The student is the only son of parents who have lived predominantly in Germany and Spain since their son was born. He attended a German school initially and then moved to a British School in Mallorca in the middle of Y6. His attainment at this school was poor, resulting in him being taken out in January 2016 and commencing full-time home-schooling. At the time of writing he has worked with one full-time Tutor and two online Tutors for two years and attained good grades in Maths, English and German GCSE. A decision was made to continue directly into A-Levels in German, Maths and Computer Science. He has now completed one year of the A Level course and is doing well in German and Maths A Level but is currently performing poorly in Computer Science.
Part of the reason for the poor performance is that he is working with an online Tutor, and it is felt that having a Tutor who is physically present may be beneficial – not only to deliver curriculum content but to aid him in his organisation and help fill gaps in his knowledge that may not be so apparent when communicating online.
In himself, the student is a quiet, reserved, respectful and polite young man. He is socially comfortable and has some good friends locally. His commitment to his work is apparent when he is with the Tutors, however his independent work leaves a lot to be desired and he will often give up when faced with a problem rather than utilising resources to aid and cement his understanding which is the backbone of success at this level.
He speaks, reads and understands German fluently but his Spanish is not strong, and he considers English to be his primary language. He has a passion for martial arts and maintains a very high standard of physical fitness. He does not play any team sports but does enjoy jet-skiing.
He responds well to Tutors who are firm and direct in their approach to teaching. He does not work well with project-based learning but does respond well to having a competitive edge placed between him and the Tutor in the classroom. Basic topic understanding followed by continual exam question testing has proved to work well in the past and certainly this might be the way forward to boost his Computer Science ability.This role involves working alongside two other Tutors supplied by Tutors International – one physically present teaching Maths A Level, and the other online teaching German A Level.
This is a role that will need to cover a lot of ground over the next year.The student performed poorly in his Computer Science GCSE but it was felt that with one to one tuition the A Level would be within his grasp. After a year of online tuition this does not seem to be the case, and so finding a Tutor prepared to work face to face with him is important. The student himself is not really putting in much effort when not being tutored, so the more face-to-face time he receives the more productive he will be.
The Tutor can expect to have an average of two hours of contact time a day with the student, five days a week with time outside of this spent in planning and providing adequate resources. As it stands he has been following the Cambridge International Exam board syllabus, but this could be changed to another syllabus (or possibly to the American AP) if the Tutor felt it appropriate.
The Tutor is expected to work up to an average of 10 hours per week contact time, with preparation time in addition. For the most part the hours will follow a stable timetable during the normal working week of Monday-Friday. With some travel possible and exams imminent the Tutor should expect to be flexible in this regard if the circumstances merit additional working hours or days.
The Tutor will be entitled to a minimum of 9 weeks paid vacation per annum at times convenient to the Client.The Client will provide a furnished apartment for the sole use of the Tutor near the family home in Mallorca. The Client will pay for all bills on this accommodation, except for the Tutor’s personal phone bills. This accommodation could be suitable for a couple with one or two small children.
The Tutor will be provided with a car for his or her personal use.
A room in the family home has been set aside as the schoolroom for the sole use of the student and his Tutors.
There will likely be some travel in this role, primarily between Germany and Spain, but possibly to other locations in Europe or further afield, and the Tutor will therefore need to ensure that he or she has the requisite travel and health insurance, has received the required vaccinations, and has the necessary visas.
The Client will be responsible for the Tutor’s full expenses arising from any travel required, throughout the contract term.
The Tutor should lead a physically active lifestyle and be healthy and fit. He or she should be engaging, have a good sense of humour and a firm yet reassuring manner. He or she must be a serious educator who understands the responsibility this role carries.
For the avoidance of doubt, and pursuant to clause 5.14, gross misconduct by the Tutor is also treated as a material breach of contract by the Company. Gross misconduct includes, but is not limited to such such behaviours as drug use by the Tutor, alcohol abuse, physical harm caused to the student, Client or any of his representatives etc. If the Tutor is accused of having done something that could be viewed as gross misconduct he or she will be asked to stay away from the family until the accusation can be verified by the Company and if it is true, or has led to a breakdown in trust, then the Company will replace the Tutor as per clause 5.12 of the Standard Terms.