The student (who will be 12 in March 2012) is the eldest of three sons. He will be starting as a weekly boarder at a school in Letchworth from September 2011.

He has a broadly average ability with a range of mild learning difficulties that are normally concomitant with ADHD and Dyslexia. At his last school, he made significant progress with his processing skills, in Literacy and in Numeracy, and with spatial and motor function. He is now performing at a level that means that with appropriate support he ought to able to do well in a mainstream school.

The Tutor will work with the boy at his new school during prep time each Monday-Thursday to help him to assimilate the information covered that day, to help him complete his work on time and correctly, to try identify and fill any gaps in knowledge, and to prepare him for tests and presentations that may be set in class. In short, the role is to try to ensure that experiences success and the confidence that comes from success so that his experience at the school is positive.

The role will require someone with enormous patience. The student has the ability to antagonise the most calm of educators and has managed to upset more than one previous Tutor, to the point where the Tutor felt unable to continue. Although he is far less hyperactive than he used to be, many of the triggers for his compulsive and often tempestuous and verbally aggressive outbursts are still evident, and it is likely that it will take time for him to learn more moderate ways to manage his feelings.

An excellent Tutor who can be a strong role model for the boy, and who has some experience or training in ADHD would be ideal. The Tutor will need to be someone who can nurture a trusting relationship with the child to help to motivate him and encourage him to put in the sustained effort required. The Tutor will need to be sensitive to his student's learning style, yet not be easily fazed, especially early on when the boy is likely to test the Tutor's patience to the limit. The Tutor will need to be the kind of person who is unflappable and resilient without being rude or brusque. The boy does not respond well to criticism or threat, and to date no reward systems have been productive. In addition, the boy can be very manipulative and cheeky, showing surprising bravado that, due to his own fragility, he is unable to handle when it is reciprocated. The best outcomes so far have been in circumstances where he respects his teachers, where he wants to please them and earn praise from someone whose opinion matters to him. To be successful in this role it will be essential for the Tutor to accomplish this balance of being both sensitive and thick-skinned to stay in the post when it gets so unpleasant that many people would walk away. It will take time to establish the kind of relationship where these unwanted behaviours can be peeled away, but it will not be possible unless the Tutor is determined to weather the short and medium term storms.

The boy will need the most help with his core subjects of English and Maths and the subjects these affect. He likes History and Science, but really struggles in exams and any kind of timed tests. In addition to working directly with the boy, the Tutor will need to liaise closely with the school, to find out what class work is coming and so be in a position to prepare the boy in advance, if the school thinks it appropriate. It is also possible that the role will evolve and that the Tutor may be asked to take on a greater level of involvement, such as to provide cover or as a teaching assistant.

The Tutor should expect to work with the boy around 8 hours per week during the first year. The exact times are not yet known and will only be fixed once term has started and the timetables are completed. Given the usual structure of the day in boarding schools, it is likely to be two hours, 4 days a week, in the early evenings.

The Client will be responsible for all costs relating to the Tutor's travel to and from work from distances not exceeding 30 miles. If this involves driving, the Tutor will be reimbursed at 40p per mile, and parking charges (not penalties) will be covered. If travel involves public transport the Client will reimburse the Tutor for a season ticket covering the requisite London zones.

No accommodation is provided for the position.

The Tutor should be a non-smoker.