Frequently Asked Questions
Have a question?
Please expand each section to read the answers to our commonly asked questions.
If your question is not answered below, please reach out to us via the contact us form and we will be happy to help you out.
General
Our tutors focus on teaching concepts and extending children’s thinking skills and growth mindsets. We never just give children work to do independently – this is not something that requires the support you are paying for. The way we teach focuses on maintaining students’ engagement levels and interest in the content, whilst ensuring they understand concepts on a deeper level.
As a strict rule, we never have more than eight students in any group. This enables your child to enjoy the benefits of social collaboration, whilst also receiving the individualised attention they deserve.
In the interest of maintaining students’ health and hygiene, we ask that students bring their own stationery to classes. We encourage students to also bring water bottles and snacks to classes – we all concentrate best when we are fed.
No. Tests are quite subjective and we all have bad days, so to gain meaningful insight into your child’s needs, we prefer to talk to you (the one who knows them best!). To ensure they are always being offered the right level of support, our tutors build relationships with your child and get to know their needs on a broader scale.
Yes! All students are entitled to only 1 trial lesson, please contact us for more details. Please note that we do not offer trial lessons for private tuition.
Children get sick, life happens. We understand. Hence, children are entitled to two make-up lessons each term, for each course they are enrolled in. If they are unable to attend the appropriate make-up class, we may recommend a different class in lieu of the missed lesson, subject to availability. The online learning portal can also be used to assist students to complete the whole program independently, if make-up lessons are not available or do not meet your timetable. Refunds will not be offered due to student absences and when a make up class is not available.
Payment
Everything your child needs is included in our prices. Students will receive a different printed program each week, which they take home with them.
Life is expensive and you deserve your family holidays. If you have a holiday planned and let us know the weeks you will be away prior to us invoicing, we will not charge you for up to two weeks of missed lessons.
Sibling discount: a 10% discount available for all siblings (to be deducted from the sibling with the lower tuition fee).
Double course discount: A 10% discount is deducted from the total cost for each child who is enrolled in more than one course at any time. This discount for private tuition is only included when another group class is enrolled into by the same child.
Early bird discount: A 5% discount for current clients when they pay before the due date, usually, the last day of the previous school term.
Discounts are also available for NAPLAN, O.C. and Selective/Scholarship mock test and review sessions, if you enrol into 4 or more tests.
Discounts for robotics classes and mock tests (offered in the same school holiday period) are also discounted if your child is enrolled into Vacation Care for that day.
Enrolment
Give us a call to discuss. We value the importance of working with families to support our students as best possible.
We do not offer a combined class, as moving through two learning areas in a two-hour period does not provide ample opportunity for meaningful learning. By separating the learning areas, we are able to dive into concepts on a deeper level with students.
Yes! Provided there is availability, all students are accepted during any week of a Term. School fees are charged for the remaining weeks of the term.
In Week 7 or 8 of each term, you will receive an invoice for the upcoming term. If you pay by the due date, you will receive a 5% early bird discount. This is only applicable to families who are already enrolled in our classes. Invoices are re-issued less the discount after the due-date.
Tuition
Classes need to offer the right level of work for your child to excel. If at any point they need easier/harder work or need to ‘fill in some gaps’, we will work with you to determine the right option for them. This may mean moving to a different class, or to private tuition for a period of time.
We offer some homework activities for children in grades 2 and up, as independent revision is important in working knowledge into our muscle memories. The homework tasks are generally the areas that children do not need as much support with (we focus on the harder/newer concepts in class) and our online learning portal ensures students can work through these activities without parental assistance.
We encourage students to independently mark homework activities via the online learning portal as well, so they do not miss out on the vital opportunity to learn from their mistakes. This should be done by students for optimal learning, not parents.
Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of all our students, parents and staff. We always heed the advice of medical professionals before making any decisions. We have successfully delivered multiple terms of online learning (due to Covid-19) and will decide to do so if required.
Whilst nothing beats in-class learning, students amazed us when we went online due to Covid-19 lockdown measures. To assist with students’ concentration and to minimise the amount of screen-time students are subject to in one sitting, we do need to make timetable changes if we do go online. We will do our best to ensure we accommodate families who have more than one child enrolled, to avoid bandwidth/device limitations.
In addition:
- You will be provided with Zoom Meeting IDs for each lesson
- We will print off materials in advance and contact you regarding a time to collect the materials. Alternatively, class programs can be printed from home via our online learning portal
- No child who normally has back-to-back sessions will have both of their sessions on the same day
- Siblings will also be scheduled at different times
- Maths classes will remain at 1.5 hours
- English/Writing classes will be 1.5 hours instead of 2 hours
- Kindergarten classes will be split into two 45 mins sessions on different days
- Selective/ Scholarship classes will have its 3 hour class split into two 1.25 hour sessions (weekly tests completed out of class times)
- Private tuition students will be contacted to make arrangements
When physical classes are deemed safe and appropriate to resume, we will revert to a normal class timetable.
On return to physical classes, the following procedures will be strictly enforced:
- Social distancing within classrooms. We are fortunate to have enough classroom space and with our small class sizes, we can ensure students maintain a safe distance in the classrooms.
- Parents will be communicated instructions with specific drop-off/collection points to ensure effective social distancing.
- Parents must sign-in upon dropping off their children. We will have QR codes in student drop-off/collection points for ease of access. As per requirements outlined by the Government, children do not need to sign in.
- Students must sanitize hands upon entering and leaving classrooms (hand sanitiser will be provided at the entrance of each room). Hand sanitiser is also available to parents at the front desk.
- The entire school will be thoroughly and regularly cleaned and disinfected.
- Students must bring their own stationery to classes (i.e. no sharing allowed).
- Students and staff who are unwell are excluded from attending our classes.
All details are documented in HOT School’s Covid-related policies and procedures:
H.O.T School’s Terms and Conditions can be found here.