Finding the right tutor

How to choose a primary maths tutor

What to ask, what to watch in an explanation, and how to judge the right starting point for your child.

Editorial

Lead authorRobin GibbonsFounder & CEO·Latimer Tuition
Reviewed byHeather LatimerTutor Matching & Customer Service·Latimer Tuition

School methods and curriculum

Start with the maths your child is learning at school

This guide is for UK primary-school parents, including families looking for KS1 or KS2 support. The national-curriculum examples below are for England; year groups, curriculum organisation and expectations differ across the UK. Tell a prospective tutor your child’s nation, school year and current topics, rather than relying on a stage label alone.

Share a recent piece of work, the teacher’s current priority and an example of the method used in class. If available, send the school’s calculation guidance. Ask how the tutor will connect an explanation to those familiar words and representations. A different method is not automatically wrong, but the tutor should make the connection clear rather than leaving your child to choose between unexplained rules.

In England, the primary maths curriculum develops fluency, reasoning and problem-solving. Its progression guidance favours secure understanding before new content and richer problems for pupils who grasp ideas quickly. That gives you a useful question: ‘What will you look for before deciding my child is ready to move on?’

What number sense looks like in a tutor’s explanation

Number sense means understanding quantities and relationships, not just recalling an answer. These examples show what to listen for when a tutor explains a concept. They are not entry tests or a fixed lesson sequence. Objects, drawings and symbols should explain the same idea. The EEF guidance on objects and representations explains why the connection to the maths matters.

Addition: why does 8 + 5 make 13?

A child may count everything from one or lose track while counting on. A tutor could lay out eight counters, then split five more into two and three: 8 + 2 = 10, then 10 + 3 = 13. Ask the child to show where the five went. A follow-up such as 9 + 5 lets them try making ten again: 9 + 1 + 4 = 14. Listen for the child explaining the split, rather than copying the tutor’s movements.

Fractions: why is three quarters of 20 equal to 15?

Use 20 counters in four equal groups. Each group has five, so one quarter is five and three quarters are three groups of five: 3 × 5 = 15. The child should be able to say why the groups must be equal and why only three are counted. A follow-up with three quarters of 12 gives four groups of three and an answer of nine. A tutor can then connect the grouping to 20 ÷ 4 × 3, rather than beginning with an unexplained rule.

Filling a gap, building confidence or adding challenge?

Ask the tutor to watch how your child approaches a few tasks, including an explanation aloud. A correct answer alone may hide a guessed rule; a wrong answer may reveal one specific misunderstanding. Use what they notice to agree a starting point.

What you notice	A useful first response	What to look for next
The child can follow a method but cannot explain the numbers.	Revisit the underlying idea using a representation, such as tens and ones for place value.	They can explain and use the idea with different numbers.
The child says “I can’t” before trying, even with familiar work.	Offer a manageable starting task, thinking time and a calm discussion of mistakes; explore which part feels difficult.	They begin a task, ask a question or try another approach, alongside improved understanding.
Routine answers are accurate and the child can explain them.	Try a missing-number problem, a different representation or “Is this always true?” before assuming the next year’s work is needed.	They justify their reasoning and apply the idea in an unfamiliar problem.

Questions to ask a prospective primary maths tutor

Which primary ages and starting points have you taught?
Ask for an example of how their explanation changes for a younger child. A maths degree or experience preparing older pupils for exams does not, by itself, show how someone teaches early number ideas.
How would you find out what my child already understands?
Listen for observation, discussion and suitable tasks, with teaching adjusted in response. Ask how they distinguish a misunderstanding from a slip or a problem reading the question.
What would you do if the first explanation did not help?
Ask them to demonstrate a second representation of the same idea. Look for a clear connection between the object or picture and the calculation, rather than a new trick to memorise.
How will lessons connect with school methods?
Provide the school example before this conversation. Ask what they would keep familiar and how they would explain any different approach.
How will you involve my child and report progress?
Agree a small learning goal, the amount of help initially needed and when you will review it. Ask what your child will attempt without prompting and what, if anything, you should practise at home.
What are the practical and safeguarding arrangements?
Discuss lesson length, total charges, cancellation terms, contact arrangements and where lessons take place. Ask how identity, relevant checks and references are handled, how a parent can observe, and how concerns are raised. Have those answers before committing. In England, the DfE parent guide to tuition settings explains questions about child-protection arrangements. For England and Wales, DBS parent guidance says a certificate should be considered alongside experience, qualifications and references; it is not a pass/fail test.

