First of all, we'll have a phone conversation to establish what you hope to achieve from the sessions and what your child's goals are. Then, all new students will undertake a diagnostic assessment before their first session. This will be a short response to a written text and a piece of writing; the content will vary depending on the focus of the tutoring. This should be supervised by the parents or carers to ensure that it has been completed independently and in timed conditions, and then submitted to me so I can assess areas of need.

In addition, for GCSE students who are in school, it is useful to obtain copies of any formal assessments completed in school under exam conditions.

I use my own scaffolded assessment criteria to track students' progress across all key English skills and identify priority areas. This can be shared with parents at any time.

This is entirely a personal choice and depends largely on your knowledge of your child. For longer-term tuition, many students prefer to work in small groups as it gives them a chance to bounce ideas off each other, and learn from their peers. If you are looking to close substantial gaps in the run up to exams, or your child prefers to work independently, one-to-one tuition may be more suitable. Small groups will be curated to ensure students are at a similar stage of learning and will only run with a minimum of two students.

In short - almost certainly, yes. There are a range of adjustments I will make as standard for students with a range of SEND needs, including dyslexia, ADHD, autism, SEMH and PDA. We can discuss this in full in our initial consultation.

I will track your child's progress using my own progress trackers. These can be shared with parents at any point; you can always contact me for a progress report and to ask any questions. Equally, I will get in touch if I feel there is anything not working, or if I have concerns about effort or progress.

When we agree to work together, we will sign a contract that agrees a two-week notice period on either side. The only exception to this is students who are soon to take exams, where the contract will automatically end after the final English exam.

You will be invoiced in four-weekly blocks, to be paid in advance. Unless by prior arrangement, tuition pauses during school holidays, therefore you will only be invoiced for the sessions that will take place in that four-week block. If you choose to end the contract, any payments outside the two-week notice period will be refunded.

Please note that, although sessions are generally term-time only, I am often able to make bespoke arrangements on request when exams are approaching, such as the Easter holidays and May half term.