Skip to main content

Brainhub guide

Online tutoring: what it does well, what it lacks and how to close the gaps

Online lessons can be every bit as good as in person, but not by accident. Play to the strengths, know the gaps and close them on purpose.

Written by the Brainhub Editorial Team Cites published research Updated 3 Nov 2026 8 min read

Key takeaways

1. Start here: the online checklist

Six habits close most of the gap between online and in person. Set them up in lesson one and keep them every week.

Camera on, face lit

Agree it in lesson one. Light in front of you, a plain background and self-view hidden.

A shared whiteboard

Both of you writing on Miro from the first minute, so you see every step of their working.

Short blocks

Change the activity every five to ten minutes, and ask a question every few minutes.

Warm start, warm finish

Two minutes on their week at the start; one win and one next step at the end.

A backup plan

If video drops, switch to phone audio and keep the shared board. Test it in lesson one.

Parents in the loop

A quick hello at the start or end, and a short note after every lesson.

2. What online does well

The EEF’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit says studies of one-to-one tuition using digital technology show broadly similar effects to other tuition, at a lower cost.[1]

Randomised trials back this up. In Spain, eight weeks of after-school online maths lessons, mostly taught by qualified maths teachers with two students per tutor, raised test scores and end-of-year maths grades for students from disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and made them less likely to repeat a year.[2]

In the UK’s 2020 National Online Tutoring Pilot, 87% of learners wanted to carry on, and 76% said they enjoyed learning more than before.[3]

The right specialist

A student anywhere can learn with the best-matched tutor, not just whoever lives nearby.

No travel

More time for learning and less stress for the family.

Everything saved

The shared whiteboard keeps a record of every lesson to look back at.

A calmer setting

Some students who find busy classrooms hard feel more relaxed learning from home.

3. What online lacks

In the same UK pilot, tutors and learners still preferred face-to-face tuition, and 48% of schools said lack of equipment was a challenge.[3]

A Stanford researcher identified four reasons video calls are tiring: close-up eye contact, the extra effort of sending and reading cues on a screen, seeing yourself all the time, and sitting still.[4]

Gap
Why it matters
Rapport
Fewer non-verbal cues, so warmth and humour take more effort to come across
Seeing their working
You can’t glance at their page, so mistakes stay hidden
Attention
Other tabs and phones are a click away
Technology
Poor internet, sound or devices can end a lesson early
Practical work
Science practicals, handwriting and hands-on maths are harder on a screen
Younger children
Shorter attention, and less independence with the technology
The family
Parents see less of the lesson, so trust has to be built in other ways

4. How to close each gap

Each gap has a practical fix. The course lessons Online, done well, Make them do the thinking and Spot the switch-off go deeper on set-up, interactive lessons and attention.

Gap
What to do
Rapport
Camera on, use their name, remember details from last week, and react a little more than feels natural. Start with two minutes on their week.
Seeing their working
“You write, I watch” on the shared whiteboard, or a phone propped above their page as a document camera. Ask them to talk you through each step.
Attention
Phone in another room, other tabs closed, short tasks and frequent questions.
Technology
A two-minute test in lesson one, a headset with a microphone, and a backup plan of phone audio plus the shared board.
Practical work
Plan practical topics for an in-person lesson where you can, or use exam-board practical videos and past questions on the required practicals.
Younger children
Shorter lessons, big visuals, lots of movement and a parent nearby for the first few weeks.
The family
A quick hello at the start or end, a short note after every lesson and a progress check every few weeks.

5. Cameras and connection

In two surveys of more than 400 students learning by video, those who turned their cameras on tended to report better engagement, interaction and satisfaction. The researchers suggest video helps people send and read non-verbal cues. The study shows a link, not proof that cameras cause better learning.[5]

Agree “camera on” with the student and parent in lesson one as part of how lessons work, and follow Brainhub’s safeguarding rules for online lessons every time.

6. Rapport online, on purpose

Online, rapport doesn’t build itself in the corridor. Plan it into the lesson: a personal question at the start, their interests in your examples, effort noticed out loud, and a note of what they tell you so you can ask about it next week. The course lesson Rapport that lasts has more.

Online, warmth has to be visible. Say it, show it and write it down.

7. SEND students online

For deaf students, the National Deaf Children’s Society suggests lighting your face well and keeping it visible, cutting background noise, speaking clearly with natural pauses, writing new words down, using captions where they help, and splitting the lesson into clear sections with breaks.[6]

For autistic students and those with ADHD, a predictable screen layout, the plan on screen at the start, short tasks and movement breaks help. Our guide to supporting SEND students has more.

8. When to mix in person

Online works for most students most of the time. In-person lessons can help for a first meeting, younger children, practical topics, students who find screens hard, or a relationship that needs rebuilding. Brainhub has hubs across London, including Forest Gate, Enfield and Angel, so families can mix the two. For parents weighing it up, Is online tutoring worth it? sets out the evidence.

Try a mixed term: Meet in person for the first lesson and once each half-term, and teach online in between.

Try it now

Test yourself on this page

Answer in your head first, then check.

  1. 1. What did the Spanish trial of online maths tutoring find?

  2. 2. Name two reasons video calls are tiring.

  3. 3. How can you see a student’s working online?

Your next steps

  1. Run the six-point checklist before your next online lesson.

  2. Hide your self-view and start with two minutes on the student’s week.

  3. Suggest an in-person lesson where a practical topic or the relationship needs it.

Sources

  1. Education Endowment Foundation. Teaching and Learning Toolkit: One to one tuition. educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/one-to-one-tuition
  2. Gortazar, L., Hupkau, C. and Roldán-Monés, A. (2024). Online tutoring works: experimental evidence from a program with vulnerable children. Journal of Public Economics. Summary: National Student Support Accelerator, Stanford. nssa.stanford.edu/studies/online-tutoring-works-experimental-evidence-program-withvulnerable-children
  3. Education Endowment Foundation. Findings from the independent evaluation of the National Online Tutoring Pilot (delivered June to October 2020). educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-publishes-findings-from-independent-evaluation-of-national-online-tutoring-pilot
  4. Bailenson, J. N. (2021). Nonverbal overload: a theoretical argument for the causes of Zoom fatigue. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 2(1). doi:10.1037/tmb0000030
  5. Penn State News (December 2022). Turning on video and seeing others may boost remote learning (summary of Wu and Sun, ACM CSCW 2022). psu.edu/news/institute-computational-and-data-sciences/story/turning-video-and-seeing-others-may-boost-remote
  6. National Deaf Children’s Society. Deaf-friendly remote teaching: a checklist for teachers. ndcs.org.uk/media/6553/deaf-friendly-remote-teaching-a-checklist-for-teachers.pdf

This guide is general professional guidance for tutors. Every student is different. Always follow Brainhub’s safeguarding policy and use your own professional judgement.