Before You Book a Tutor: Working Out What Your Primary Child Actually Needs

Keep a two-week observation log

Pick two ordinary school weeks — avoid a test period if you can — and write a few lines each evening. Factual beats interpretive: copy the actual question your child got stuck on rather than writing "doesn't understand maths".

• Date, subject, and which piece of homework or task it was
• Start and finish times, including breaks and distractions
• Exactly where the child got stuck: copy the question, or note the question type
• Mood and energy before starting
• Roughly how much sleep the night before
• Anything unusual that day: a test coming up, an activity running late, something at home

Questions that get more from the class teacher than "is he okay?"

Teachers see your child for hours a day and generally welcome specific questions. Open with what you observed, not with a request for a tutor referral:

• "I've kept a two-week log of his homework. May I share what I've noticed and hear your view?"
• "Is what I'm seeing at home consistent with how he performs in class, or does he manage better with you?"
• "Which specific skills is he missing? Can you point me to the units?"
• "What support is already available in school — small groups, remedial sessions, guidance?"
• "In your judgement, would more practice help, or is this mainly about habits?"

If you do look for a tutor, start with a small brief

If the log and the teacher conversation both point to a subject gap, write the brief down before contacting anyone:

• One goal: for example, "independently complete P4 fraction addition and subtraction with different denominators" — narrow enough to be tested
• Format: once or twice a week, 60 minutes, on top of school homework rather than replacing it
• A simple baseline check in the first session, so progress is measurable
• A review after six to eight sessions: has that specific skill moved?

Signs to pause rather than add more lessons

Sometimes the right move is fewer lessons, not more. Stop and rethink if:

• Your log showed a routine problem — fix the timetable first. The Bureau's parent resources suggest reducing distractions, using timetables and checklists, protecting rest, and involving the child in planning. All of these cost nothing.
• Your child is losing sleep, or giving up activities they enjoy, to fit lessons in.
• Two months of lessons have not moved the specific skill in the brief — the goal or the match may be wrong, and extra hours will not change that.
• Your child says the subject feels easier but is visibly more anxious or resentful overall.
• Difficulties span most subjects and settings, or continue after the routine has improved — take this back to the class teacher, ask what school support exists, and where you have concerns about wellbeing or development, seek advice from an appropriate professional.

Your role as companion, guide and facilitator

The Education Bureau's Parent Education Resource Package for Primary Schools describes parents as companions, guides and facilitators. In practical terms, the first job is observation: working out which of the four situations you are looking at, and only then deciding who should handle it — the classroom, the daily routine, targeted practice, or the school's support system.