Tim

I've been teaching for 20 years. I plan and deliver Maths and ESOL courses for groups of students. I also provide 1-1 tutoring and mentoring, face-to-face and on-line. I am a native English speaker, and I speak Italian. I have a DBS Enhanced Certificate, and I am registered with the DBS Update Service.

When I plan courses, I combine the demands of the curriculum with individual student needs. I am friendly, patient and flexible, and good at developing students' confidence. I want them to develop an understanding of the subject as well as prepare for exams.

I teach people across a range of different backgrounds, nationalities and age groups, including young learners. I bring a lot of variety to the classroom, as well as traditional types of exercise, to encourage students' interest and independent learning. In both Maths and ESOL classes, I like to see students working together in small groups, collaboratively and communicatively.

I make good use of IT: for example VLE tools such as Zoom and Vedamo, Interactive Whiteboards, videos, and online sources of teaching materials.

I generally get on well with people, and enjoy mixing in all sorts of situations. Partly for this reason, I like travelling, especially in Italy. I like listening to many types of music, from Baroque to Beefheart, and hearing about its history. I also enjoy reading, recreational mathematics, and walking on the South Downs in Sussex.

Tutoring Experience

WORK HISTORY

Class Tutor - Brighton & Hove City Council, Brighton, UK. Oct '21 – now
Planning and delivering Maths and ESOL courses. I teach groups of adults of various nationalities, backgrounds and age groups, many of them asylum-seekers. I teach a range of levels from beginner to advanced, both to very able learners and to those who experience learning difficulties and other barriers.

Private Tutor. Feb ’08 – now
Teaching Mathematics privately to school-age students and to adults: I provide short-term exam preparation or longer-term support, for GCSE and A-level students, face-to-face or on-line. Teaching ESOL/EFL to adults: 1-1 or with small groups, to improve fluency in spoken English, or any aspect of English language.

Remedial Tutor - Action Tutoring, Brighton UK. Jan'21 – Jun'22
Delivering remedial Maths courses to GCSE pupils in state schools, as part of the government's NTP programme. I teach small groups of pupils aged 15 to 17 who need additional catch-up lessons because of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis or other barriers. The courses are quite short and focused on individual pupils' needs, to develop their confidence and get them back on track.

Class Tutor - British Institutes, Napoli, Italy. Sep’18 – Jul'20
Planning and delivering ESOL/EFL courses in a private language school. I taught small groups of adults and youngsters, and I gave personalised 1-1 lessons, from A1 to C1 level. This included preparation for Cambridge, IELTS, ESB and BIEB exams. I delivered several PON projects in middle and secondary state schools in Naples. I taught online during the Covid-19 crisis. I assessed new students when they enrolled.

Class Tutor - British Institutes, Ferrara, Italy. Jan ’16 – Jul ’16, Sep '17 – Jul’18
Planning and delivering ESOL/EFL courses in a private language school. I taught small groups of adults and youngsters, and I gave personalised 1-1 lessons, from A1 to C2 level. This included preparation for Cambridge, IELTS, TOEFL and ESB exams. Also in a nearby High School I taught teenagers general English, and preparation lessons for Cambridge exams.

Class Tutor - Friends Centre, Brighton, UK. Sep ’04 – Aug '17
Planning and delivering Maths and ESOL courses. I managed learners of various nationalities, backgrounds and age groups. I taught a range of levels from beginner to advanced, both to very able learners and to those who experience learning difficulties and other barriers. I assessed new learners when they enrolled. I prepared learners for Pearson/Edexcel exams, and was also an exam assessor in Maths and ESOL.

Class Tutor - Tomorrow’s People, Brighton, UK. Jan ’03 – Dec ’05
Providing Numeracy, Literacy and ESOL classes to adult learners seeking work. I also provided Numeracy, Literacy and IT support to young learners in a nearby trainee hairdressing salon.

Chef - Brighton University, Brighton, UK. 1997 – 2002
Cooking for students and staff in a busy university refectory.

Technical Writer - Unisys, Digital, ICL, Lloyds Bank & other IT organisations. 1981 – 1995
Designing and writing user manuals, printed and on-line, to train and support computer users in various industries such as CAD/CAM, manufacturing, retail and banking. I worked on a wide range of products and produced a wide range of documentation, from practical guides aimed at end-users to technical manuals for application developers and IT departments.

Tutoring Approach

When I plan courses, I combine the demands of the curriculum with individual student needs. I am friendly, patient and flexible, and good at developing students' confidence. I want them to develop an understanding of the subject as well as prepare for exams.