Margaret helps Learning Club tutors to bring out our students’ best

With decades of experience as a teacher and teacher trainer, Margaret was keen to become a volunteer tutor. She signed up for one of our Learning Clubs, a safe and supportive environment outside of school where volunteers help students with homework and skill development.  When the need arose, Margaret stepped up to running her local club. And she brought more to the role than we could have imagined.

“I emphasised to the tutors that they're really quite different from teachers. We don't have to teach the children anything new. What we need to do is support them in what they're already learning in school,” said Margaret.

Due to her background, Margaret realised she could help other volunteer tutors. So working with The Smith Family, she developed a workshop to equip tutors with practical skills to support students’ learning.

“I went through a few things with the tutors as to how maths is being taught. It is good to have a bit of background and some concrete examples of how you can tackle difficulties,” said Margaret.

“Then I taught them about what skills are involved in learning to read -  some kids come in struggling to get the words off the page, and others can read but might not really be taking in the meaning.”

The training Margaret has performed has really helped tutors be more confident supporting students in Learning Club and is helping students to shine. Now we are looking to share this training with our other clubs across Australia.

“I was talking to one of the dads and he said, ‘Learning Club is really helping my daughter. She was so impatient before. Now she knows how to sit down and tackle her homework.’ Previously she would just give up in a frustrated, bull-at-a-gate kind of a way,” said Margaret.

“The fact that a kid can go home and know how to approach their homework is great. Those little steps can make a big difference in setting the foundations for future learning.

“It is important for the children to gain confidence from confident tutors. I'm sure there are more workshops waiting to be written.”