Observing Toby tutor a Year 7 maths student provided valuable insight into the importance of building trust and confidence with your student. The session was highly relaxed and conversational, I could tell immediately helped the student feel comfortable. Rather than rushing straight into difficult content, Toby spent time asking him about his week, what he enjoyed at school, the areas of maths he felt confident in this week, and the topics he disliked or found challenging. This created a supportive atmosphere where the student felt safe to admit when they did not understand something, rather than pretending to know the answer.

One of the strongest aspects of the lesson was Toby’s calm and encouraging communication style. He listened carefully to the student’s responses and adapted the lesson accordingly, ensuring explanations were clear and paced appropriately. The student appeared far more willing to ask questions because there was no pressure or judgement during the session. Toby regularly reassured the student that making mistakes was part of learning, which helped build confidence and reduce any anxiety around maths or asking for help.

Another effective strategy observed was the use of goal setting. Toby worked collaboratively with the student to identify specific goals for upcoming lessons and preparation for their assessment. Together, they discussed the key topics that required further revision and created a game plan to improve understanding over the next few weeks. I could tell this gave the student a clear sense of direction and made him feel less stressed about the amount of content to get through!

Overall, the observation highlighted that successful tutoring is not only about strong mathematical knowledge, but also about communication, patience, and relationship building. Toby created a super positive learning environment where the student felt supported, motivated and more confident in approaching maths challenges. He seemed really engaged and excited to come back next week!

Shyla Gloster