One of the best ways to make your tutoring sessions more effective, especially for primary school students, is by having a simple, consistent lesson structure. We’re lucky to have access to resources like IXL, which lays out the full Australian curriculum for both English and Maths from Kindergarten through Year 6. Instead of starting each session with “What did you do at school today?”—only to have your student shrug and draw something completely unrelated on the board—you can come in with a plan.

What I like to do is print out the relevant IXL syllabus for the student’s year level and pop it into a plastic sleeve. We colour-code our progress: green means the student understood it straight away, orange means we’re still working on it, and I note anything in orange as homework. It’s also a great visual for parents. They can see exactly what we’re working through, where their child is struggling, and how we’re tracking overall.

What makes IXL even better is that each syllabus dot point links directly to an interactive quiz. This means you’re not just ticking boxes — you’re confirming understanding in real time. While IXL doesn’t always have the most in-depth worksheets, I simply outsource material from Twinkl, K–5 resources, or even generate them using AI. Once we’ve worked through the content and the student shows understanding, we jump on the IXL quiz to consolidate it.

Having this structure not only saves you time but also allows you to lead the session confidently. It signals to the parent that you’re prepared, knowledgeable, and committed to their child’s progress — which is exactly the impression you want to leave.

Briana Vaz