George

I am a qualified secondary English teacher and literacy co-ordinator in the West Essex/East Herts area. I am available to tutor in English Language and Literature at Key Stages 3 and 4, as well as Functional Skills certificates. I have a particular interest and specialism in developing literacy skills, though I am able to tutor and support across the entire range of the English curriculum. In the past, I have worked particularly closely with pupils with lower prior attainment and pupils with SEND to support their academic progress within English and, more broadly, the development of their literacy skills.

Prior to qualifying as a teacher, I volunteered in various educational settings and am passionate about supporting young people to achieve what they want to gain from their study of English, be it for academic purposes or beyond. Learning should always take place in a safe, welcoming environment, and so this is something I strive to create in my approach to teaching and tutoring.

Tutoring Experience

I am experienced with teaching Literature and Language at Key Stage 3 and at GCSE level, with particular familiarity with the Edexcel and AQA specifications for GCSE students. My background in linguistics equips me with a strong understanding of children's language acquisition and the use of language for purpose and effect, strengthening my understanding of language-based components of the English curriculum in particular.

Tutoring Approach

For me, learning should be lively, relevant and engaging. I try to contextualise young people's learning as best I can and to bring an approach to language study that is appropriate for the modern world. I hope to empower my students to do the same and engage with language in this way, whether this be through close reading of an older text, selecting a certain word to convey a particular meaning or considering the demands of an audience when writing for a particular purpose.

It is important to adapt to young people and their contributions to learning, rather than the other way around. While I would work with you, your child, their reports and any samples of work available to plan sessions in advance, it is important to not remain fixed on achieving something I have determined if an opportunity presents itself to develop another area of learning. Together I would set goals with your child, but I would remain flexible and open to suggestions as time goes on to ensure that they get the most out of their tuition.

While there is always more to learn to best support individuals, I have a sound understanding of how young people need a tailored approach to make progress and bring experiences from a range of settings that can help me to help a young person become more confident and proficient in using and understanding language. I work with individuals to identify strategies that may address difficulties they have in a learning environment to try and combat these obstacles, as well as using strategies they may identify themselves as being effective for enhancing their learning.

I have found that it works well to set independent study tasks for students to complete between sessions, using these as a springboard in our next session. For GCSE students in particular, this typically involves an independent writing task to mirror the GCSE syllabi. I will always mark these and provide feedback; I am also happy to mark any other completed work for which a student may want feedback or support.