To explain how JK Educate maintain high standards of tutoring through the JK Academy, let’s use as an example the children we prepare for school entrance exams. The JK Academy trains tutors to teach children the required curriculum and skills for a wide range of entrance exam levels and schools. All our materials are kept up to date and every tutor receives exam packs to guide their work with their students and ensure that a carefully staged and progressive programme of preparation is followed.
We assess the children first and then use the assessment outcomes to help us match the child with the perfect tutor for them. This is a crucial element for success, as one parent has recently told us on Trustpilot: “From the very beginning the support has been incredible. The tutor match was perfect. My son’s progress has been outstanding; he got into his first choice of school and he’s over the moon.”
Academic Assessment and Matching
JK assessments are very detailed, so tutors undergo extensive training to analyse the results and tailor teaching plans to suit each child’s precise needs. The assessments provide valuable insights and recommendations, helping guide parents in choosing the best schools for their child to aim for. These recommendations also assist the tutor initially, but it’s crucial to match the right tutor to the right child to ensure teaching has the maximum positive impact. JK’s senior teaching team supports the tutor with the initial lesson planning, ensuring the assessment results are accurately interpreted and applied to create a personalised teaching approach. The tutor also has an initial phone call with the parents to introduce themselves, learn more about their child, and begin building a strong working relationship before the trial lesson.
Trial lessons are very important to how JK tutoring works. We believe they are a vital step in the student-tutor relationship as they allow tutors to get to know the student, and vice versa, to ensure that the way they are planning to teach will suit the child and to see if the chemistry is right. What looks like an ideal match on paper also needs to work well in how the tutor and student get along in person – that extra intangible element – but our matches usually work out very well. We are very experienced in matching people after ten years’ experience; we know our tutors and the assessment process gives us a clear initial view of the student’s personality and how they work best, so it’s not a case of guess work!
Our tutors appreciate the level of support and training we provide, as illustrated by this recent comment from an experienced 11+ tutor: “JK Educate has given me the best support. This has ranged from the most up-to-date training on 11+ programmes for England’s prestigious selective schools, to ensuring that all administration runs smoothly. This has allowed me to focus on my role as a tutor, enabling me to put all my energy into unlocking the potential of my students.”
Another Level
JK’s training processes are not confined to entrance exam tutoring. Every tutor undergoes an interview, reference and enhanced DBS checking, followed by training at the JK Academy, including a maths assessment where appropriate. Every student is carefully matched to the right tutor for them, and the initial phone discussion with the parents or student and trial lesson are just as important for GCSE and A Level students as they are for the 7+.
At these more advanced levels, tutors are supported with lesson plans, resources, and subject expertise throughout their tutoring. The students’ progress against their agreed targets is reported to parents every month, along with new targets set by the tutor. This is overseen by the senior teaching team to ensure students are on track for exam success.
Progress Tracking
Regular meetings are a key element in maintaining standards and continuous improvement through the JK Academy at all levels of study. The senior teaching team regularly review each student’s progress to ensure they are achieving their potential. At the end of every month, each tutor will write a student progress review for every one of their students. These reports are swiftly reviewed by the senior team and then shared with parents. The reviews detail what targets have been achieved during the month and what new targets are being set for the following month. If targets are not consistently being met, we step in to understand why and provide the necessary support and expert advice for both tutors and parents.
Every time your child is matched to a tutor, your relationship as a parent is not just with them, but also with Tania and JK’s senior team, who are always in the background checking standards and progress, and always available to offer advice and support to JK families. Access to this depth of knowledge and experience is very reassuring to parents, who often make comments like this recent testimonial: “Superb knowledge of the 11+ system built up over the years. We were matched with a brilliant tutor for our son, who suited his personality and was able to get a lot out of him”.
The JK Academy provides ongoing support and training for all our tutors to ensure that teaching standards at every level of study remain exceptionally high. This, in turn, ensures job satisfaction for our excellent tutors, engaging and challenging lessons for our students, and satisfying results for our clients. This is what we do.
Tanie Virdie
JK Educate
