Online tutoring options for kids
For those working while attempting to homeschool, online tutoring may be an effective solution
Never thought you'd consider tutoring? Many parents are looking for extra help, from resources to Zoom classes. Photo: Happy Little Doers
Whether it's trying to sign our children up for the best extracurricular activities (coding classes, anyone?) or getting them into the top schools, London parents have always had a reputation of leaving no stone unturned when it comes to finding the best resources, teachers and classes for their children.
Never has this skill been more useful than in our present situation, where online tutoring hasn't just become a London-obsessed issue for those trying to ace their 11-plus exams (or even 7 or 8-plus) or GCSEs, but a daily reality for many parents trying to manage their children's education while attempting to juggle the daily roster of our own work, homeschooling and maintaining our sanity.
From stories of London families moving in full-time tutors for their kids, to parents simply looking to round out their kids' educations with a live Zoom class or two because school isn't providing them, there's no question that online tutoring is more in-demand than ever.
The online tutoring live streams, apps and resources below put expertise at parents' fingertips - and also help give children the confidence to engage with and complete their work on their own. We've also included a few of our favourite screen-free alternatives to add another dimension to home learning.
Photo: EasyA
Tutoring apps for kids
EasyA: Easy A has quickly become an indispensable tool in our household. The premise behind the maths app is simple: just take a photo of whatever question your child is struggling with, send it in and an Oxbridge-educated tutor will talk them through how to solve it, messaging them questions, explaining concepts and ensuring they understand each step in the problem.
Sessions typically last 30 minutes, but the tutors don't hesitate to spend more time with the kids if required. The tutors can tackle anything from the basics through to GCSE-level problems. You can do a Pay As You Go offer, which includes a £10 monthly membership fee and then 50p/min.
Click here for more information on EasyA
Brainly: This online knowledge-sharing community can be useful for parents who are stuck on a homework problem (and don't want to admit it to the kids). Get help from students and teachers, on everything from ratios to French, chemistry to SATs.
Click here for more information on Brainly
Photo: Charles Deluvio
Click here for more information on Braintrust Tutors
Photo: Charles Deluvio
The Golden Circle: With 150 teachers offering expertise on a range of subjects, Golden Circle can guide your primary child through the early years curriculum, secondary school exams and all the way up to A levels and university entrance interviews. Classes are delivered online via Skype.
Click here for information on Golden Circle Tutors
Juni Learning: Developed by former Google alums and computer scientists, Juni Learning offers computer science, maths and English courses for kids, taught by instructors from top-tier US unis, like Stanford.
Click here for information on Juni Learning
JK Educate: JK Educate offers Skype tutoring to students from Year 1 onwards, and can help with anyone looking to do 11+ revision, GCSEs and A-Levels, too.
Click here for information on JK Educate
Tutorful: Find-a-tutor-site Tutorful usually matches students with face-to-face tutors - and has moved to online sessions during lockdown. There's 1:1 learning, a virtual whiteboard and shared documents and screens.
Click here for more information on Tutorful
Holland Park Tuition and Education: From early-years classes to extra-curriculars like cooking, comic-book making and choir, through to anyone who needs 11+ or GCSE tuition for their children, Holland Park Tuition and Education is now a virtual hub.
There's also a comprehensive curriculum of online classes for 12 and ups who want to brush up on their Latin or get to grips with medical ethics. Sign up for a taster class for £5.
Click here for more information on Holland Park Tuition and Education
Photo: Mayku
Click here for more information on EdPlace
Mayku: Mayku Teach gives children a passion for STEAM subjects through online lessons and resources, as well as practical tools - the Mayku Formbox, a rather impressive piece of kit that can be used to explain a variety of maths lessons, like material properties and percentages (and it also makes confections). It's a pricey piece of kit, but the online resources are all free - just sign up with your email and get your kids creating.
Click here for more information on Mayku
Photo: Outschool
BBC Bitesize Daily: A comprehensive, 14-week learning programme for kids from Y1-Y10, with a twist: kids won't just be learning all about English, Maths, History and Science - they'll have teachers like Sir David Attenborough, Jodie Whittaker, Danny Dyer, Professor Brian Cox and Mabel. Plus, you don't need a device to access lessons - they're now available on the telly.
Click here for more information on BBC Bitesize Daily
Oak National Academy: The government-backed learning from home programme features hour-long vids for kids from Reception onwards, teaching them across a range of subjects. Schedule their day like a school day, or pick and choose the subjects they need extra practice in.
Click here for more information on Oak National Academy
Photo: Happy Little Doers
Helpful learning resources that don't involve a screen
If you're looking for some ideas that don't involve a screen - because you need a break from digital platforms, or perhaps have younger children - here are a few of our favourites below...
