The Clara James Approach to learning

In this week’s episode, I’m sharing something a little more personal. After recording several weekly episodes and seeing very few listens, I found myself wondering if anyone’s actually out there — and whether it’s worth continuing. If you’ve ever started something new — a business, a blog, a course — and felt like you were shouting into the void, this is for you. I talk about what it’s like to kee...

 In this episode, we explore the idea that confidence is just as important as knowing the answer . So often, children feel like they’re “bad at maths” or “not good at English” simply because they lack belief in themselves. But when we nurture their confidence, we help them to engage more willingly, take more risks, and enjoy learning again. Through real-life examples and gentle insights, we talk a...

I had intended chatting about something different, but my editing software wouldn't work and I was creating this as well, so I thought why not... This week has been a great week with the proof copy "Become a Tutor" dropping through the door yesterday. I have also been working on the platform for those looking to take up tutoring and we are also intending to take the Clara James Appr...

Prime numbers are numbers with only two factors. This basically means numbers which you will only find in the 1 times table of their own times table. For example, 5 is prime because it is only in the 5- and 1-times table, where are 10 is in the 1, 2, 5, 10 times tables so it wouldn’t be prime. If you are practicing the prime numbers (I’ll put a 100 number grid in the 11+ resources today) create a...

The Realities of Tutoring — Triumphs, Challenges & Unexpected Lessons In this episode, I’m sharing a deeply personal collection of stories from my years as a tutor — the lessons learned, the battles fought, and the beautiful breakthroughs that make it all worthwhile. From the lad who initially refused help and went on to achieve top grades, to the young girl who locked herself in the loo rathe...

  I was talking about reading the other day with a mum. Very often the challenge isn’t just in finding something that they are willing to read, but in the actual act of reading itself.  A lot of children struggle with reading. Especially reading out loud. All enjoyment goes out of the story as all you can think about is the effort of what is to come. Sounding our words, recognising letters, rememb...

When I started Clara James Tutoring back in 2012, my background was education not business and I was incredibly susceptible to mistakes and being led on a wild goose chase...  So, from trying to keep the business quiet to nearly being scammed out of over £13k these are 3 things I did when I started tutoring. I hope by speaking frankly and honestly you will not judge but instead stop and think and...

There's a few things that I'm opinionated on and the importance of making learning fun and relevant comes very high up on that list. When I started studying supporting different learning styles over 25 years ago, one of the things I learned was the importance of creating multiple memories so that it is easier to recall the information when it is needed. Although it was obvious, it wasn&a...

"you're not as clever as your brother", "I don't think you have what it takes to work in a school", "who are you to teach me?!" Confidence is not a strong point of mind, I have this huge sense of inadequacy. But when a friend suggested I start tutoring I didn't have the confidence to keep putting her off, so in the end I agreed. That was back in 2012 an...

I was asked the other day about supporting a 10 year old with comprehension. My initial response was to brain dump everything then use that as a guide to pull it all together.. However, here is my actual advice. I hope it helps.  (I created this podcast as a recording of the monthly zoom call within the Clara James Approach. Each month, you can ask a question based around supporting your primary s...

Not everyone has a printer... So, we have introduced a premium level to the Clara James Approach so that we can send you a printed copy of the resources each month with a few other extra bonuses. You would also have access to a 1-to-1 monthly call if you wanted it and the leadership board so that your efforts and progress can be publicly acknowledged (again if wanted). We have endeavoured to keep...

I think many of us have a fear of maths which we then unintentionally pass on to our children. However, there are things we can do which will help avoid that fear. A big part of that is to make it creative, fun, quality time that you can share together, yet on other occasions find the opportunity to incorporate it into everyday life through things like baking. I hope this video proves helpful and...

In this episode, we dive into revision strategies for English, tackling both general revision tips and specific advice for English subjects. Whether you’re just starting your revision journey or looking for ways to boost your effectiveness, this episode offers practical tips to help you get the most out of your study time. Revision Techniques: We start by discussing how to make revision more engag...

Claire is amazing, with 10 years of experience under her belt there's not a huge amount she doesn't seem to know and she's also happy to share her knowledge which I am truly thankful for. In this episode she share some of her insights into preparing for and sitting the English Language paper. I hope you find it helpful #EnglishLanguage #GCSEEnglish #GCSErevision #Homeeducation #AQAE...

A few weeks ago, I was working with a lad, he’s brilliant, he’s just finished his GCSEs. We had just a couple of minutes left of the lesson, so we decided on a game of times-tables-noughts-and-crosses. I pulled up the grid and asked what he’d like to multiply by. He answered 11. Considering he was doing the higher paper I agreed but thought I’d ‘be clever’ and make the numbers in the grid double d...

This is a tip I was given by a lad I was working with last year. It was a  suggestion made to him by his English teacher at school. I thought I would pass it on to you as well. I hope it helps. Good luck with the exams

Imagine a family has decided to take the plunge and invest in a tutor for their child. It’s not something they’ve ever done before and they’re not sure what to expect. There are so many tutors out there. How should they decide! There are (in all likelihood) two main possible routes that they might take. They might get onto social media and ask for recommendations. Alternatively, they might head to...

Welcome to the Clara James Podcast, where we delve into Maths, English, and tutoring. Today's focus is on negative numbers, a topic that stumps many students. Let’s use an analogy involving earth mounds and holes to understand negative numbers better. For instance, if you have 5 meters of earth and remove 3 meters, you're left with 2 meters – simple subtraction. But when subtracting a la...

Today, let's talk about teaching children the sounds of individual letters like 'a' instead of just their names. This is crucial because when kids learn to read, knowing the sound 'a' makes in words like "apple" is more helpful than simply recognising it as part of the ABCs. In my experience with young learners, including a boy who moved back to England and had t...

Good morning, welcome back to our podcast. I was absent last week due to a business retreat and personal celebrations. The highlight from the retreat was a realisation: I can sell our tutoring franchise because selling is simply solving someone's problem, which I do when discussing how we help your child with their maths or English. We discussed franchising costs—£3,000 initially plus £100 mo...

Today, let's talk about telling time. March's bundle from James' cloud series focuses on this skill, so it seemed fitting to discuss it here too. I work with a boy who struggles to tell time. He relies on his phone or Alexa but doesn't see the need for learning analogue clocks since digital displays are everywhere – in schools and even during exams. However, many parents still...

Welcome to the Clara James Tutoring Podcast.  In recent English language paper 2 prep, we've tackled four key questions: identifying facts, comparing texts, analysing language use, and another comparison. Then there’s section B—writing persuasive pieces like letters or articles. Remember two crucial tips: Use appropriate language for your audience and ensure proper layout—formal for officials...

Hello and welcome! I'm Dawn from Clara James Tutoring. With World Book Day approaching, many parents are concerned because their children dislike reading. My oldest daughter wasn't keen on it either. At Clara James, we've developed a game called the Dotty Board Game to make reading fun and less intimidating. The game involves sharing reading tasks among players as they move around a...

Hello. Recently, I've discussed with parents the challenges of learning and retaining spelling skills. My advice is to make the process colourful, creative, and interactive to engage different parts of the brain. One method is using multiple colours when writing words – a different colour for each letter and varying fonts can help create distinct visual cues. Drawing related images next to wo...

Hello, I hope you're having a good day. Many parents reach out to me after exam results are released, concerned about their child's revision strategies. To help, I've compiled some tips based on my experience in education and tutoring. Firstly, it’s crucial to lay the groundwork for effective studying. I'm preparing a downloadable PDF tailored for the GCSE syllabus; if it'...