Weekly Teaching and Learning Email - Being a Great Tutor

8th May 2015

Dear Colleagues,

As we approach the end of the year I thought it might be nice to reflect on the important role of the form tutor.  The following information has been edited from @TeacherToolkit blog, the original post can be read here.

10 Great Form Tutor Tips:

1. Great form tutors spend time observing and listening. Any experienced form tutor, head of year or senior teacher will tell you that the greatest significance, or influence a form tutor could have, is to invest a great deal of time and energy on building relationships. Over a the course of an academic year, you will not be able to rely solely on your own discipline skills as a classroom teacher. You will have many ups and downs together with individuals and as a group. Having some form of meaningful interaction with your students, you will be able to more quickly detect and pick up on any current issues.

2. Great form tutors are regimented. Any tutor new or old, experienced or not, will soon realise that routines are key to maintain discipline, relationships and sustain high standards. A sure-sign to see what a tutor class is typically like, is to observe how they behave when the form tutor steps out of the room, or on days when the tutor is absent from school. If tutees within the group respond to your instructions first time (as a cover teacher), or remind you that on Tuesdays that they always to complete uniform and equipment checks instead of what you’ve asked them to do, then you know that you’re working with a great form tutor. It’s clear that the hard work has been invested by the tutor, and over a longer period of time, today or any other day you can reap the rewards of your labour.

3. Great form tutors are the link between home and school. They will help them deal with various problems, including missing equipment such as pens and pencils, PE kits, late homework, detention disputes, lost locker keys, mobiles phones or letters from parents. More importantly, they may often be the first port of call for any Child Protection issues.

4. Great form tutors connect the student with school staff and with other students. This is often under-estimated in day-to-day registration and as a result with no concrete activity or planning involved on the part of the year group or the tutor this vital time can be wasted. Great tutors are checking that planners are used, that homework has been done using the Traill Portal. They are often holding a tutor group discussion of some kind or processing and recording your students’ awards, detentions, homework and general problems. The energetic tutor will be often seen meeting to mentor or coach one or several tutees’ about their school work and progress throughout the school, dealing with a student’s academic life in some way via a letter or a phone-call home, a simple email, text or note in the planner. Whatever the case, the small details make all the difference.

5. Great form tutors monitors academic and personal progress of the students in their tutor group. Great tutors will help students organise themselves for whole-school events. Running, or being involved in, some kind of activity, assembly, tutor programme, or whatever is on that day! They may even help their tutees take part in a chosen charity event, often sacrificing themselves to do something embarrassing for the event!

6. Great form tutors provide relevant information to other staff about their tutees. They provide important announcements in staff briefing, place a piece of work up on the staff room wall, or share a piece of information about the child, whether a bereavement or an academic celebration. Great tutors make all staff aware.

7. Great form tutors co-ordinate the way the school can meet their students’ needs. They are active and contribute to whole-school pastoral planning. They are involved in the small detail, feeding back on school planner updates, annual activities and resources that can have an impact on other tutors in all year groups.

8. Great form tutors are human. They share the occasional story with their tutees to allow children to gain an insight into their own life. Tutors use real stories to motivate, to sadden and to raise awareness when each child encounters a particular milestone or conversation throughout school.

9. Great form tutors have great relationships with every member of the family. They go the extra mile in supporting families and their children throughout school, so much so, that in a difficult situation, the most irate parents are putty in their hands. They break down barriers and follow up, every single action.

10. Great form tutors have their safeguarding radar on every day. They notice any change in appearance, behaviour or attitude. They keep an eye out for anyone who seems upset, especially quiet – or indeed noisy – and notify the right people at the right time.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend.

Best regards,

Neil