Travelling (TRA-0718)

This role focuses on the early years education of two young children; a girl and her younger brother. The children herald from a lovely family – their parents are warm, supportive, kind, and very aware of their own privileges. They have achieved their position in life through hard work and dedication to their own studies, and as such they see the huge value of education. The couple are involved in a number of philanthropic ventures on educational themes, and are particularly invested in a programs that offer support to deaf people from minority groups with complex profiles who need help accessing mainstream services and connecting with the wider society in the United Kingdom.

The children themselves are charming. The girl is a gregarious and confident child who makes new friends easily and plays well with other children. Like her parents, she is friendly, warm and open, happy to talk to new people and is very engaging. She shares toys well and is able to involve other, less confident children in her games. She has excellent manners for a four year old and her character is developing well.

At only 2 years, her brother has not yet revealed much of his personality. However, he is a jolly little toddler and it is very likely that he will take after his sister in terms of warmth and generosity of spirit. Neither child displays any learning differences or difficulties at this stage.

Although both parents were taught in the state sector, they have no plans for their children to attend formal schooling, choosing instead to home school throughout their childhoods. They do not want their children to struggle educationally, and see bespoke tuition as one way that they can keep all doors open for them while embracing the rich experiences that a semi-nomadic lifestyle can afford.

The family are not sure of their plans. They have travelled a bit and have learned much about themselves and what they think will work for them. They prefer spending extended periods in one place and getting to know their location rather than moving around frequently, and it is likely this will continue to be the prevailing approach. The family also now plan to build a self-sustaining small-holding farm in the home counties near London and use that as their main base. These plans are in their early stages of planning at time of writing the Specification.

The role of the Tutor is to provide a diverse and rich early years education for both children, using each location as a learning opportunity and helping to create lasting memories for the family. There are of course serious education requirements to this assignment – the Tutor should ensure that the children are kept on par with their peer groups in the main educational systems, and that they have solid academic foundations in place should the family’s plans ever change, and the children enter into mainstream education. The curriculum should keep all doors open to future academic pathways. At this stage it can certainly bring together elements of several curricula such as the style of the IB pathway but the content of the UK and US curricula. The Tutor will also be tasked with sourcing appropriate social opportunities for the children in each of the locations they visit. These can include play dates, sports club taster sessions and courses, child-focussed activities at local libraries and museums etc.

The Tutor should be aware that a long-term program of one-to-one education at this age can put the children very far ahead of their peers, causing integration decisions should they ever attend mainstream school. One of the ways to manage this is to ensure that the children cover a wider range of subjects than they would in a school environment. For example, the Tutor should keep an eye on local events and festivals, sites of scientific or historic interest, local art galleries and museums etc., and tailor material for the children according to their individual learning objectives and attention spans. Local language, culture and cuisine can also form part of their education, alongside exploring local flora and fauna.

Given their age differences, the Tutor should not expect that the children can always be taught together or work cooperatively. Being so young, the boy is unlikely to forge permanent memories, so it would be lovely if the Tutor could work on some kind of overarching project with the family that records their adventures and activities for posterity. This will not only help to cement memories for the children and become a treasured keepsake for the family but could also form a part of the girl’s education to which her brother could also contribute. Other areas where he could be included are in dramatic presentations or recitals, skills lessons or even trips to art galleries and museums.

The parents are keen to keep their children’s education as broad as possible and have listed a range of topics which they would like the Tutor to introduce in an age-appropriate manner:

1. Tech, coding, AI, robotics

2. Environmental studies, ecosystems, the natural world and innovation within this sector alongside key problems that need solving

3. Physical sports and development

4. Music skills and how to play an instrument

5. Martial arts training – Wing Chun, Tai Chi, Jiu Jitsu have been mentioned but the family would be open to other martial arts

6. Additional languages – the family have mentioned that the possibility of the children learning Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, or Sign Language would be interesting to them, but these are not essential requirements. Tutors that can offer any or all of these in addition to an otherwise strong application will be at an advantage

AI and computing is the academic field of the children’s mother, and she is eager for them to learn the skills that they will need to understand technology as it continues to develop. Computers, machines, and artificial intelligence will have a huge influence on society over the coming years and decades, far exceeding their role today. These technological developments will bring significant changes to many industries and professions, and society as a whole, commoditizing knowledge and requiring humans to develop new expertise in forming thoughts and developing wisdom within a fast-paced world full of noise and distractions. It is therefore important to prepare our new generations as best we can to be curious, flexible and adaptable for a future that is inherently less predictable than at any prior period.

As the children get older, their parents are also keen to introduce business skills to their curriculum. They envisage this as a way to integrate an MBA programme of learning in small slow chunks over time so the children understand the thought process behind business and development, particularly exploring human centred and ethical models that increase positive impact on business and environment. The hope is that a curriculum which encompasses these elements will assist the children’s young minds to be conscious, alert, empathetic, and astute. The Tutor must ensure that their learning environment grows them intellectually and socially, ultimately creating two wonderful young thinkers and doers of tomorrow.

The successful Tutor will be well travelled, resourceful and self-sufficient. They should be able to anticipate problems and to take steps to mitigate any issues they see on the horizon. They should be willing to ‘muck in’ with the family, helping out with small jobs around the house as and when they need doing, and be prepared to undertake occasional childcare duties if the family need an extra pair of hands. The Tutor must be an excellent record keeper, able to demonstrate the work covered and their respective levels in each subject. A Montessori trained Tutor will find themselves at an advantage.

The Tutor should be an interesting and erudite individual, open minded, well-travelled and well versed in pedagogic theory. He or she will not only be an excellent educator, but also a good role model: educated and polished, with excellent manners and personal values. It would be a bonus to find a Tutor who can bring extracurricular activities or skills that can be shared and enjoyed by the whole family, such as drawing, music or debate.

The Tutor will typically work with the children for about 40 hours over 5 days each week, with preparation in addition. The timetable must be established with reference to any extracurricular activities and travel arrangements, and be flexible enough to accommodate unexpected changes.

The Tutor is entitled to two consecutive days off per week but should not expect these to occur at weekends or to be regular in their timing. As far as possible the Client will try to give the Tutor at least two weeks’ notice of when their ‘weekend’ break will be, but the Tutor must understand this is not always possible. The standard minimum 9 weeks (45 working days) of paid vacation allowance applies to this contract, with these breaks being taken at times convenient to the Client.

Any untaken vacation allowance or untaken weekend days that have accrued will be compensated by payment in lieu at a pro-rated day rate.

The Tutor will be provided with furnished accommodation suitable for an individual. The rent, utilities and Internet on this will be arranged and paid for by the Client. It may be that the classroom forms part of the Tutor’s accommodation – this is as yet undecided.

The Client is not responsible for the Tutor’s personal phone bills.

The Tutor will be reimbursed for all local public transport and any travels costs incurred while travelling with the family. The Client is not responsible for the costs of personal travel when the Tutor is taking paid vacation beyond the requirements regarding flights to the Tutor’s place of normal residence as set out in the Terms.

As per the standard Terms, the Tutor is entitled to two return flights home during the course of the contract (in addition to the initial flight out and back). However, given the potential distances involved the Client has agreed that the Tutor has the option to use these flights to ‘fly out’ a friend or relative for a visit, and to cover the cost of accommodation for the Tutor and their friend, rather than have the Tutor spend a high proportion of their holiday time travelling home.

The successful candidate will be able to offer more than the minimum requirements of this position and must have been raised in a socially appropriate background. He or she will not only be an excellent educator, but also a good role model: educated and polished, with excellent manners and personal values.

The Tutor should be fit and healthy, a non-smoker.