Nervous about your first tutoring session? These tips will help!
Volunteers are the engine of everything we do. In 2023–24, 1,896 volunteers delivered over 61,000 tutoring sessions to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, giving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds a crucial boost in maths or English. Simply put, without your dedication, our mission to tackle educational inequality would not be achievable.
That’s why our top priority is ensuring you feel fully supported and empowered to deliver this high-quality tuition.
Prior tutoring experience is not necessary to join us. We understand that not everyone starts with the confidence to interact effectively with young people, but that lack of experience should never hold you back. The fundamental qualities every effective tutor needs are simple: empathy, patience, and understanding.
Feeling nervous about your first session? That’s completely normal! The ready-to-use tips below will help you prepare and walk into your first interaction with complete confidence.
Easing in to your first session
The first tutoring session is an opportunity for volunteers to create a safe learning environment for our pupils and make them feel heard and understood. In time if not immediately, your group of 1-3 will feel more comfortable and confident, and will engage more during the sessions.
As a volunteer tutor, you can have a significant impact on a child’s attitude towards the subject you’re tutoring and their learning outcomes.
‘When I came to Action Tutoring my reading got better and I am answering more questions. Before I was struggling with multiplication, and I didn’t really like English, but after [tutoring] I’ve seen that my grades have gone up a lot. Its really helped me, even my reading.‘
Lilah, Year 6 pupil
Introduce yourself
It may sound simple, but it’s essential to begin the session by greeting and welcoming pupils with a smile. Introduce yourself, then kindly ask your pupils to do the same.
There is space within the first session to get to know your group better. Warm-up activities (which your programme coordinator will give you) like ‘this or that’ help break the ice, and gives you a chance to learn a bit about their personalities and the group dynamic. You’ll probably find they want to learn more about you!
Familiarise yourself with the content before the session
Volunteers are provided with all the training materials and workbooks they need in order to provide personalised and targeted tuition to our pupils.
We advise you to familiarise yourself with the session plan before each tutoring session. This way, you’re better prepared to answer questions, use the techniques provided in our ‘tutor tips’ and manage the flow of the session.
Ask open-ended questions
Open-ended questions have the power to challenge pupils and motivate them to think critically. This way, they are not passively obtaining new knowledge, but process it in an effective way and provide a range of responses.
Remember to be attentive, show an authentic interest in what they say and reply with kindness.
Connection starts before you speak
Your presence matters! Open body language, engaged posture, and a welcoming attitude are your most powerful tools. They instantly make you more approachable and build the trust needed for a strong connection with your pupils.
The power wrap-up
Use the last few minutes to solidify the day’s progress and use positive reinforcement.
Briefly review the concepts or problems covered, using the reflection activity in the workbook for guidance. This helps your pupils mentally cement what they learned.
Praise them specifically for their attendance, participation, and engagement. Focus on effort, not just correctness. Use concrete praise, like, “I really liked how you stuck with that challenging word problem.”
Extra tips for online tutors
Before your first online session, you’ll receive online-specific training. This quick, practical session will confidently guide you through all the Virtual Classroom’s tools and functions.
We advise that our online tutors run a browser test before the first session begins, so you can check that your network connection, webcam and microphone are working.
‘Since starting my volunteering, I have learnt that you are never too old to learn new skills. I now have greater confidence with technology and a greater understanding of how to communicate with children and young people in an academic environment.‘
Elaine, volunteer
We are always here to support you
All of our volunteers will an assigned programme coordinator for each volunteering programme they are a part of. They are on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly in our online and in-person programmes.
‘Having left school some time ago I certainly would not have been able to do this without some help! The workbooks provide clear, easy-to-follow plans for sessions, the training team provide extra training sessions if you feel they are required and the local co-ordinators are always in the room with you during your tutoring sessions to provide support as you need it.’
Tim, volunteer tutor
For those brand new to tutoring, this is an opportunity to challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone! We’re here to support you every step of the way. Being nervous before your first tutoring experience is completely normal; don’t let it hold you back from a rewarding experience.
‘I would say to give it a try it as I found it worthwhile. The commitment only needs to be as little as one hour tutoring a week with roughly 15 minutes prep time. With regards to experience, if you use the support materials provided by Action Tutoring and have a genuine interest in your subject and helping young people then you should have all you need to get started.’
Tim
