10 Reasons Why One to One Tuition Can Work So Well for Students with ADHD
For students with ADHD, one to one tuition can be especially effective – it offers individual pace, fewer distractions, clearer instructions, immediate feedback, and direct support with organisation and task completion. ADHD can affect attention, impulsivity, planning, memory and follow-through, and the Education Endowment Foundation finds that one to one tuition is, on average, associated with around five additional months of progress when it is targeted to a pupil’s needs.
- It cuts distractions
Many of our students with ADHD find busy classrooms hard to manage, even when they are bright and motivated. NICE recommends environmental adjustments such as reducing distractions, adjusting noise, and making learning conditions more manageable for the individual. In one to one tuition, that calmer setup is much easier to create.
- It allows teaching to move at the right pace
We know that some students with ADHD need more time to process instructions, organise their thinking, or settle into a task. Others need faster pacing to stay engaged. One to one tuition allows the tutor to match teaching closely to the learner’s understanding, with more interaction and feedback than whole class teaching.
- It helps students get started
A common ADHD difficulty is not just doing the work, but starting it. Executive function difficulties in ADHD can affect focusing, planning, organising, memory and behaviour regulation, which is why a blank page or large task can feel overwhelming. A tutor can break the first step down immediately and help a student build momentum.
- It makes instructions clearer
Children with ADHD often cope better when instructions are simple, direct, broken into steps, and reinforced in writing. There is huge value in written instructions, and NHS guidance for families recommends clear communication and step by step directions. A one to one tutor can do this naturally throughout a lesson.
- It builds organisation and planning skills
Students with ADHD often need explicit support not just with subject knowledge, but with how to learn. The EEF’s evidence on metacognition and self-regulation shows strong impact when pupils are taught to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning, and research on ADHD interventions has found benefits for organisation skills and homework performance.
- It creates space for movement and reset
Some students need a quick pause, a stretch, or a change of activity in order to refocus. Shorter periods of focus with movement breaks can be a helpful adjustment for people with ADHD. In one to one tuition, this can be built in without the child feeling singled out or disruptive.
- It gives immediate feedback
In a classroom, a child may wait a long time before a misunderstanding is picked up. With Enjoy Education tutors, feedback is instant. One to one support offers greater levels of interaction and feedback, which helps pupils spend longer on unfamiliar material and overcome barriers to learning more quickly.
- It can rebuild confidence
Many students with ADHD are used to feeling that they are always slightly behind, always forgetting something, or always being corrected. Over time, that can affect how they see themselves as learners. In a one to one setting, a tutor can notice effort quickly, respond calmly, and help a child experience success more regularly, which is often where confidence starts to return. ADHD can also be linked with emotional dysregulation and higher rates of anxiety or depression, which makes supportive teaching relationships especially important.
- It makes homework, revision and exams more manageable
As children get older, ADHD often becomes especially noticeable around homework, coursework, revision and exam preparation. Teenagers with ADHD may need support organising schoolwork and coping with the greater independence of secondary school. One to one tuition can turn vague pressure into a clear, manageable plan.
- It helps parents understand what actually works
Parents are often trying to work out the same questions: What helps my child focus? When do they learn best? Why do some evenings end in tears while others go well? One to one tuition can provide much clearer feedback on patterns, triggers and effective strategies, giving families more confidence as well as academic support. It can also sit alongside wider ADHD support, which may include behavioural strategies and, where appropriate, medication under specialist care.
Why work with a tutor?
One to one tuition is not a magic fix, and it is not a replacement for the right school support, pastoral care or clinical input where needed. But for many students with ADHD, it can be the difference between always feeling wrong for the classroom and finally being taught in a way that makes sense to them.
At Enjoy Education, we see time and again that when the teaching is personalised, calm and expertly matched to the student, children with ADHD are often able to show far more of their real ability. The right one to one support does not just help a child keep up. It can help them feel capable, understood and ready to move forward.
