The first week of September
Lessons stopped in July. Some families said 'see you in September', some said nothing. Now it is the first week of term. Students have new timetables, new clubs, new year groups. Tutors have new jobs, new university terms, new availability. The office emails every family asking if they want to restart and when, and every tutor asking what they can do now.
Replies trickle in over three weeks. Slots clash. Some families assume their old slot is still theirs; the tutor has given it away. Some families just never reply. By October, the student list is noticeably shorter than in July, and nobody is sure how many chose to leave and how many just fell through the cracks.
Why September restarts leak
- Families are not asked before the summer about their plans.
- School timetables and clubs change, so old slots no longer work.
- Tutors' availability changes over the summer too.
- Rebooking is done by email back and forth, family by family.
- Families who do not reply are not followed up in a structured way.
What the leak costs
Regular students are the core of a tutoring agency's income, and September is when many are lost for no good reason. Families who drift away over the summer rarely come back. Tutors lose students they expected to keep and look for work elsewhere. The office spends September on a scramble instead of on new enquiries, which are also at their peak.
Because nobody records why families do not return, the same leak happens the next year. A family who stopped because the only slot offered clashed with a new sports club looks exactly the same, in a spreadsheet, as one who was unhappy with the tutor.
The restart process we build
- In July, every family with regular lessons gets a short message: will you restart in September, from when, and are your times likely to change? One or two taps to answer.
- Tutors are asked the same about their September availability, before the summer and again in late August.
- In late August, families confirm or update their preferred times once school timetables are known.
- The system proposes slots for each returning student, keeping the same tutor and time where both still fit, and suggesting alternatives where they do not.
- Families and tutors confirm the proposed slots; clashes go to the office.
- Families who have not replied are listed for the office to call, in order of how long they have been with you.
- Regular lessons are rebooked in the schedule from the agreed start date.
| Family's answer | What happens |
|---|---|
| Restarting, same time | Same slot proposed if the tutor still has it |
| Restarting, new times | New slots proposed from the tutor's September availability |
| Not restarting | Recorded with the reason, if given |
| No reply | On the office call list |
September, afterwards
In July, most families say they will be back and roughly when. In late August, they update their times. By the first week of term, most returning students have a confirmed slot, often the same tutor and time. The office calls the families who have not replied, and finds that some had simply forgotten.
The office spends September on new enquiries, and knows exactly which families have chosen not to return and why.
Tutors benefit as much as families. By the end of August they know which students are returning and when, so they can plan their autumn around real lessons rather than hoping their old timetable survives.
The July message is the most important part. Families are still in the rhythm of weekly lessons, the student has just finished exams or the school year, and a quick 'yes, from mid September' is easy to give. The same question asked in September competes with everything else a new school year brings.
Do you lose students over the summer?
- You find out in September who is restarting.
- Rebooking is done by email family by family.
- Old slots clash with new timetables.
- Tutors' availability changes without warning.
- Your student list is shorter in October than in July.