Happy Little Doers cards: This startup launched by a mum of two brings Montessori-style learning to your home in the most gorgeous, hands-on way. Happy Little Doers offers a range of cards - times tables, shapes, numbers - which encourage learning by doing, like using sticks to make a rectangle or making number sentences with cards, to help visual learners.
Click here for more from Happy Little Doers
Edx Education: Buy your own homeschooling kits in a box from Edx Education, which has packaged a range of early maths sets, like Numbers and Measurements and Geometry and Problem Solving. We're also obsessed with the Rainbow Pebbles, a colourful and fun educational toy for toddler-through-Reception kids.
Click here for more from Edx Education
Audio readers for kids: The lockdown boom in virtual storytelling has meant that kids are getting interested in audio stories from a younger and younger age - and older ones love audio readers like Yoto, Toniebox and Lunii, too, screen-free boxes that play stories, act as clocks/nightlights/cuddlies and allow you to pre-record your own audio. Cannot recommend enough...
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Never has this skill been more useful than in our present situation, where online tutoring hasn't just become a London-obsessed issue for those trying to ace their 11-plus exams (or even 7 or 8-plus) or GCSEs, but a daily reality for many parents trying to manage their children's education while attempting to juggle the daily roster of our own work, homeschooling and maintaining our sanity.
From stories of London families moving in full-time tutors for their kids, to parents simply looking to round out their kids' educations with a live Zoom class or two because school isn't providing them, there's no question that online tutoring is more in-demand than ever.
The online tutoring live streams, apps and resources below put expertise at parents' fingertips - and also help give children the confidence to engage with and complete their work on their own. We've also included a few of our favourite screen-free alternatives to add another dimension to home learning.
Photo: EasyA
Tutoring apps for kids
EasyA: Easy A has quickly become an indispensable tool in our household. The premise behind the maths app is simple: just take a photo of whatever question your child is struggling with, send it in and an Oxbridge-educated tutor will talk them through how to solve it, messaging them questions, explaining concepts and ensuring they understand each step in the problem.
Sessions typically last 30 minutes, but the tutors don't hesitate to spend more time with the kids if required. The tutors can tackle anything from the basics through to GCSE-level problems. You can do a Pay As You Go offer, which includes a £10 monthly membership fee and then 50p/min.
Click here for more information on EasyA
Brainly: This online knowledge-sharing community can be useful for parents who are stuck on a homework problem (and don't want to admit it to the kids). Get help from students and teachers, on everything from ratios to French, chemistry to SATs.
Click here for more information on Brainly
Photo: Charles Deluvio
Virtual tutoring services
Mentor Jr: Set up by a Godolphin & Latymer student in lockdown 1, Mentor Jr. pairs sixth-formers or first year undergraduates with primary kids to offer free educational support and mentoring. The idea is to level the educational playing field - so all sessions, from homework help to uni prep, are free of charge.
Khan Academy Kids: This free educational programme experienced a mega boom during lockdown 1, and it's no wonder why: with a selection of cute characters to help engage kids, the award-winning ed-tech platform has everything from online books and activities to inspire early readers to maths lessons in the app. Designed for kids aged 2-7, this is a great resource for primary-aged children - just note, it's American, so might not correspond to exactly what your UK child is learning.
Click here for more information on Khan Academy Kids
Braintrust Tutors: This tutoring service is designed to help children with learning differences, so tutors have specialist qualifications, from ADHD to dyslexia. The US-based service matches tutors to a child's specific needs, with video interviews ahead of committing. Sessions are offered for kids from pre-K through 12th grade.Click here for more information on Khan Academy Kids
Click here for more information on Braintrust Tutors
Planet BOFA: One for the 11-plus set, Planet BOFA is an online tutoring system which combines learning and testing in a personalised way to suit each individual child.
Created by the man behind Bond assessment books, Andrew Baines, this programme is flexible and can be started at any time - BOFA works out how much preparation your child needs depending on when they start, when the exam is and how quickly they they master the work. Parents rave that it's a winner for getting their child into their secondary school of choice and yes, both verbal and non-verbal reasoning are part of the programme. You can try it out for free, and it starts from £7.99 a month.
Click here for information on Planet BOFAMyTutor: MyTutor offers one-to-one virtual tutoring for teens, across a range of subjects and ages, with hour-long sessions starting from £8. All tutors are from leading UK universities and are knowledgeable in their fields. Plus, there are a loads of online resources and study guides for kids to use.
Click here for information on MyTutor Photo: Charles Deluvio
The Golden Circle: With 150 teachers offering expertise on a range of subjects, Golden Circle can guide your primary child through the early years curriculum, secondary school exams and all the way up to A levels and university entrance interviews. Classes are delivered online via Skype.
