Inside: Explore Learning Review. References to complementary sessions as part of the review.
The last thing you ever want for your child is for them to struggle in school. You want them to be happy, have good friends and to be able to make progress each year. We had noticed that our middle daughter was lacking in confidence in maths and so looked into tutoring to help give her a bit of a boost after the last year or so having disrupted learning.
Explore Learning offers one to one and group tutoring sessions for primary and secondary children, either online or in a tuition centre. Their online platform gives your child 24/7 access to fun activities and resources so they can practice between sessions to build up their confidence even further.
We were given complimentary sessions for Lily over the course of 4 weeks so that we could write this review. We were so impressed by the program and the tutor – I would recommend Explore Learning to anyone looking to support their child’s education and give them confidence to do their school work independently.
Who are Explore Learning?
Explore Learning was founded in 2001 by Bill Mills, a father of 3 who wanted to help parents and children gain access to the benefits of a great education, regardless of means, background, or ability.
The first Explore Learning Centre was opened in Chelmsford and has since grown to over 90 centres in the UK as well as their fantastic online service.
Whether you have in-person sessions at your local centre or an online membership, you will be given access to an online portal called Navigator. From here, your child can access the learning platform, Compass, any time they want so that they can work on their subjects between tutoring sessions.
Long gone are the days or boring private tuition sessions at the dining room table, following dull lesson plans. The Explore Learning program teaches new concepts in a fun way using real life examples and uses easy to understand language, with the tutor there to offer extra help and encouragement as and when they need it.
How does an online session work?
I cannot speak for an in-person session as we only have experience of the online offering. However, I would imagine they are run in a similar way but the children are just face to face with their tutor instead.
The very first time we logged on to a session we were able to meet the tutor and have a run through of the program. We chose to focus on maths but you can also choose to focus on English or do a mix of the two.
The session is broken up into 4 parts (for us this was 4 maths sections) and the child is in control of which session they do first. Once they have clicked on one of the sections they will then be given some options as to which concept they’d like to focus on.
I really like that the child gets to lead the way here as it helps them to feel in control of their learning.
Once they have chosen the type of question they’d like to focus on the questions begin to appear. The child then works their way through that section, guided by their tutor. This is also where the tutor will discuss necessary vocabulary and check understanding.
As the lesson progresses, the tutor is able to give out Fearless points. There are 4 to be given out; Fearless Learner, Overcome challenges, Understand & convince, and Respect. Any time Lily was given a point you could just see the look of pride on her face.
At the end of the session, once all 4 sections are complete, the tutor asks the child what they think went well and whether there was anything they feel like they need more practice on. It is a nice opportunity to celebrate all that the child has achieved so far.
Tailoring the work to the child
Children learn in different ways and this is why tutoring can be so beneficial. When a child is part of a class of 30 children, the teacher has to focus on the majority. This can often lead to children being left behind and feeling like they can’t do something.
Sometimes, you just need to have someone sit down and explain a concept in a new way for it to click into place. Suddenly something that seemed like such hard work, makes so much more sense.
Explore Learning have developed their own digital tool called Compass, which takes the child through various concepts step by step, gradually increasing the difficulty and learning level.
The program is able to measure a child’s progress and adjust the content of each session to match their ability.
Lily started off doing quite basic questions as her ability and confidence was quite low. Within 4 weeks she had improved beyond all expectation and the questions being delivered were much harder but appropriate for the level she was working towards.
Fun learning tools
Maths can be such a rigid subject and yet the program they use to deliver it makes it enjoyable and inviting to the children.
Lily doesn’t enjoy maths, partly because of her lack of confidence but mostly because she is a creative type. However, she has thoroughly enjoyed using Compass on her own outside of her tutoring sessions.
Children are able to create a character that looks a little like them which is a nice touch and the whole appearance of the platform is child-friendly and fun to use.
Each question uses easy to understand language and when they log into their account in their free time the question is read aloud to them.
Some questions are simple ‘calculate this answer mentally‘ problems but on the whole the questions use visual aids and practical exercises to help children to understand the problem they are trying to solve.
Each time they get a question right they get a big green tick telling them they have done a good job. If they should get it wrong then it will give them some extra help and allow them to go back and answer again.
They also get a big star appear on the screen once they have mastered a new skill. And those skills are shown on their homepage so they can see how far they have come in their learning journey.
Of course, when they are using the learning tools during their tutoring session then they also have their tutor there to support them, to guide them over any stumbling blocks, and explain anything they don’t quite understand.
Something I really like about Explore Learning, is that during tutoring sessions the tutor is able to bring up a whiteboard function so they can annotate the question or write it out a different way. It just helps bridge the gap faced when doing learning remotely in this way.
What else is included?
As well as your tutoring sessions and access to the learning tools, you also get a few extras that can be found within your Navigator portal.
There are some pre-recorded virtual lessons to watch with the option to watch along live when they are scheduled in.
Under the Activities tab they can discover some printables to download and print off – great for getting them putting pencil to paper. You can also find practice SATs papers and video lessons to support different areas of learning.
Parent Profile
As the parent, you also have a profile on the Navigator portal. From here you are able to access your account settings and booking schedule to make any necessary changes.
You also have access to your child’s progress reports so you can see what they have covered so far and what concepts are coming up.
What packages are available?
There are a few packages to choose from, depending on your budget and child’s needs.
Group sessions: Weekly sessions, where one tutor supports 3 children with their individual work.
One to one sessions: Weekly sessions with one to one support for your child.
Bespoke package: Tailor for your needs with additional sessions, in-person tutoring as well as online sessions where needed. Design your package to suit you and your child.
Within the main packages you also have options for either one or two sessions a week and you can specify whether you need English, maths, or both with tutors available for KS1 through to KS3.
There are also tutoring options available for the 11 plus exam, SATs, phonics, and maths GCSE exam preparation.
For pricing, please visit Explorelearning.co.uk
It is worth noting that if you have a centre local to you, you are able to use childcare vouchers as part of your payment.
In summary
We had access to 4 sessions with a tutor as well as unlimited access to the portal during that time.
Over the past year or so, I have noticed that Lily had become more and more anxious about her maths abilities. After missing large chunks of key years at primary school, she had missed out on key concepts and the chance to learn them at a slower rate.
Now in year 4, she’d fallen behind and I didn’t know how to help her. But, in just a short time, her tutor Hannah was able to show her that she can do it – that she is good at maths after all.
All it takes is for someone to explain a concept in a slightly different way, to allow a child the time they need with no pressure, to be able to nurture their skills and understanding.
In 4 weeks Lily has gone from being unable to do simple sums without the use of counting apparatus, to being able to do age-appropriate sums in her head. But more than that, her confidence has grown beyond all measure. For the first time in a very long time, she has a smile on her face when she is doing maths.
If your child needs a boost in Maths or English, or you think they might benefit from some extra help in preparation for SATs or any other exam, then I cannot recommend Explore Learning enough.
Find out more at explorelearning.co.uk