If there’s one challenge that brings both excitement and uncertainty, it’s becoming a school tutor. This role involves great responsibility, as you must guide your group and become a support throughout the school year.

If you’re taking on this role next year, you’re probably experiencing many emotions, especially because there aren’t clear instructions on what exactly a school tutor should do. Since at Additio App we want to support you in this new stage, we’re bringing you 5 practical keys to help you start your new role on the right foot 😉

If you’re interested in learning more about different aspects that can help with your tutoring, don’t miss these other blog articles:

• Gifted students: common mistakes in supporting them (and how to avoid them)
• Intrapersonal intelligence in the classroom: strategies to develop it
• Benefits of reading in children and young people: a guide for educators

The role of the school tutor

The school tutor is an essential figure in every educational stage, from early childhood to high school. Their role goes far beyond academic management: they accompany the student in their personal, emotional, and social development.

Thanks to their work, a safe and close educational environment is created where each student can feel seen, understood, and supported. The tutor not only guides learning but also listens, detects needs, and acts as a positive role model.

They also foster good classroom coexistence, prevent conflicts, and contribute to improving school well-being. When this role is carried out with commitment and empathy, its impact on the group’s well-being is clear.

Being a tutor doesn’t come with a manual. However, the experience of many other tutors allows us to identify some key strategies to help you start the next school year off on the right foot in your role as school tutor.

5 keys to start your role as school tutor on the right foot

As we’ve seen, being a school tutor can be an exciting experience, but also one full of challenges. That’s why we’re sharing a few key tips to help you lay a solid foundation for your tutoring work and strengthen your bond with your group.

Key 1: Centralize all relevant group information

From day one, it’s important that you have all the group’s information in one place. Keeping things scattered will create stress and increase the risk of errors.

So it’s essential to have all group information (preferably digitally) in one place—both general and individual information about each student (observations, incidents…). This will make it easier to retrieve information and make decisions. Plus, you’ll be able to share information with families more quickly and effectively.

Tip: With Additio App, you can centralize all this information using the group notes section. You can organize notes by folders and write them for the whole group or for specific students.

Additionally, with the Calendar and Meeting Room sections (available in the Economic and Administrative Management module), families can easily request personalized meetings and book a room to carry them out.

Key 2: Involve families

Families should not only be part of students’ academic development—they must be. That’s why it’s important to use your tutor role to also involve families.

How can you do that? There are many ways. Here are some examples:

• As mentioned earlier, use the calendar to offer personalized meetings with families and their children. If you have all the info and notes in one place, guiding these sessions will be very easy.
• Send regular, preferably qualitative reports about students’ development. Families will appreciate having updates on how their children are doing without having to wait until the end of the term.
• Build closeness and trust through constant, real-time communication. With tools like Edvoice, you can create specific tutor communication channels to share all kinds of useful information with families. This could include photos of class projects, resources to continue learning at home, etc.

Key 3: Take time to really get to know the group

It’s essential to build an authentic bond from the start and ensure your students feel part of a cohesive group. To do that, before applying strategies and methods in your tutoring sessions, take the time to really get to know your group and each individual student.

What does it mean to know them well? It means understanding group dynamics, identifying each student’s specific needs, and listening to/observing them. All of this creates a climate of trust that will help learning flow.

Tip: Use Additio App’s digital gradebook to record any kind of observation during tutoring sessions—whether personal notes, interests, challenges, achievements…

Key 4: Support students’ emotional development (individually and as a group)

A crucial part of your role as tutor is to care not only for students’ academic development, but also their emotional growth. In fact, both are connected, as the classroom’s emotional climate directly affects learning.

So you must always stay aware of your students’ moods, group dynamics, and any potential conflicts that arise. This will help you apply preventive strategies when necessary.

Key 5: Use inspiring and motivating methodologies

Introducing inspiring and motivating activities will create a positive classroom environment and strengthen group connection. As a tutor, you have the opportunity to go beyond academics by using dynamics that promote participation, collaboration, and creativity.

Here are some activities and methodologies you can include in your tutoring sessions:

• Gamified activities: Whether they’re cooperative games, reward-based dynamics, or any other type of gamification, using them will help improve coexistence and boost motivation.
• Quizzes: Using interactive quizzes allows you to review classroom concepts or gather feedback on the group’s mood. With Additio App, you can create and share fully customizable quizzes —give it a try!
• Emotional reflection dynamics: To promote your students’ emotional development, you can use activities like “the emotion wheel” or “the gratitude journal,” among many others. You can even create your own!

3 mistakes to avoid in your role as school tutor

Now that we’ve looked at the keys to success in your tutor role, let’s review three common mistakes you should avoid:

1. Not personalizing your approach with students: It’s essential to connect with them and ensure they feel that tutoring time is a safe space where they are heard.
2. Using multiple, disconnected tools: This will waste your time and make it harder to access each student’s information.
3. Focusing only on conflicts: It’s important to intervene when there’s a conflict, but also to promote and reinforce what’s working well. Celebrate your students’ achievements.

What excites you most about being a school tutor?

With these keys we’ve shared, no group will be too much for you. Tell us: what excites you most about being a school tutor? We’re reading your comments on our social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

Remember that with Additio App, you can carry out competence-based assessment, placing students at the center of learning, keeping them informed of their progress and helping them identify areas for improvement and strengths.

Over 150 features are here to support you in improving your teaching and your students’ learning. Sign up and boost your teaching!

We wish you lots of success in your new role!