Welcome to Thrive Tutoring
Empowering your child to reach their potential
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A Bit About Me
My name is Claire Blakey and I am the face behind Thrive Tutoring.
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I have been a fully qualified primary school teacher for over twenty five years and have taught across the Primary age range from Nursery to Year six.
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My subject specialism was English but following further training, I became subject lead for Maths. I mentored a number of students and newly qualified teachers.
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My real passion is and always has been getting to know children's interests and learning styles and using that information to help build a bespoke learning experience for them that helps to improve their self esteem and confidence through developing an 'I can' attitude.
I find tutoring gives me the opportunity to really get to know the personality of each individual child.
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I believe that I am friendly and approachable with both parents and students.
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An individualised, bespoke programme of learning for each student.
Encouraging each child to develop a growth mindset.
If you’re searching for a Tutor who can provide your child with the personalised attention they deserve, look no further!
I am a knowledgeable teacher with many years experience and have been offering my services as an online Tutor since March 2020.
Each child has a unique reward system dependent on age and interests, they work towards mystery prizes which they receive through the post or in person.
Personalised Welcome Pack
Each child will receive a personalised welcome pack through the post prior to the commencement of their tutoring sessions. The packs contain everything they require to help make the lessons interactive, they also contain an age appropriate reward system.
Lessons
Each child is unique, they all have their own interests, skills and talents but along with these things many have frustrations, anxieties, misconceptions or gaps in their learning which can mean they are struggling to thrive. I offer a bespoke service to encourage your child not to say "I can't" but to say "I can't yet". I will help to guide them on their journey.
One to One Lessons
I specialise in bespoke one to one lessons to ensure each student achieves their full potential. I take note of their interests and strengths and guide them on their individual journey either online via Zoom or from a designated teaching space in my home near Boston Spa, Yorkshire. I will use different styles to support different types of learner. I believe positivity and encouragement is the best way to build young learners' confidence and self esteem.
Group Lessons
I use group lessons when I have taught the student one to one for at least four weeks and had chance to fully assess where they are at and only if it is appropriate to do so. Usually if a group of students are working at the same level in phonics or are struggling with the same aspect of maths it makes sense to group them together. Group work that tends to be the most popular is the Key Stage 2 SATs revision for English and Maths.
GCSE maths foundation or GCSE English Language.
FAQs
How much do your lessons cost?
Bespoke One to One lessons are between £40.00 and £45.00 Per hour.
£25.00 Per half hour.
Where available small group tuition is £25.00 Per child per hour.
Do you have a specific teaching qualification?
I have a B'Ed (Hons) degree from Lancaster University 1991.
What online platform do you use?
All lessons take place via Zoom and Bitpaper. You will receive a Zoom link prior to your lesson.
Do you hold an Enhanced DBS certificate?
Yes I hold an Enhanced DBS Certificate which is registered with an annual update service. Please ask if you would like to see it.
What ages is your tutoring suitable for?
The majority of my students are between 6 and 14 however if you have a specific requirement and your child is outside this age range, please ask as I may be able to help and if not I will be able to put you in contact with a recommended tutor.
Where do you hold your teaching sessions?
Lessons either take place one to one online or face to face from a designated teaching space
in my home near Boston Spa, West Yorkshire.
Will I receive feedback on my child's progress?
Yes.
You will receive either verbal or written feedback as often as is agreed.
Using practical resources to support fractions.
Drawing a number line to help with a subtraction calculation.
Using dominoes to find numbers that total 10
Looking at the link between fractions and division.
Supporting a child with dyslexia who was confusing the letters b and d.
Following a session using magnetic upper and lower case letters reinforcing by writing them independently.
Numicon is a fantastic resource for learning about odd and even numbers.
Using the game 'Splat' to assess phonic knowledge.
Using partitioning to support finding half of a four digit number.
Testimonials
"We moved to Claire from another local tutor as my daughter just wasn't very confident and didn't feel comfortable but since she's been with Claire she's grown in confidence, she now really looks forward to her tutoring sessions. Claire is very easy to talk to and is a calm influence and L finds it very easy to now explain. If she's struggling with anything she can ask Claire and she talks it through with her. L has come on loads since joining Claire and school have noticed a marked improvement too. We would highly recommend Claire to anyone."
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RB
"I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done to help S."
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S was behind in both Maths and English, this wasn't her fault or ours, she just didn't take in what she was learning at school like other children.
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We contacted Claire to help before lockdown happened and throughout lockdown Claire was involved throughout the no school period, this allowed two lessons a week to bring S up to the work level for her age. Without Claire this wouldn't have happened.
