Pros
The school I was placed in was great. Friendly staff and I enjoyed working there. They treated me as part of the team. Gain a lot of useful experience in teaching, such as communication, independence, assertiveness. Good for those considering teaching at uni Some of the other tutors are great to work with Excellent improvement director, though has since moved on
Cons
Poor pay, just above minimum wage. You will be given tough tasks often, doesn’t seem worth the money. Shocking 4 month notice period makes leaving unnecessarily difficult. Additional fees for not honouring it can be enforced for breaking it if you agree. Conflicts with the idea of the job being a gap year experience Lack of support from management - teams are far too big, stretching across regions, and managers are given a tough role considering they aren’t super experienced in this type of management. However, I still thought I could have been contacted more often, and supported better when I raised a concern. Lack of communication with schools - my key contact who I saw briefly once a month gave negative feedback to HR when asked. However, teachers I was working closely with weekly had given me feedback in person genuinely, for improving and being helpful to some students. I tried to explain this yet the initial feedback was taken as gospel. Created a very confusing image of my work and I felt demotivated. I was also told to be added to a rota for supporting vulnerable students that I wasn’t suited for. This caused more hassle for myself and the school, as I had to call the school’s coordinator myself and ask to be put on the rota. Trying hard and doing well seems to be taken advantage of. Feels like you’re expected to do more work and get other tutors to try harder which shouldn’t be your responsibility. Strange attitude to mental health issues - one of the management made an offhand ‘joke’ at induction about slitting wrists. Didn’t sit right with me and made me not take mental health support there seriously.