Tell the tutor what you have noticed

A first message you can adapt

When this applies

Use this before an introductory conversation; replace the details with your own.

Suggested wording

My child is in [year/stage] in [UK nation]. They can [something they do confidently], but find [specific task] difficult. Their teacher is currently working on [topic or method]. I can share a recent example.

Our first aim is [one learning goal]. How would you find their starting point, explain the idea and see whether they can use it without help? Please also tell me about your experience with this age group, lesson arrangements and how we would review progress.

Why this helps

A concrete example gives the tutor more to work with than a broad label such as “behind in maths”. Include your child’s own description of what feels difficult.

What to look for in the first lessons

Agree a review point with the tutor and keep one starting example for comparison. You do not need to turn every lesson into a test. Consider both what your child is learning and how they feel about the lessons. The EEF’s maths teaching recommendations emphasise assessment, specific feedback and increasing independence; the questions here apply those principles to choosing and reviewing a tutor.

The explanation responds to the child
The tutor listens to the child’s reasoning, gives thinking time and changes the task or representation when needed. Your child has a role beyond watching someone else solve questions.
Help gradually reduces
For the chosen skill, compare what your child can do with a model, with a small hint and independently. Trying different numbers or a new context is more informative than repeating the identical question.
Feedback names a change
‘She now recognises that 34 contains three tens and four ones’ tells you more than ‘a great lesson’. Ask what still needs practice and what the next lesson will build on.
Practice fits family life
Agree a manageable task and how to help without doing it for your child. If sessions repeatedly end in frustration or the same difficulty persists, discuss the approach and starting point before adding more work.

Choose your next step

If you are ready to enquire, include your child’s stage, school methods and the specific goal from your first-message note. Compare the individual tutor’s answers before deciding.

Match me with a tutor Find a tutor How to tell whether tutoring is working

Support and clarity

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers to the questions people ask most often.

Does a primary maths tutor need to be a qualified teacher?

A teaching qualification can be useful evidence, but it does not settle whether this tutor is right for your child. Ask about primary-age teaching experience, how they assess understanding and how they explain a difficult idea. Consider qualifications alongside that demonstration, references and safeguarding arrangements; do not treat an impressive subject qualification as a substitute for those questions.

Can online tutoring work for a younger primary child?

Judge the proposed setup with your child in mind. Ask how the tutor will see the child’s working, use objects or drawings and notice when they lose the thread. Agree whether an adult needs to help with equipment and how much. If your child spends the session struggling with controls or waiting passively, discuss a simpler setup or a different format.

How long should lessons be, and how often should they happen?

Agree this with the tutor from the learning goal, your child’s engagement and the practical arrangements. Ask how a session will be divided between explanation, the child’s own attempts and feedback. Review the lesson length and frequency once you have seen how your child responds.

Should I wait for a low test score before looking for help?

Use what you and the teacher have noticed rather than waiting for a single score. A specific difficulty, such as understanding tens and ones or explaining a fraction, gives you a better starting question. First establish what support school is providing and what extra help would add; a tutor is one possible part of that plan.

Official guidance

1.
National curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study
Department for Education
England: curriculum aims and progression principles.
2.
Using after-school clubs, tuition and community activities
Department for Education
England: parent questions about safeguarding in tuition and other settings.
3.
A guide for parents and carers employing self-employed workers or personal employees
Disclosure and Barring Service
England and Wales: considering disclosure information alongside other checks.

Research and evidence

1.
Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3
Education Endowment Foundation
Teaching knowledge and guidance for Key Stages 2 and 3.
2.
Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3: summary of recommendations
Education Endowment Foundation
Assessment, feedback, representations and independent problem-solving.
3.
Use manipulatives and representations to develop understanding
Education Endowment Foundation
Connecting objects and drawings with mathematical ideas.
4.
Tutor Trust (primary)
Education Endowment Foundation
School-based primary tuition evaluation; context for communication about classroom methods.