Why the tutoring debate is missing the point, why quality matters

There’s an interesting debate unfolding on LinkedIn about demand for tutoring versus the number of tutors in the marketplace.

From my perspective, this isn’t really about whether there are enough students or enough tutors. It’s about the quality of tuition being offered.

There are good tutors and bad tutors. In my view, tutoring should be delivered by professional teachers unless the prospective tutor (e.g. a university student) is under the direction of a professional with knowledge of the curriculum.

Targeting the tuition in specific areas is also of huge importance. High-quality tutoring isn’t built on gimmicks or shortcuts. It comes from deep subject knowledge, structured teaching, and materials that genuinely reflect the demands of entrance exams. Maths needs to be taught step by step. English needs a relentless focus on grammar, syntax, comprehension, spelling and vocabulary. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning require systematic development, not last-minute tricks.

We can’t expect children to run before they can walk, and they won’t be able to properly understand any subjects if their numeracy and literacy are not up to standard. Good tuition should leave children literate and numerate by the end of primary school, regardless of whether they pass an entrance exam. Once pupils hit secondary school, with 12 subjects a week, gaps in literacy and numeracy become incredibly hard to fix.

If we’re serious about outcomes, the conversation needs to focus less on the number of tutors in the marketplace and more on ensuring tutoring genuinely improves long-term educational outcomes.

In these videos, I talk about how to help children with their English https://youtu.be/aLJCJ1QQ5HM and Maths https://youtu.be/wMKJxKeVjTU.