The Chimney-Corner: Specialist Tuition

The form

The waiting list starts with a form on the waiting list page. It captures the essentials - parent details, your child's age and setting, learning needs, any diagnosis you'd like to mention, when you're generally free for tuition - so I can prepare for a meeting if we get to one.

How I choose

When a tuition spot comes up, I review the list. I choose from waiting families based on whether I think I can meet the child's needs well - their age, what they need, what I have the professional skills and bandwidth to offer at that moment. It isn't a simple queue.

I won't take a student on just because it would increase my income - that's a failure of professional integrity, and children with complex needs aren't a factor in the wrong direction (they're often more straightforward to teach than families expect). What's usually the deciding factor is when the parent says the child is available and when I have a free slot. If it might be a fit, I get in touch by email to set up an initial meeting.

The first meeting

The first step is a free meeting. It's for the parent - I don't ask to meet the child before the fit is confirmed, and there's no expectation of a pre-lesson assessment. The meeting works both ways: a chance to talk through what's happening for your child, and for both of us to see whether we'd work well together and whether my teaching matches what your child needs. If your child would like to say hello during the meeting, that's fine - but I don't need them to be there.

If you're thinking about more than one child, tell me at the enquiry stage - I can hold that in mind when I'm working out fit and timing.

The first lessons

From there, if it's a fit, we set up lessons. The first few lessons are charged separately from the rest of the half-term we're in, at the standard rate, so there's a natural point to check things are working before settling into the term's rhythm. I've never refused a family at that point, but the two-lesson break is there so no one is locked into anything. If it isn't a fit, I'll say so, and I'll usually be able to suggest who or what might suit better - a Before the Fire consultation, a different practitioner, or a different service entirely.

Timetable

I don't teach at weekends. UK daytime slots go quickly to home-educating families, EOTAS placements, and learners in different time zones. After-school slots are for children in mainstream school.

For overseas families: the family needs to be able to move with the timetable when the clocks change here in spring and autumn - I can't shift other students around a UK-based schedule.

Payment

Payment is by bank transfer via FreeAgent invoicing; Stripe is available with an additional charge to cover transaction fees.

Stopping and coming back

Tuition runs half-term to half-term. To stop, let me know at least three full weeks before the last day of the current half-term and I won't invoice the next one. I use Buckinghamshire term dates. Later than that and the next half-term is payable, because the slot has been held for your child. Either of us can bring things to a close if the lessons are no longer helping - that's in the terms because it needs to be said, not because I expect it to happen often.

Some families swap a sibling into the slot for a time, which is fine - tell me and we'll work it out.

If a family stops and later wants to come back, I'm glad to have you back. It's as a new enquiry - so whatever the current fee is, and there might be a wait for a slot that suits.

Tuition is set out in full on the tuition page.