- At Step Ahead, we see the power of one-to-one in maths tuition whereby we encourage children and adults and help to increase their confidence.
- We help children and adults feel motivated to learn and develop a passion for study.
- We see children and adults discover a genuine love of learning, possibly for the first time in their lives.
- Step Ahead maths tutors provide individualised teaching tailored to the client’s specific needs. Put simply this means one tutor working with one client on a one to one basis – working at their speed and in a subject like mathematics.
As is explained in detail on our web-site under “The Step Ahead Journey” – “Assessments,” it is our intention to ensure a tailored, effective maths study plan is implemented from the outset – saving you time and money in the long term – carried out by the most suitable maths tutor for your child.
Step Ahead aims to follow up assessments by making available the most appropriate maths tutor within 24 hours.
This ensures that students can achieve outstanding results – as evidenced by testimonials, emails and messages from hundreds of delighted clients!
At Step Ahead, we are committed to inspiring academic excellence, confidence and happiness in our students. We find that through focused, caring and highly skilled teaching we are able to unlock the unique talent, enthusiasm and potential that is in every student.
Each individual tutee works at an appropriate level based on her/his current attainment.
Many tutees will be gearing up for examinations, whether for independent school entrance, or at national levels (eg National or Higher Grades), or for adult or student career advancement. Others, often young pupils, will be focusing on specific aspects of the curriculum.
What Maths Tuition Involves
Mathematics should be one of the most useful subjects children learn in school – yet thousands leave school each year unable to use simple mathematical methods. Worse, they are traumatised by their experiences in maths classes. This results in many adults being left vulnerable, not only to financial ruin, but in any situation involving mathematical thinking or reasoning.
It should be the right of all children to be given a basic but sound numerical and mathematical knowledge and understanding. Yet thousands of students actually fear or hate maths.
Children also suffer because they come to believe that maths achievement equals intelligence, and to fail at maths is a sign of being stupid. This idea serves to erode children’s confidence in their ability to think, and it is the reason so many children feel traumatised when they don’t do well in maths.
There is a pervasive view in the UK that only some children can do well in maths; this is wrong and damaging. It is really important that children know that everyone can be good at maths and everyone can reach high levels.
As in English, maths tuition involves a coherent and structured scheme, backed up by imaginative resource books (such as Teejay) supported by real-life situations eg using money for shopping, or reading bus or train timetables, helping develop and use skills.
In working on improving literacy, numeracy and oracy, there are many ways in which parents can help their children, particularly through encouragement and support.
Negative comments to the youngster do not help; similarly avoiding saying, “I was terrible at maths at school” : research has found that when mothers say this to their daughters (in particular), their achievement goes down.
Maths tuition success can be helped by puzzles and games worked on at home within the family such as sudoku (there are many children’s versions around), snakes and ladders (for early number work), Rubik’s cubes, jigsaws, draughts, chess, dominoes, Connect 4 and any logic puzzles. We encourage parents to not only read to and hear reading, but also to do puzzles with their children.
Below are listed a number of examples of topics at National and Higher Levels :
National Grade Topics
Numbers and Money Order of operations, Basic fractions, Negative whole numbers, Rounding, Percentages, Ratio, Distance, speed and time, Wages, Profit and loss, Hire purchase, Interest, Insurance premiums, Foreign exchange, Fractions, Negative whole numbers, Rounding and estimating, Recognising sequences, Surds, Compound interest and appreciation/depreciation, Index notation, Reverse percentages
Measure and Shape Time calculations, Area, Area and circumference of a circle, Volume, Angle and line facts, Pythagoras, Angles involved with circles, Trigonometry, Equation of a straight line, Converting units, Theorem of Pythagoras (converse), Surface area of composite solids, Similarity, Volume of composite solids, Circles
Trigonometry Sine and cosine rule and area of a triangle, Graphs, Equations
Algebra Removing brackets, Factorising quadratics, Indices, Solving quadratic equations, Solving simple equations
Statistics Semi-interquartile range, Standard deviation, Probability, Mean, mode and median
Relationships Factors and multiples, Simplifying algebraic terms and simple factorisation, Simple equations and inequalities, Formulae, Direct variation, Graphs, charts and tables, Line graphs, Distance and time graphs, Interpreting graphs, Solving inequalities, Box plots, Changing the subject of a formula, Cumulative frequency diagrams, Pie charts and frequency diagrams, Scatter diagrams, Trial and improvement, Variation
Higher Grade Topics
Algebra Functions, Logarithms, Polynomials, Quadratic theory, Recurrence relations
Calculus Differentiation, Integration
Geometry The circle, The straight line, Vectors
Trigonometry Compound and muliple angles, Radians and equations, Wave function