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Claire is teaching S twice a week and school and ourselves have seen S improve quickly and to her age level. It's not just about the learning, Claire takes
the time to get to know your child as an individual.
She understands your child and how they learn and teaches them their
own way which is why I would 100% recommend her.
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MA
My son (aged 6) has just had his first tutoring session with Claire this evening, Claire made the session fun and J really enjoyed it. I was a bit worried he wouldn't engage with it being on Zoom as he can be a bit shy but it was all very interactive and J quickly started talking to Claire.
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The communication from Claire has been amazing from initial enquiry to first session- J received a welcome pack through the post with everything he would need for his lessons which was a lovely touch and got him excited for his sessions.
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Thank you so much, I will definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a tutor.
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KF
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My dyslexic teenage daughter who has issues with processing and working memory has benefited so much from her sessions.
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Not only has her vocabulary expanded, but I think she's also more confident in her own capacity to do well as a consequence of working with you. It's been a great alternative to school for her and I think she also benefitted tremendously form the one-to-one setting. Your patience, ability to gently steer her back on track when she's getting distracted and to help her to analyse and interpret texts have been really invaluable.Her confidence and ambition in school, as well as her faith in her own abilities have definitely grown as a result of working with you.
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I'm really pleased to let you know that she's just had a lovely and encouraging report from her English teacher who wants her to undertake N5 (as opposed to N4)English next year! This is a big achievement for a girl who had really started to close her mind to English because she was finding it so perplexing and challenging.
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AH
We came across Claire when looking for a tutor for our daughter, to help her gain confidence in both maths primarily and English.
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Claire's experience with working memory issues in children stood out immediately. On contacting her we found her experience shone through and on a personal level Claire is extremely easy to get along with.
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Claire makes all her lessons interesting and encouraging.
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Our daughter loves her sessions and comes out happy and enthusiastic. nHer subjects have improved greatly since engaging with Claire.
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Claire is highly professional, easy to work with and will tailor lessons to areas you or she feels your child needs support with.
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Initially we were only going to use a tutor over the Summer holidays, months on Claire tutors our daughter every week. They have built up a fabulous relationship and we wouldn't be without her.
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GW
We started to work with Claire from February 2021, our eldest child who was 8 at the time was at a pivotal point in their learning with maths, a year since the first national lockdown and home schooling with disjoined school opening times had all resulted in needing something more.
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We found Claire through First Tutors, although we were still in a lockdown period, Claire was not too far away and our child liked her immediately from her photograph! We wanted to involve our child and take our cues from them. From the very beginning Claire has worked with and treated our child with a friendly and professional manner however she has also spoken to our child about how they feel, what is working for them. Claire's many different approaches to learning had an impact from the very first session, the confidence in our child with their maths abilities was also evident very quickly.The rapport which Claire built with remote sessions is a credit to her ability to engage children in learning, especially after so much screen learning from the previous year.
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We continue to work with Claire and see benefits for our child as new topics are engaged with, each session is much anticipated and our child feels that it is their time and has taken ownership and responsibility for it.
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We would recommend Claire wholeheartedly and cannot speak highly enough of the positive impact she has made.
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AM
We approached Claire to help provide additional support to our daughter in English and Maths. Claire's experience in teaching children with dyslexia was a big factor in our decision to employ her services.
Claire spent time working to understand our daughter's requirements and scoped out a learning journey. Each session was carefully planned and communicated prior to each lesson.Each subject included interests specific either to our daughter's hobbies or linked directly to the current subjects and topics in the school curriculum. Our daughter's progress in just a few sessions was incredible.
Claire's approach and manner created a level of engagement and enthusiasm in a child previously very resistant to learning.
Thank you!
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MO
Claire has been absolutely brilliant for our son. He has some additional needs and Covid had a really big impact on his learning. To help him catch up we decided to pay for some extra tuition lessons. We couldn't be more pleased with our decision as Thrive Tutoring has been fantastic for our boy. Claire has been amazing at teaching our son, constantly adapting and changing her approach to meet his needs. She strives to make the sessions interactive and as fun as possible, full of praise and an equal amount of challenge. The results are clear to see. Our son has come on leaps and bounds, with clear strides made in his maths, spelling and reading skills. He really enjoys his lessons and given that he was initially horrified at the thought of doing ... MORE SCHOOL...it shows how well Claire has done as he now looks forward to lessons. We can't thank you enough for your help and support.
TF
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