Click here for information on Golden Circle Tutors
Juni Learning: Developed by former Google alums and computer scientists, Juni Learning offers computer science, maths and English courses for kids, taught by instructors from top-tier US unis, like Stanford.
Click here for information on Juni Learning
JK Educate: JK Educate offers Skype tutoring to students from Year 1 onwards, and can help with anyone looking to do 11+ revision, GCSEs and A-Levels, too.
Click here for information on JK Educate
Tutorful: Find-a-tutor-site Tutorful usually matches students with face-to-face tutors - and has moved to online sessions during lockdown. There's 1:1 learning, a virtual whiteboard and shared documents and screens.
Click here for more information on Tutorful
Holland Park Tuition and Education: From early-years classes to extra-curriculars like cooking, comic-book making and choir, through to anyone who needs 11+ or GCSE tuition for their children, Holland Park Tuition and Education is now a virtual hub.
There's also a comprehensive curriculum of online classes for 12 and ups who want to brush up on their Latin or get to grips with medical ethics. Sign up for a taster class for £5.
Click here for more information on Holland Park Tuition and Education
Photo: Mayku
Online learning platforms
The Maths Factor: Carol Vorderman's The Maths Factor, matched to the UK Curriculum, is now free for children who need to brush up on their times tables or fractions.
EdPlace: An on-the-go learning platform that reinforces what kids have been learning and tests them on their knowledge and progress, EdPlace rewards kids with points and badges and gives children - and parents - access to thousands of activity sheets online. Sign up for a free account that includes a range of activities as well as specific test prep geared towards 11-plus and GCSE students.Click here for more information on EdPlace
Mayku: Mayku Teach gives children a passion for STEAM subjects through online lessons and resources, as well as practical tools - the Mayku Formbox, a rather impressive piece of kit that can be used to explain a variety of maths lessons, like material properties and percentages (and it also makes confections). It's a pricey piece of kit, but the online resources are all free - just sign up with your email and get your kids creating.
Click here for more information on Mayku
Photo: Outschool
Outschool: We've signed our kids up to a range of Outschool classes, from Lego sessions to US history to Greek myths, since lockdown began, and we're thoroughly impressed. Not only are the topics fun and engaging and the teachers well-informed, but children also get a chance to socialise with peers in their age group, in countries around the world. Classes are available from children 3-18, from $5-$10 a class. Summer camps are now kicking off...
Click here for more information on Outschool BBC Bitesize Daily: A comprehensive, 14-week learning programme for kids from Y1-Y10, with a twist: kids won't just be learning all about English, Maths, History and Science - they'll have teachers like Sir David Attenborough, Jodie Whittaker, Danny Dyer, Professor Brian Cox and Mabel. Plus, you don't need a device to access lessons - they're now available on the telly.
Click here for more information on BBC Bitesize Daily
Oak National Academy: The government-backed learning from home programme features hour-long vids for kids from Reception onwards, teaching them across a range of subjects. Schedule their day like a school day, or pick and choose the subjects they need extra practice in.
Click here for more information on Oak National Academy
Varsity Tutors: The US company Varsity Tutors has launched a Virtual School, with live daily classes for kids, as well as flashcards, parent guides and 1:1 help for anyone who needs it. Many of the classes, from Wildlife Creature Camp sessions to creative writing, are free.
Click here for more information on Varsity Tutors Photo: Happy Little Doers
Helpful learning resources that don't involve a screen
If you're looking for some ideas that don't involve a screen - because you need a break from digital platforms, or perhaps have younger children - here are a few of our favourites below...
Happy Little Doers cards: This startup launched by a mum of two brings Montessori-style learning to your home in the most gorgeous, hands-on way. Happy Little Doers offers a range of cards - times tables, shapes, numbers - which encourage learning by doing, like using sticks to make a rectangle or making number sentences with cards, to help visual learners.
Click here for more from Happy Little Doers
Edx Education: Buy your own homeschooling kits in a box from Edx Education, which has packaged a range of early maths sets, like Numbers and Measurements and Geometry and Problem Solving. We're also obsessed with the Rainbow Pebbles, a colourful and fun educational toy for toddler-through-Reception kids.
Click here for more from Edx Education
Audio readers for kids: The lockdown boom in virtual storytelling has meant that kids are getting interested in audio stories from a younger and younger age - and older ones love audio readers like Yoto, Toniebox and Lunii, too, screen-free boxes that play stories, act as clocks/nightlights/cuddlies and allow you to pre-record your own audio. Cannot recommend enough...
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