I am a firm believer that Education is a partnership between the school, parents and the child. As a teacher, I saw that children and teenagers whose parents were involved in their education generally have better outcomes. I don’t necessarily mean the top grades but those supported children are more likely to reach their potential when everyone works together. I also don’t believe that any parents want their child to do badly, but many may not know how they can help. One way is by supporting your child with tutor and over the years both Chloe and Dylan have had tutors at some point. Erin has just been completing a matr review which is an online Maths tutor.
When I was asked to if Erin would like to try Matr I knew that she would love to give it a go. Erin loves learning, she is an academic child who is excelling at school and she likes a challenge. Therefore, I knew that we would be able to give an honest matr review. matr is an online maths tutor for children aged 7-11 and the programme is personalised to their level. Prior to the first session, Erin took a short ‘test’ to establish her Maths needs; there are three levels and Erin was placed in the challenging programme, which is what I expected from her based on her class performance. Whether your child needs a confidence boost, some extra support, or is looking to be challenged and extended: Matr have it covered. The child will have the same tutor in order for them to build up a relationship and keep the continuity that is important for an online Maths tutor.
Erin has now had two lessons and has really enjoyed them. The first lesson was on ‘place value up to 1 million’. The first couple of minutes of the lesson helped to ensure that Erin was confident using the tools and that she knew how to communicate with the online Maths tutor. Then she was asked to read the question aloud and show that she understood the objective. Erin quickly relaxed into the session and was chatting away and answering the Maths problems. As the lesson progressed, I could see Erin was enjoying it as she had a grin across her face. She was loving the opportunity to do Maths with a subject specialist who was praising and encouraging her. When Erin did need support it was given in a gentle way that included giving her the chance to edit her work and the online Maths tutor was able to add smiley faces and stickers to the screen to motivate and encourage Erin.
The session whizzed by and I kept popping into the dining room where Erin was working to see how she was getting on, whilst I cooked dinner. Every time I got a smile and a thumbs up whilst she carried on working.
Towards the end of the lesson, the online Maths tutor gave Erin a short plenary where I could hear her asking Erin what she had learned during the session. Once Erin had finished, she did a little independent task to demonstrate her understanding of the topic area. Finally, after the session, I asked Erin for her honest thoughts for the matr review and she confirmed what I had seen! Erin had really enjoyed the online Maths tutoring and is keen to continue. When I pushed her on what she liked, she said it was talking about it one to one. This helped her realise that she can do challenging Maths and extend what she has learned in the classroom. I know Erin is academic and it is great to see her being able to push on and explore Maths in a one to one setting. As her mum, I am not confident in teaching or challenging her mathematically. They seem to use different methods to how I was taught, and I worry that I would confuse her more than extend her understanding when I try to help her with maths at home. I am confident with English and the Humanities but I am never sure how to support Maths and now matr have this covered for me.
The matr programme has a few different payment options from £9.25 a week and currently, there is a back to school promotion where you can get your money back if you are not satisfied. Erin is already asking when her next lesson is and she can’t wait to see what she will be doing because she is keen to get ahead. So whether your child needs a boost or is looking for a challenge do pop over to matr and discover just how you can support your child in Maths.
