Certificate in Specific Learning Difficulties (2009) Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre
Certificate and Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
CRB checked. Certificate available for inspection.
Member of NASEN, the National Association of Special Educational Needs.
References are available upon request

Subjects

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Interview

Which subject(s) do you teach?
I teach spelling, reading and handwriting, as well as foundation Maths and English. I have particular experience in grammar school entrance exams and achieved 100% success pass rates with my students this year, some of who are now going to Wilsons, Trinity and Whitgift schools. For these exams I taught English specifically, with verbal reasoning.

Tell me about your qualifications.
I have a certificate in SpLd, which means that I am qualified to teach children one-to-one who have difficulties with words and numbers. I attended the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre and was assessed on my practical skills in 1:1 teaching, as well as my effective rapport with the children I taught. This enables me to call myself a Specialist Teacher and to test children for reading, spelling and memory, as well as understand an Educational Psychologist's report.
I also have the certificate and diploma in TESOL, which I passed over 16 and 8 years ago respectively. This qualifies me to teach English to foreign language speakers and I am ideally suited to teaching children who have English as a second language.

What kind of experience do you have?
I have taught as a Specialist Teacher for two years at a small independent school in Sutton for two years until the school was taken over by a new consortium who did not consider a Specialist Teacher value for money and axed the position. Since then I have been rebuilding my tutoring business, as this was my main job before working at the school. I was teaching children with a Statement of Educational Need, writing lesson plans and schemes of work to suit the individual child. This included basic Maths as well as reading, spelling and general writing skills. The students aged from 11-17. I was also the English as an Additonal language teacher at the school for nearly 7 years, teaching mainly Korean students.
I have home tutored for the last twelve years or more, specialising in grammar school and independent school entrance exams.

How much do you charge?
I am charging £20 per hour, but am happy to meet parents for a free initial consultation. I am now only teaching children at my own home, unless the student lives very close by, in which case I will add a £2.00 charge. I charge an extra £5.00 for children with learning difficulties, as there is always more preparation involved, as well as individual education plans to draw up which can be used in school review meetings.

Where do you teach?
I generally teach at home, but am willing to travel if students live within a mile of my home.

When are you available?
During the day on weekdays are good, so I am available for home schoooled children, as well as students who do not have a school placement. After school I work from 3 pm and on Saturday mornings from 9.30am till 1.30pm.

Which ages and levels do you teach?
I teach from the ages of 6 through to 17 in general English and those with specific learning difficulties. For Maths, I teach only the foundation levels at Key Stages 1 and 2. When teaching English as an Additional Language, there is no age limit.

Do you have a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure certificate?
Yes, it is valid until September 2010.

Do you belong to any professional organisations?
NASEN, the National Association of Special Educational Needs.

Where and with whom did you train?
I trained at Sutton College of Liberal Arts for my certificate and with St. James School of English, London for my Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. I trained at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre in Frensham, Surrey for the certificate in Specific Learning Difficulties.

Tell me about some of your current students.
I am currently teaching a home tutored child in year 4, four hours a week. This is for Maths and English. I also teach a boy in year 9 who does not have a school placement at present; he is learning to read, spell and number work in Maths. I have a number of children with spelling and reading difficulties at secondary school level, as well as three students who are aiming to pass grammar school and independent school entrance exams.

Do you have a personal message for students?
It is not always easy to learn new things, but it is much more fun with a one-to-one tutor! If you think you are not very good at reading and writing, then you can always get better and succeed in the end.