The focus of the tutoring role is on a 6 year old boy who will be 7 in March 2013. He is the middle child of three boys from an English family that have been living in Canada for the last four years. He has been solely educated in the Canadian schools system. The family are moving back to London in the summer of 2013. The eldest boy has been accepted to an excellent school, but unfortunately the middle child did not score well enough in the admission test in October 2012 to guarantee him a place. The school has indicated that they are willing to reconsider the boy if he does well enough at a reassessment in April 2013 and so the family have, sensibly, opted for a period of intensive homeschooling from January 2013 until the end of June 2013.

The middle child is a lovely, bright boy. He is engaging, willing, and has excellent reports from school. Although there is no question that the results of his October test at the prospective English school were disappointing, it is most likely that any apparent deficits have not arisen from any lack of ability but instead from differences in the school systems and from the different timings of the school year in the two countries. In England, and especially London, the top private schools are much more advanced in terms of the standards expected in children of his age compared with the equivalent stage in Canada, and this has certainly put him at a disadvantage when compared with his peers in London. For example, while the local schools are not yet expected to be secure with number bonds up to 10, the London schools expect number bonds up to 20 to be sound by now. Likewise with spellings — the expectations in London are significantly higher than those in Canada.

The boy has no learning difficulties. Like many children his age there are some indicators for dyslexia, but since there are no sequencing or short-term memory issues, it is more likely that b, d and 2, 3, 5 reversals are the result of immaturity and insufficient practice than a sign of anything else. The Canadian school system has clearly not taught him or his brothers any ‘rules’ for writing letters and numbers. Although he occasionally falters over trigger words when he reads, he is clearly trying to scan ahead and to apply previous experience and the intonation imbued from punctuation. In Maths, he is reasonably secure on his 2, 5, and 10 times tables, but the school in London requires him to be secure in everything up to 12x, and while he can apply grouping rules when doing sums, these are inconsistent and the results can be variable. With appropriate intensive tuition, there is no reason at all why he should not be able to impress the English school in April and be offered a place there with his older brother.

The oldest boy is a bright and amiable young man who has recently discovered a love of learning. He is a keen reader, and at the time of writing this Specification he was well on his way to finishing The Chronicles of Narnia. The youngest boy shows early signs of being a very capable child. He is quite big for his age, has an excellent vocabulary, is dextrous, gregarious and thoughtful. The boys all get on well with one another, with occasional disputes like in any family. The boys all like to play outdoors and are always busy, and the middle boy likes to play both with his brother and on his own. The family, and all three boys, love to ski, and it would be a bonus if the Tutor were able to join the family in this pursuit locally.

From the start of term in January 2013, the middle boy will be homeschooled full-time for the remainder of the (Canadian) school year.

The Tutor will need to start by determining precisely where the boy is currently with his schoolwork and then map out a program of study that ensures that he has reached the required standard for the supplementary re-assessment by the English school in April 2013. This will require developing a timetable, in conjunction with his parents, that allows for progress through the bridging material while at the same time does not exhaust the young man. It is likely that he has never needed to work as hard as he will need to, and so it is important that the Tutor not start out too hard at first, but rather that the rate of progress builds steadily over the time available.

It is expected that the timetable will generally follow the current school day, starting at 8.30am and finishing around 3pm. At the moment he does not get much homework, and with a full day of tutoring this should not be necessary. It will be expected, though, that the Tutor provide his parents with materials that they can work on together, such as spellings or times tables. The Tutor’s hours with him and his brothers will likely average no more than 40 per week.

A room will be set aside by the Client to be used at the schoolroom in the basement of the family’s home The classroom will have Internet and plenty of wall space. The Tutor will need to advise on the acquisition of teaching equipment, such as a whiteboard and teaching materials, prior to arrival where possible or soon after starting.

Although the majority of the Tutor’s attention should be given to the middle child, it is hoped that he or she will be able to spend some time with the other two brothers as well. Although the oldest boy is consistently the best in his class, there will likely be higher expectations at the English school, and if the Tutor were able foresee and fill and such gaps that would be immensely helpful. For example, his writing is far less fluent than is ideal at this stage, especially as the school in England will expect a good level of cursive, and his maths is sometimes hampered by untidiness with setting out sums and writing numbers. The youngest boy will certainly benefit from extra practice with writing his name and recognising and sounding out letters and numbers.

The children all respond well to rewards systems and it could be that the Tutor works with the family to help ensure that a consistent plan is in place, as well as developing his or her own to encourage the middle boy in particular.

At the time of writing this, the family were considering whether to make applications for the middle boy to two other schools in London. These schools, and the dates of their assessments (in February) will be confirmed after the Tutor has been appointed and preparation for them will form part of the initial tutoring assignment.

This is a full time job, working one on one with the middle boy for up to six hours per day Monday to Friday. After his April assessment, or during some of the children’s school vacations, there may be an adjustment to the working days to allow the Tutor to spend more time with his brothers on, say, Saturday mornings.

On a 6-month contract the Tutor is entitled to a minimum of 20 working days paid vacation per annum as per the Terms. These will normally be taken at times convenient to the Client, and will likely follow a similar pattern to standard school vacations. Any untaken vacation allowance will be compensated by payment in lieu at the prevailing rate.

The Client will give the Tutor access to a car as required for their work and for general use by the Tutor. This vehicle will be available for use by the Tutor’s partner or spouse but only for journeys no further afield than Toronto. If the Tutor, or his or her partner, wishes to drive further afield then they will need to rent a car at their own expense unless the Client gives their prior written approval.

If the Tutor is asked to accompany the family on any travel away from Oakville, and all expenses this incurs will be met by the family. If they do travel, the family will cover the Tutor only and the Client will not normally be responsible for the accommodation of the Tutor’s partner or spouse, nor for his/her travel.

A furnished apartment with Internet, separate from the family’s home (which may be suitable for a couple) will be provided in Oakville.

The family will provide, or reimburse the Tutor, for all meals that occur during tutoring time.

The Tutor should be a non-smoker and hold a clean driving license. He/she should lead a healthy lifestyle and be in good physical shape. Ideally the Tutor should also be a keen skier.