Marie, founder of This Child Can
When I founded This Child Can, I didn’t do it to compete with all the other tutoring services out there. I wanted to offer something different.
I knew that many children struggle at school, not just with academic performance but with issues like confidence, anxiety, social phobias and learning disabilities. Many parents turn to a tutor when this happens. But most tutors lack the qualifications and experience to support children with special educational needs or disabilities.
As a fully qualified British primary school teacher and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo), I wanted to fill this gap. That’s why This Child Can specialises in both 1-to-1 primary tutoring and 1-to-1 specialist SEND tutoring, based on my considerable experience of working with children of all abilities and needs.
But what if you can’t afford private tutoring? I wanted to give every child a chance, so I am developing an online group teaching service: an alternative to 1-to-1 tuition at a modest price (coming soon!).
Inclusive: integrating all people, especially those who are disadvantaged or living with disabilities.
Finally, I thought about the families of the children I work with. They are often the silent heroes, striving to support their child during tough times but not always knowing where to turn. This is what inspired me to create my SEND family support service, offering expert guidance to help parents and carers get the right support for their child.
If you feel like you’ve been struggling for too long, I hope I’ve given you hope. I am passionate about what I do and I genuinely want to help, so if you’d like to know more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
This Child Can. Your Child Can.
Qualifications
I am a UK-qualified teacher of the British primary curriculum, with more than 14 years’ experience working at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (ages 4-11) and a degree in Psychology from the University of East London.
I am also an accredited Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo), experienced in supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Did you know that you don’t need any qualifications to be a UK tutor? Or that tutors don’t need to have a DBS certificate to verify that they are allowed to work with children?
I hold an Enhanced DBS certificate, updated in January 2020, confirming my suitability to work with children.
Professional Experience
For many tutors, teaching is a job. For me, it’s a passion that I discovered while working with children at a nursery school overseas. By chance, several of the children had special needs and I experienced fulfilment in helping them to recognise that they could achieve just like everyone else. Though I didn’t know it at the time, it was the beginning of a life-changing journey that continues to this day.
On returning to the UK, I trained as a teacher and in 2006, began my first role at a UK primary school, committing myself to helping every child achieve their potential. Years later and eager for a new challenge, I took my teaching to the next level and trained as a SENDCo, responsible for educating children with learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to achieve than their peers.
With many parents still worried about sending their children to school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the answer seemed clear: launch a service that uses secure video technology to provide specialist 1-to-1 tutoring, support for families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and group teaching (coming soon!), available at convenient times and from the safety and comfort of home.
And so This Child Can was born!
If you would like to join me on my journey, why not see what This Child Can can do for you?
Subjects
I teach the British primary curriculum, with expertise in many subject areas and methods, including:
Literacy
Reading
Writing
Handwriting
Comprehension
Phonics
Grammar
Numeracy (Mathematics)
Mental arithmetic
Written methods
Problem solving
Reasoning skills