Tutoring vs mentoring

While a tutor helps a young person with their studies – and usually focuses on specific subject matter – a mentor is someone that listens, takes an interest, provides feedback, advice and guidance. 

Charles Bonas, founder of Bonas MacFarlane, views mentoring and tutoring along a spectrum: tutors are at one end, like ski instructors teaching technique, and mentors are at the other, like mountain guides, ‘enabling the exploration of the previously unimagined, inspiring places and perspectives and the cultivation of a lifelong, personal craft.’ 

Why mentoring?

Honing in on academic content isn’t the only way to achieve success. Mentoring can bring about the same results – and more – by focusing on self-assurance, communication skills, resilience, motivation, self-control and organisational skills, among other things.

Tutor agencies tell us children are often lacking in these essential life skills and mentors can help to fill in gaps by providing extra emotional support through strong one-to-one relationships. A mentor, explains educational psychologist, Michael Hughesman, is a ‘friendly informal social contact with someone who isn’t a parent or teacher, who is there to help.’ 

Hugh Viney, director of Minerva Tutors, believes you may think your child needs a tutor when they actually need a mentor. ‘A child who has no interest in school, is disengaged and apathetic may be doing badly at maths. The last thing they need is more maths – they already hate maths so setting up more maths sessions with a home tutor is not the answer. We would suggest a mentor to look at the bigger picture and get to the root of the problem – Why are they unhappy? Why are they unmotivated? A mentor can help to ‘unlock’ them in a way that parents cannot. They can find out what they are interested in, what excites them. Once they are happier as a whole, they will be able to apply themselves to things that excite them less, like maths.’ 

No wonder Big Brother Big Sister – a national volunteer mentoring programme in the USA – has been such a huge success for years. 'Bigs' meet their 'littles' at weekends or in evenings and go for a walk in the park, play football, listen to music or just hang out and talk. Similar successful initiatives in the UK include Reach Out, a national mentoring and educationcharity, rooted in local communities. 

But the real rise has been in private mentoring, where hourly agencies are similar to tutoring around £60-90 per hour. Some companies, including Oppidan Education, specialise entirely in mentoring over tutoring. ‘We want to inspire kids and help them build the core skills to succeed in the future rather than providing them with a set of answers for passing tests. Adults have mentors; kids should too’, says Henry Faber, co-owner of Oppidan. 

Who benefits? 

Any child can benefit from mentoring. From helping those who sit in the middle and simply cruise to reach their full potential to supporting anxious children or those lacking confidence, a mentor provides a safe, supportive and confidential outlet. For children with ADHD or those that struggle to get organised, a mentor can help with planning, time management and setting long and short-term goals. 

Mentors can help children to find their voice by learning to talk openly. They can give them the confidence to make new friends or achieve personal goals like becoming a student representative at school. They can help them to behave more appropriately. 

The bonus for parents is that, when there is no specific academic goal, they often find it easier to persuade children to give it a try.