Location: Home Tuition – Holbeach, Spalding (PE12)
Hours: 16 Hours Per Week
Start Date: September 2026 / ASAP
Subjects: Functional Skills English & Maths, Employability & Careers
Delivery: 1:1 Face-to-Face Tuition
Pathway: Post-16 / EOTAS
Essential: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) strongly preferred
About the Role
Study Mind is seeking an experienced SEN Functional Skills Tutor to provide 1:1 Post-16 tuition for a young person with an EHCP, ADHD, SEMH needs, autistic traits and a significant history of Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).
The student has struggled to engage consistently within traditional educational settings and now requires a highly personalised EOTAS programme combining Functional Skills with employability, careers and practical vocational development.
This is a relationship-led placement requiring a tutor who can establish trust, provide consistency and make education feel relevant to the student's longer-term ambition of becoming a carpenter.
Academic & Vocational Focus
The programme will work towards:
- Functional Skills English – Levels 1 and 2.
- Functional Skills Maths – Levels 1 and 2.
- Employability and workplace skills.
- Careers guidance and apprenticeship preparation.
- Resilience, confidence and self-esteem.
- Practical learning linked to construction and carpentry.
- Potential progression towards a vocational carpentry course or apprenticeship.
The provider will also be expected to support access to Functional Skills examinations, either through in-person or appropriate remote assessment arrangements.
Current Academic Profile
The student is currently working below age-related expectations in literacy and numeracy, with considerable gaps resulting from disrupted education and low attendance.
He experiences processing difficulties and benefits from instructions being simplified, broken down and repeated where necessary.
Fine-motor difficulties can make handwriting challenging, so written work should be carefully scaffolded and kept manageable.
The successful tutor will need to establish current working levels before developing a realistic pathway towards Functional Skills Level 1 and ultimately Level 2.
Relationship Building & Engagement
Building a positive relationship will be fundamental to this placement.
The student is described as warm, straightforward and honest and can communicate his needs effectively once he trusts an adult. Communication with unfamiliar adults can initially be much more difficult.
He works best with a small number of familiar and consistent adults, so we are looking for a tutor who can commit to providing continuity and gradually establish a strong working relationship.
Communication should be simple, calm and direct, avoiding unnecessary information or verbal overload.
SEMH, ADHD & EBSA Support
The student experiences emotional dysregulation associated with ADHD, anxiety and sensory overwhelm.
When overwhelmed, distress can present through shouting, swearing, hitting objects, throwing items or punching walls. These behaviours have been identified as expressions of distress rather than an intention to harm others, with no physical aggression towards people reported.
The tutor must therefore be confident using trauma-informed, low-arousal and de-escalation approaches, rather than escalating situations through confrontation.
Learning Approach
The successful tutor will:
- Establish a predictable and highly structured routine.
- Give advance warning of changes and transitions.
- Use visual timetables, prompts and cues where helpful.
- Break instructions into short, manageable stages.
- Provide repetition and additional processing time.
- Use practical and hands-on learning wherever possible.
- Provide opportunities for regulation when the student becomes overwhelmed.
- Gradually build academic expectations as engagement and confidence improve.
- Connect English and Maths to real-world employment, construction and independent living.
A traditional worksheet-heavy approach is unlikely to achieve the best engagement. Learning should feel purposeful and clearly connected to the student's future.
Interests & Strengths
The student is a practical, hands-on learner who works hard when he can see a clear purpose behind an activity.
His interests include:
- Construction and carpentry.
- Working with tools.
- Football and team sports.
- Cooking.
- Farming and practical activities with his grandparents.
His ambition is to become a carpenter, so there is significant scope to incorporate this into Functional Skills learning through measurements, calculations, budgeting, reading instructions, workplace communication and employability activities.
Ideal Tutor Experience
We are particularly interested in tutors with experience of:
- Functional Skills English and Maths at Levels 1 and 2.
- ADHD and neurodiverse learners.
- SEMH and significant anxiety.
- Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).
- Trauma-informed and relationship-based education.
- EOTAS or Alternative Provision.
- Re-engaging young people following prolonged educational disruption.
- Emotional regulation and de-escalation.
- Post-16 employability and careers support.
- Practical or vocational education.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) would be highly desirable, alongside experience supporting complex Post-16 SEN learners.
Sensory & Environmental Needs
The student is particularly sensitive to noise, crowded environments and certain textures.
Tuition should therefore take place within a calm, quiet and low-demand environment, with access to space where he can regulate if he becomes overwhelmed.
Consistency is particularly important, and unnecessary last-minute changes to tutors, routines or session arrangements should be avoided.
Hours & Location
The placement is for 16 hours per week.
Tuition will initially be delivered 1:1 at the family home in Holbeach, Spalding (PE12).
The programme forms part of a longer-term EOTAS pathway, potentially progressing over approximately two years towards college, vocational training or a carpentry apprenticeship.
Start Date
September 2026 / ASAP
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced SEN Functional Skills Tutor who enjoys working with practical learners and understands that successful Post-16 education can combine English, Maths, vocational interests, employability and real-world life skills.
The right tutor will provide the consistency and structure needed to help a young person rebuild confidence in education and move towards his goal of working within carpentry and construction.
Company Overview
At Study Mind, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, regardless of their circumstances. We specialise in providing high-quality, 1:1 tuition for students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) who require personalised academic support outside mainstream education. Through our tailored approach, we help students build confidence, engage with learning, and achieve academic success.
Pay: £27.00-£35.00 per hour
Expected hours: 16.0 per week
Work Location: In person
