Study skills and executive function support in one-to-one tuition means a tutor building short, structured routines for planning, organising and starting schoolwork, using tools such as planners, checklists and repeated practice. Executive function is a term used in education and psychology, and the NHS and the SEND Code of Practice describe the same everyday difficulties as trouble planning and organising schoolwork, forgetting everyday tasks and difficulties with attention. Sessions run online or in person in central London, and the routines carry into GCSE revision.
What do planning, organisation, starting tasks and keeping track mean in schoolwork?
In schoolwork, planning means working out what a task involves and the order to do it in, organisation means keeping materials and deadlines in a usable state, starting a task means beginning it once it is set, and keeping track means remembering what has been set and what is finished. The NHS names trouble planning and organising schoolwork, and difficulty remembering the order of things, among the signs listed for dyslexia in children.
The NHS ADHD page describes inattentive symptoms such as being easily distracted, struggling to follow instructions and forgetting everyday tasks, and says ADHD can affect attention, energy levels and impulse control. For a parent, these descriptions translate into the questions a tutor looks at: how a task is begun, how instructions are followed in order and how what has been set is remembered.
Is executive function a diagnosis, and do the official pages define it?
Executive function is a term used in education and psychology, not a diagnosis, and the NHS pages and the SEND Code of Practice do not define it, so the Code's own headings are the guide to how needs are described. The Code, statutory guidance for England from the DfE and DHSC, groups needs into four broad areas: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, and sensory and/or physical.
The Code says the purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, and that children often have needs that cut across areas and change over time. A parent can use that framing by describing what the child finds hard in specific terms, such as starting homework or keeping track of what has been set, and bringing that description to the school and the tutor.
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Enquire about this tutorHow does a one-to-one tutor build study routines?
A tutor builds study routines by breaking tasks into short slots and giving simple instructions one at a time, two adjustments the NHS ADHD page lists as helpful. Around those, the tutor sets up tools the child can use between sessions, and the child's own schoolwork gives them something real to practise on. The tools below tend to form the core of a routine.
- To-do lists that set out each task in order
- A planner that records what is set and when it is due
- Checklists that break a task into its steps
- Review and repetition of earlier material
- Retrieval practice, in which the child recalls material before checking it
- Assistive technology such as text-to-speech, which is listed under study skills for dyslexia alongside note-taking and memory strategies
How does study skills tuition differ from subject teaching?
Study skills tuition concentrates on the skills a child's needs make harder in a busy classroom, taught in shorter steps with more practice and review, whereas subject teaching centres on the content of a topic. The focus is organisation, planning and revision routines for children whose needs affect attention or working memory. Sessions are one-to-one, paced and structured around how the child learns, which gives the child more time with one adult on the skills school support has identified.
How do planning and organisation link to dyslexia, ADHD and autism?
Planning and organisation come up across several conditions, and the guides on dyslexia, ADHD and autism cover each in more detail. For a child with dyslexia, the NHS lists visual aids or technology and one-to-one sessions among the support available, and the Code places dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia within specific learning difficulties, which affect one or more specific aspects of learning. The NHS DCD page adds that difficulties in school, particularly producing written work, can become more prominent.
The Code lists attention deficit disorder and ADHD among the disorders children may have under social, emotional and mental health, an area that also names anxiety and depression among possible underlying difficulties. For an autistic child, the Code says children with ASD are likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction and may also experience difficulties with language, communication and imagination.
How does a tutor fit with the school's SEN support?
A tutor fits with the school's SEN support, which follows a four-part cycle of assess, plan, do and review, and runs alongside the support the school already provides and any specialist or health input. The Code says schools may involve specialists at any point in that cycle. Parents should be fully aware of the planned support, and schools talk to parents regularly and should include the pupil's views.
A tutor carries the strategies in an SEN support plan or EHC plan into weekly practice, so a practical first step is asking the school which strategies are in place. The NHS says the SENCO can advise on classroom and homework support, which makes the SENCO a sensible person to ask about homework. Sharing the answers with the tutor lets the weekly sessions practise the same routines the school uses.
How does this carry into GCSE revision?
Revision and exam technique at secondary school are practised with any access arrangements the school has put in place, which lets the planner, checklists and retrieval practice built earlier be applied to GCSE subjects. The same routines of short slots and review give a revision session a shape the child already knows. JCQ access arrangements must reflect the child's normal way of working, and a word processor, supervised rest breaks and a timer on the desk are examples a school can put in place. Practising with the same arrangements in sessions keeps revision close to how the child works day to day.
Are sessions online or in central London?
Sessions are online for families across the UK or in person in central London, and in-person tuition is not available elsewhere. A parent can enquire and receive tutor recommendations for the child's age, subjects and needs. Both formats are one-to-one and paced around how the child learns, so the choice usually follows where the family lives. Stating the preferred format at enquiry keeps the recommendations relevant.
Related guides
- Autism tutors
- ADHD tutors
- SEN tutors
- Dyslexia tutors
- GCSE tutoring
- Catch-up tutoring
- ADHD vs dyslexia
- SEN support plans in England
- ADHD tutoring
- Processing speed and working memory tutoring
- Dyslexia tutoring
- One-to-one or small-group tuition
- How to tell whether tutoring is working
Tutoring with Taylor Tuition
Families who come to us for this stage usually want a tutor who can diagnose where the marks are being lost and then build a steady routine around it, and that is how our programmes are set up. Our tutors are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools.
Sessions run online for families across the UK and internationally, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject. There is no registration fee. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check and families receive progress reports after sessions.
Read more about our exam preparation tutoring, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a tutor diagnose a need or arrange access arrangements?
- No. A tutor cannot diagnose a need, assess a child for access arrangements or set statutory provision. A tutor's contribution is regular, well-paced teaching, so any question about whether a child needs an assessment or an arrangement is one to raise with the school. That boundary applies to online and central London sessions alike.
- What should a parent share with a tutor before sessions start?
- Share the child's strengths as well as the difficulties, since the Code says support should be based on a full understanding of both. Useful items are a list of the access arrangements the school has put in place, anything the school or a specialist has recommended, and what the child says helps. A tutor given that picture can plan each slot around how the child already works.
- What can a parent do at home between sessions?
- The Code says plans should, where appropriate, seek parental involvement to reinforce progress at home. Practical steps are to look over the planner or checklist together, keep the to-do list where the child will see it and, as the NHS ADHD page suggests, offer praise or a reward chart. Asking the tutor which routine is being practised keeps home and sessions consistent.
- Does a tutor take over from the class teacher?
- No. The Code says the class or subject teacher remains responsible for the pupil even where interventions involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the class. For a family adding tuition, classroom questions therefore still go to the school, and the tutor's weekly practice supplements what the school provides.
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