Opportunities in education: you can mould the minds of the future

There’s never been a bigger call for tuition franchises, as teachers and pupils continue to struggle with the consequences of the coronavirus crisis

First Class Learning, currently among the UK’s fastest-growing tuition business with over 300 franchises, has revealed that tuition franchises have never been in such high demand, as teachers and pupils continue to struggle with the stress and anxiety brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

According to the National Education Union, one in three teachers plan to quit the classroom within five years. In a recent poll of 10,000 members, they say they are disenchanted with teaching due to increased workload and diminishing respect for the profession.

Upsurge in enquiries

FCL has seen a huge upsurge in enquiries from teachers who are looking to leave the profession. They still love teaching but are struggling with the workload and bureaucracy.

By starting their own tuition business, they can have the best of both worlds: they can carry on working with children and at the same time have a much better work-life balance.

Hit hard by COVID-19

Teaching as a profession has been hit hard by COVID-19, as teachers across all age groups, who were already under strain from increased bureaucracy, have been expected just to get on with it against a backdrop of constantly changing guidelines and increasingly difficult working conditions.

It’s no wonder that so many are now seriously looking at a career change.

Of course, they want to give the children in their care the best education they possibly can, but not to the detriment of their own mental health and well-being.

We are offering teachers a lifeline by providing a proven business model that empowers them to set up and run a profitable learning centre.

The qualities you need

What qualities do you need to run a successful tuition franchise?

First and foremost, you must have a genuine passion for working with children and making a real difference to their future.

Although many of our franchisees have come from a teaching background, it’s not a prerequisite, as we provide all the training and resources necessary to deliver our tuition programmes.

We have franchisees from a wide variety of backgrounds in industry, business and the public sector.

For someone to invest in a tuition franchise, they must have a desire to help children learn and grow, with the motivation and desire to run their own business. Beyond the financial rewards, the hard work pays off when parents share the significance of your role in helping their children to reach their full potential.

It is important to us that potential franchisees have the qualities needed for the role - to ensure that working together is the right move.

Like many franchises, a tuition franchisee can enjoy a great work-life balance, with flexible working hours. Centre managers choose the days and times that suit their venues, as well as the fee structure for their centre.

No child left behind

We have all struggled during the pandemic, but I think school-aged children have possibly suffered most of all.

We have very much built our organisation around the mantra that no child deserves to be left behind and this could not be more important than it is now.

Our programmes have been created by a team of qualified specialists with a wealth of experience in the education sector and are based on the national curriculum and the two pillars of education: maths and English.

The key to a successful tuition business is to produce a unique study programme individually tailored for each student, whether they’re struggling at school and lacking in confidence or not being challenged enough to reach their full potential and work at a pace that’s right for them.

All our franchisees, or centre managers as we call them, are provided with the tools and training to complete diagnostic skills assessments in both maths and English.

By determining a child’s strengths and the areas they need to work on, we then create a personalised learning programme for every child from our extensive range of learning materials.

Tools to progress

COVID uncertainty has had a massive impact on children, parents and teachers, but what is most important is that we keep giving our young people the tools they need to progress.

It’s vital to strike a balance between building skills, knowledge reinforcement and encouraging self-learning.

The author

Ed Hyslop is chief executive of First Class Learning.