goals. A trial session tells you more than any resume.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a tutor is a good fit for my child?
Watch how your child reacts after the first one or two sessions. A good fit shows up as increased confidence, willingness to ask questions, and some enthusiasm about the subject, even if progress is slow at first. If your child seems more anxious or shut down, that is a sign to look elsewhere regardless of the tutor’s credentials.
Should I prioritize subject expertise or teaching ability when choosing a tutor?
Teaching ability usually matters more, especially for younger children or those struggling with confidence. A tutor with strong subject knowledge but poor communication skills can leave a child more confused. Look for someone who can explain concepts in a few different ways and adjust based on how your child responds.
How often should tutoring sessions happen each week?
Most children benefit from one to two sessions per week rather than daily tutoring, which can lead to burnout. Consistency matters more than frequency, so a steady weekly schedule tends to produce better results than sporadic longer sessions.
What should I do if my child isn’t making progress with their tutor?
Give it four to six weeks before deciding a tutor isn’t working, since some adjustment time is normal. If there is still no improvement, talk directly with the tutor about specific goals and ask for a clear plan. If communication feels vague or defensive, it may be time to find someone new.
