We’ve all been through a lot of change, over the last two years.

I was having an interesting conversation with Robyn, our newest tutor, last night. When I started EKT, seven years ago, we were only covering Kent Test and GCSE English. The students all arrived in the September and were on roughly the same path. I delivered the same two or three lessons multiple times each week. It was a doddle.

Multiple courses and a bit of courage later, I had expanded the range of services on offer, but we were still functioning on roughly the same model – students arriving in September and working until they had completed their exams. We were happily tailored the learning to the child, but the differentiation was relatively simple.

Covid has changed all that. There is no average student anymore.

Each and every one of the students have had a different experience of remote learning, each has had different experiences of covid infections and staff changes at school. There is nor repeating of sessions. Each lesson has to be carefully crafted to fit the individual’s needs. There are no defined start dates, no defined duration, no guarantees that we won’t be asked to change the subject taught because the student is struggling in more than one area of the curriculum. Then there are the practicalities: masks, online sessions, changing assessments.

Like class teachers, we are plugging gaps where we find them, but most importantly, we are rebuilding confidence, independent learning skills, and a sense of purpose. Our work has taken on a pastoral dimension that far exceeds that needed two years ago. We’re also covering a wider range of ages, as increasingly younger children show signs of struggling to cope with academic expectations.

It can be frustrating for everyone concerned. There has been so many missed experiences and opportunities; so much to catch up with. But my goodness, it is rewarding to be part of the journey to see our lovely students making progress, becoming enthusiastic learners, and making sense of the muddle they had had forced upon them.

So, amid the change, and sometimes chaos, a huge thank you to our fab students and their families, who have had to embrace the new normal; a huge thank you to teaching staff, who have worked longer and harder than ever before, and a huge thank you to the tutors working with us.

It’s been a steep learning curve, and you have been magnificent.