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Parents on the Hibiscus Coast who want to support their child’s education now have access to a new learning centre.
Seasoned primary school teachers, Michelle Buckley and Olivia Taylor, have opened Number Works ‘n Words, beside Farmers in Silverdale, which offers after school Maths and English tuition for new entrants through to Year 11 students.
They say the tuition complements the NZ curriculum but, even more importantly, it is structured in a way to make learning fun.
Both Michelle and Olivia grew up in West Auckland and in total have more than 30 years teaching experience. Plus, they are both parents.
“We’ve been at the front of the classroom, involved in school management and Board of Trustees, and we’re Mums,” they say. “This means we understand the demands from both sides of the fence. We know the struggle parents face as they try to juggle school, after school activities and everything else that is going on in their lives. Through the Number Works ‘n Words programme, we’re going to help to take some of that stress away.”
They believe the centre will appeal to families for a number of different reasons. The extra tuition will help children who come from homes where English is a second language and will benefit students who are not achieving in the classroom environment. It will also assist students who have a goal and want to extend themselves, and for those preparing for exams.
Tutoring is delivered on a one-to-three ratio and most of the tutors are university students.
“They are good role models because they are also in a learning environment and research shows that children relate well to people who are closer to them in age.”
The centre offers a free evaluation, which identifies any learning gaps. A plan is then designed in consultation with parents or caregivers.
Michelle and Olivia say that in an ideal world, their services would possibly not be needed as schools would be resourced to cater for all students’ different learning needs.
“But the reality is that classes are over-crowded and, to be fair, a lot of children have distractions in their lives which have nothing to do with the school. We just hope we can provide children with an opportunity to feel confident about themselves as learners.”
