Lucy - Banbury tutor





Lucy's profile picture

Information About Lucy:


Personal Description:

Hello, my name is Lucy- I am a specialist SEND tutor and I am particularly passionate about guiding young people, who have been or are disengaged by school, through their maths and English GCSEs to help them achieve a grade 4 on their first attempt. However, I also support young people at KS1/2/3.

One of my strengths is flexibility and adapting my approach to each individual young person. My sessions can be very different depending on who I am working with, but the common starting point is always building a trusting relationship. I spend time getting to know the young person as an individual - their interests, strengths, communication style, motivations and what helps them to feel safe and comfortable. Some young people are ready to quickly embark on 'traditional' learning, while others may need a little longer to build the trust.

As a parent, I understand the challenges young people face in their learning and that school, for many, is not an easy environment for learning and embedding skills, particularly if a young person has difficulty with processing and working memory. My own son has had these difficulties so I very much come at it from an angle of lived experience which can be hugely helpful for the families I support.



Teaching Experience:

I have many years experience working as an EYFS, KS1, KS2 teacher in London and Oxfordshire and more recently a SEND teacher in a special school teaching young people up to the age of 16. I have also taught French and bilingual students (up to the age of 17) at the British Council in Paris and have taught in the American elementary school system.

For the last two years I have been working as a 1:1 tutor for young people who are not accessing education- either on an EOTAS package or receiving alternative provision or EHE. I am highly experienced supporting young people with a wide range of special educational needs, including autism (ASC), demand avoidant profiles, ADHD, SEMH, dyslexia and associated communication, learning, sensory and emotional needs.



Tutoring Approach:

I keep sessions low demand, particularly where a young person has experienced anxiety or disengagement from education or who has a demand avoidant profile. I give the young person choice and control within a wider structure guided by me; for example they may choose the order of our learning from a selection of activities including some that are simply fun/movement.

I often use strategies such as 'body doubling' to support with a concept that a student may feel is too challenging and would otherwise not want to attempt. Also lots of modelling to give the student confidence in tackling a more challenging question or problem. Sometimes, a young people learns best doing 'their thing' while I do 'my thing'- the pressure is removed and very often the young person is intrigued enough to see what I am up to.

My experience has shown me that there is no single approach that works for all young people with SEND. I adapt my teaching to the individual, recognising their strengths and barriers to learning and I believe that this is what I am particularly good at. Throughout my teaching career my philosophy, closely linked to the Polyvagal theory has been simple 'A happy learner makes a good learner'. And this is what I aim for with every young person that I support, in every session.



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Qualifications:

  • B.Ed Hons- Cambridge University
  • Safeguarding level 2
  • Adaptive Teaching
  • Paediatric First Aid

Further Information:

Availability:  Weekdays (all times)
Types of Tutoring:   Travels to you / Online
References Supplied?   Yes
Current DBS/CRB Check?   Yes
Additional Languages Spoken:   French