After-school tutoring 'is like child abuse', says top head

After-school tutoring 'is like child abuse', says top head

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor, The Telegraph, UK, 27 Dec 2014

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The president of the National Association of Head Teachers fuels the debate over the private tutoring industry by claiming academic coaching makes children miserable

The number of children being sent to private tutors is increasing, prompting criticism from Gail Larkin, president of the National Association of Head Teachers.

Sending pupils to private tutors for up to two hours after school is tantamount to “child abuse”, according to a head teachers’ leader.

Many pushy parents are making their children “miserable” by subjecting them to academic coaching in the evening, said Gail Larkin, president of the National Association of Head Teachers.

She said large numbers of parents succumbed to the pressure of the “playground parliament” – groups of ambitious mothers congregating outside school – by giving children as young as five unnecessary extra tuition.

Mrs Larkin levelled particular criticism towards Explore Learning – the tutoring company that has opened branches in shopping centres, high streets and Sainsbury’s stores.

The development had normalised after-school and weekend tuition, making it more socially-acceptable for parents, she said.

The number of children being sent to private tutors has reached a record high as pressure on them to get good results grows, according to research

Record number of students receiving private tuition 06 Sep 2013

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But it was claimed that most children would get more benefit from everyday activities such as swimming, Scouts, football, ballet classes or simply being given time to play in the park.

The comments will reignite the debate over the private tutoring industry, which has boomed in popularity over the last decade.

One study last year suggested a quarter of parents now paid for tuition, up from 18 per cent just five years earlier, usually in preparation for school entrance exams.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Mrs Larkin criticised parents who dropped their children into branches of Explore Learning in the evening or at the weekend while they shop.

She described the process as “torture”, adding: “The parents think they are doing something really worthwhile; I think it is child abuse.

“We went into Sainsbury’s the other afternoon… When we came out about 4 o’clock it was full up with kids; kids who had spent a day in school. Straight out of school, straight in there.”

But Bill Mills, the chief executive of Explore Learning, rejected the claims, insisting a university-led evaluation of the company had found its tuition was “beneficial to both boys and girls of all abilities”, with improvements in their confidence levels.

“Explore succeeds best when it not only helps children directly but also helps them to thrive at school,” he said. “It is not just, or even mainly, academic progress that matters most, but also the personal development of children, including gains in confidence, enthusiasm for learning and self-esteem.

“Pressure plays no part in what we do. Children generally see themselves as coming to a club and the motivation for joining comes from them as much as it does from their parents.”

In the New Year, the NAHT will issue the latest in a series of advice leaflets to parents about how they can support their children outside school.

Seven have already been published in a joint project with the charity Family Action covering subjects such as online safety. The three new publications will focus on the importance of praise and reward, improving children’s self-worth and another on special educational needs.

Mrs Larkin, a former Surrey primary head, who now acts as an adviser to other school leaders, said tutoring was being fuelled by a sense of one-upmanship among competitive parents.

“The pressure comes from each other; the ‘playground parliament’ I call it,” she said. “Parents think they have to do it because all of the others are doing it.”

She added: “These parents used to come to me at school and say, ‘do you think I’m a bad parent? Do you think I ought to get a tutor?’ I used to say, ‘no, if your child works hard at school and you help them with the homework we give, you are doing a good job’.”

In some parts of the south-east, the industry is driven by the presence of grammar schools, she said, with “children as young as five being tutored after a day’s schooling” in preparation for entrance exams.

But Mrs Larkin insisted the development was making many children miserable and damaging levels of “self-worth”.

“I have had children in tears because it is the day that they go to their tutor and they don’t want to go,” she said.

She added: “Putting your child in there for two or three hours after school… I think, ‘you poor thing’. 

“Wouldn’t they be better off in the park playing after a day in school, or having swimming lessons or going to Brownies, Beavers or Cubs? I’m not saying the parents have got to be with them 24/7 but wouldn’t they be better having a swimming lesson?

“They should be going and having piano lessons, or music, or singing in a choir. I used to say to parents, ‘just go for a walk in the woods’. I think children are under so much pressure these days.”

She insisted parents should play a larger part in educating their children in the home, even if they lead busy lives.

"I think it is part of parenting to help children with their homework, even if you’re not very able yourself," she said. "It is part of your role and we are too busy absolving parents of their responsibilities instead of supporting them. As the National Association of Head Teachers, I think our role is to support the parents in bringing up their children in all aspects of their childhood."

Comments

VTESS advocate the need for tutorial and educational support. A tutor often helps a child who is struggling with their studies, or needs a boost to do better at school or do well in an exam (perhaps an entrance exam or a particular subject at VCE level). Sometimes a tutor is taken on to stretch a child with an exceptional ability in a subject. Because the tutor works with a child in a more focused way than would be possible in a class of 25 or 30 children, a lot can often be achieved in a short time.

VTESS also encourages and facilitates opportunities for parents and carers to support and help children with homework, improve strengths and weaknesses, praise and reward and meet social, emotional and behavioural needs.

VTESS does not cater to or encourage pushy parents who make their children “miserable” by subjecting them to academic coaching. Our tutorial services are targeted and meet the individual needs of each student.