What Questions Should I Ask When Touring a Tutoring Centre?
November 1, 2026-
6 Min
The Questions That Tell You Whether a Centre Is Right for Your Child
When you walk into a tutoring centre for the first time, it is easy to be won over by a bright room, a friendly greeting, and a confident pitch. But the things that actually decide whether tutoring helps your child are harder to see from the front desk: who teaches, how progress is tracked, and what happens when a session does not go well. Fall progress reports are on their way to Brampton parents right now, and many families are touring centres for the first time. Take this list with you. The answers you get will tell you more than any brochure.
1. Who will actually teach my child?
This is the single most important question, and it deserves a specific answer, not a slogan. Ask whether the tutors are Ontario-certified teachers or university students, and whether the person you meet on the tour is the person who will teach your child week after week. A certified teacher knows the Ontario curriculum from the inside — what a Level 3 actually looks like in Grade 5 math, what the Grade 9 de-streamed course expects, how EQAO questions are worded. Ask how long tutors typically stay, too. A centre with constant turnover means your child keeps starting over with someone new, and that costs learning time.
2. How do you figure out where my child stands?
A good centre starts with an honest baseline, not a sales pitch. Ask what the first session looks like: is there an assessment, a conversation with your child, a look at recent schoolwork? Be wary of any centre that promises a big jump in marks before it has seen your child's work. The right answer sounds like this: we find the gaps first, we tell you plainly what we found, and we build a plan around it. If a centre cannot explain how it identifies what your child actually needs, it is guessing — and you are paying for the guess.
3. What does a typical session actually look like?
Ask to see a session in action, or at least to have one described minute by minute. Is your child working one-on-one, or sitting in a room of ten students doing worksheets while a tutor circulates? How much of the time is teaching, and how much is just practice? Small groups can work well — up to four students keeps things personal — but a room full of children all doing different worksheets is not tutoring, it is supervised homework. Also ask whether sessions follow the Ontario curriculum or a franchise workbook, and whether the tutor communicates with your child's school teacher. The closer the tutoring sits to what your child is learning in class, the faster it shows up in marks.
4. How will I know whether it is working?
"Trust us, it's working" is not a progress report. Ask how and how often you will hear about your child's progress: short updates after sessions, regular parent check-ins, or only a report when you ask? A centre worth your money can point to something concrete — skills your child has mastered, school marks, teacher feedback, or confidence you can see at homework time. Also ask the honest question: how long before we should expect to see a change? Realistic answers are measured in weeks of steady work, not overnight transformations. If a centre promises a grade jump in two sessions, that is a red flag, not a selling point.
5. What does it cost, and what am I committing to?
Get the full price in writing: the hourly rate, whether materials cost extra, and whether you are locked into a long contract or can stop when it stops making sense. Ask about make-up sessions for missed classes — children get sick, and a centre that charges you anyway is not on your side. For reference, at Tutored by Teachers one-on-one tutoring is CA$40 per hour and small groups of up to four students are CA$25 per hour per student, with a free first session so you can judge the fit before spending anything. Whatever a centre charges, the price should be clear before the first paid session, not discovered on the first invoice.
6. How tutoring can help
Touring a centre is really about answering one question: will my child be taught by someone who knows the curriculum, in a setting small enough to notice them, with a plan you can actually see working? When those three things are in place, tutoring does something school alone often cannot — it gives your child unhurried time with a teacher who knows exactly where they are stuck and has the time to unstick them. That is what shows up later as a steadier report card, a calmer homework hour, and a child who stops saying "I'm just bad at math."
Bring this list on your tour, and listen for specifics. A centre that answers plainly, shows you real sessions, and lets you try before you commit is a centre that respects your child and your wallet. The right fit is out there — and now you know how to spot it.
Try a Free Session
The best way to see if tutoring is right for your child is to try it. Book a free trial session with one of our Ontario-certified teachers — online or in person in Brampton — and get an honest sense of where your child stands and what would help most.
Prefer to talk first? Call (647) 624-8393 or message us on WhatsApp.