My daughter passed the 11+, but once she started Year 7 at our local grammar school, she began to struggle significantly with Maths and her confidence dropped. We were fortunate to find Shivali, who has been an exceptional tutor.
Shivali has a wonderful ability to explain mathematical concepts clearly and patiently, breaking down difficult topics into manageable steps that my daughter could easily understand. Her teaching style helped rebuild my daughter's confidence and develop a much stronger understanding of the subject.
Thanks to her support, hard work, and encouragement, my daughter has made remarkable progress and has now moved into the top Maths set. We are absolutely delighted with her progress.
I would highly recommend Shivali to any parent looking for a supportive Maths tutor. She has made a real difference to my daughter's academic success and confidence.
How to Choose the Right Maths Tutor for Your Child
GCSE and A Level Maths grades matter more than almost any other subject on a school report. They're a gateway requirement for most university courses, many apprenticeships, and countless career paths your child hasn't even considered yet. So it's worth pausing before choosing who gets to help shape that outcome, rather than picking the first name that comes up in a local parents' group.
Here's what's genuinely worth thinking about.
Why a Qualified Teacher Makes a Real Difference
Anyone can call themselves a Maths tutor. There's no legal requirement to hold any qualification at all to advertise tutoring services in the UK, which means the title alone tells you very little.
A qualified teacher (holding QTS, Qualified Teacher Status) has been through a genuinely rigorous, structured training process for a specific purpose: learning how to teach, not just how to do maths themselves. Those are two different skills, and the gap between them is exactly where a lot of well-meaning but ineffective tutoring falls short.
Teacher training involves real, supervised classroom experience working with a full range of students, not just the naturally strong ones. It means learning how to explain the same concept three or four different ways until one actually lands, how to spot a misunderstanding before it becomes a bigger gap, and how to work with students who have different learning needs, different paces, and different levels of confidence. That's a skill built through structured training and practice, not something that comes automatically from being good at maths yourself.
Qualified teachers are also required to keep up with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) throughout their careers. Curriculums change. Exam board specifications get updated. Grade boundaries and mark schemes shift. A tutor who trained years ago and hasn't kept up with current CPD may be teaching methods or content that no longer matches what your child is actually being examined on.
The Tutoring Industry Is Unregulated. Here's What That Means for You
This is worth being direct about: private tutoring in the UK is not a regulated profession. There's no governing body checking qualifications, no mandatory register, and no requirement for a DBS check unless a tutor chooses to obtain one voluntarily. Anyone can set up a tutoring website, price themselves competitively, and start teaching your child tomorrow, regardless of experience or training.
That doesn't mean every unqualified tutor is a poor choice. Many undergraduate students and subject enthusiasts do a genuinely good job, particularly for straightforward content support. But it does mean the responsibility for due diligence sits entirely with parents, and it's worth taking that seriously rather than assuming a professional-looking website or a good sales pitch is enough. You may also be wondering whether small group or 1:1 tuition is the better choice, then read this Group vs One-to-One Maths Tuition
Questions Worth Asking Before You Commit
Are they DBS checked, and can they show you the certificate? This is basic safeguarding, and any legitimate tutor working with children should have an Enhanced DBS certificate they're happy to show you.
What's their actual teaching qualification, if any? QTS, PGCE, or a formal teaching background is a meaningful signal, though genuine subject expertise and a strong track record can also be valuable even without a formal teaching qualification. The key is knowing exactly what you're getting, rather than assuming.
Do they know the specific exam board your child is sitting? Edexcel, AQA, OCR and IGCSE all differ in question style and mark schemes. A tutor who isn't familiar with your child's specific board is working with less precision than they could be.
Can they point to real outcomes? Testimonials, reviews, or specific examples of grade improvement are reasonable to ask for, and a tutor confident in their results should be happy to share them.
How do they structure lessons and track progress? A vague answer here is worth noting. A tutor with a genuine, considered approach should be able to explain how they assess a student, how they plan lessons around gaps, and how they'll keep you informed of progress.
What happens in a first session? Is there a trial or consultation, or are you expected to commit to a block of lessons immediately? A tutor confident in their own value usually has no problem offering a low-commitment way to start. For some students, confidence can be a bigger barrier than ability, worth reading this Helping Teenagers with Maths Anxiety
Qualifications Are a Strong Signal, Not the Whole Story
None of this is to say an unqualified tutor can never be the right fit, or that a qualified teacher is automatically the best choice for every student. Fit matters too: how a tutor communicates, whether your child feels comfortable asking questions, whether the pace suits them. But qualifications, DBS checks, exam board knowledge and CPD are the foundation that everything else sits on top of, and in an unregulated industry, they're some of the only objective things you can actually verify before trusting someone with your child's education. Many parents don't realise their child has underlying knowledge gaps until much later 5 Signs Your Child Has Hidden Maths Gaps
Given how much weight GCSE and A Level Maths grades carry for university offers and apprenticeship applications, it's worth spending the extra half hour checking these things properly, rather than working backwards from a disappointing set of results.
Want to talk through what your child specifically needs before committing to anything?
And we'll figure it out together, no pressure either way.
About the Author
Shivali Johri is a qualified Maths teacher (QTS), former accountant, and founder of Shivali Maths Hub. Combining her expertise in education and finance, she provides GCSE Maths tuition, A Level Maths tuition, GCSE Maths masterclasses, and Financial literacy workshops across Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, and Kent, as well as online worldwide.