Sophia Roth Tutor · Teacher · Childcare Book a free call

Online across the UK · in person around Durham

Hi, I'm Sophia.

I'm training in primary education at St John's College, Durham, and I've spent several years working closely with children. You can see my experience here.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Every child is unique, bringing their own strengths, interests, challenges and ways of understanding the world. Whatever service I'm providing, taking the time to understand your child properly will always be a priority for me. Building that understanding is essential to helping a child make meaningful progress and achieve their full potential — children learn best when they feel safe, understood and gently stretched. Alongside this, I like to make ideas more tangible through play, and to have a child verbalise their thought processes aloud, to embed new concepts more securely and build longer-lasting knowledge.

Above all, I believe the right encouragement at the right moment can shape the whole course of a child's education, and I never give up on the ones who've been told they're behind.

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  • DBS checked
  • St John's College, Durham
  • Taught across Europe
  • Four years' experience
  • CPR qualified
Sophia Roth
Sophia Roth Tutor · teacher · carer

While I build my practice I keep my rates gentle, and they rise only a little with every five students I take on. Whenever you choose to begin, the rate you start at is the rate you keep for as long as we work together.

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What I offer

Three ways I can help your child

Each online lesson can also be in person if you're near Durham. If you're not sure where to begin, a gentle introductory call is the easiest place to start.

from £20/hr Trial hour £15

English as a foreign language

Online · all ages · beginner to confident

Having lived abroad for a year and taught English in classrooms across Spain and Germany, I understand both how a language is built and how daunting it can feel to begin. I teach gently and through play, using games, stories and real conversation so that new words and grammar become something your child can picture, hear and genuinely use rather than simply memorise. My hope is that they feel able to speak from our very first lesson, and grow to enjoy the language as their confidence settles in.

  • Classroom experience in Spain and Germany
  • Learning through play, story and conversation
  • Speaking confidence from the first lesson
Book a £15 trial hour Ask a question
from £15/hr Free meet-first call

Babysitting & childcare

In person · babies, toddlers and older children

I've worked as an au pair and lived with a family caring for their children for a full year, so looking after little ones comes very naturally to me. I love helping children gather happy memories, whether through games and crafts, an afternoon at the park, or a calm hour at home, and I'm just as at ease with the practical side of caring for babies and toddlers, from preparing meals and snacks to changing nappies and settling them for naps. I always take time to understand each child as their own person, because you come to know a child properly only by spending unhurried time together — a responsibility I hold with real care.

  • Experienced with babies, toddlers and older children
  • Outdoor play, crafts and gentle time at home
  • Meals and snacks prepared with care
Book a free call to meet Ask a question
from £20/hr Trial hour £15

11+ & SATs tutoring

Online · Year 6 exams and 11+ entrance

I'm training to teach in primary schools and studying modules devoted to tutoring, and I've worked within a primary classroom alongside children of every kind — those who race ahead, those who find learning harder, and those for whom English is still new. We begin with a trial lesson, where your child simply shows me what they find difficult and we work through it together, with no obligation to continue. When they're happy to carry on, we sit a past paper, note carefully where the marks slip away, and from there I build a structured plan around the areas that need the most attention.

  • A written report after every lesson
  • A plan built around your child's specific gaps
  • Understanding through explaining, not memorising
Book a £15 trial hour Ask a question

How my tutoring works

  1. 1

    A trial lesson

    Your child shows me what they find tricky and we work through it together. The hour is £15, with no pressure to continue.

  2. 2

    Finding the gaps

    We sit a past paper and note each area they find difficult, so we know just where to focus our time.

  3. 3

    A plan for them

    I build a structured plan around those gaps, working through varied questions and encouraging your child to talk their answers through aloud.

  4. 4

    Always in the loop

    After every lesson I send you a short report on what we covered and how it went. More often than not, they finish feeling proud of themselves.

Special educational needs

Tutoring for children who learn differently

I have tutored and worked closely with several students who have additional learning needs. Those sessions taught me how to adapt the way I communicate for children with specific learning difficulties (SpLD), and they showed me just how much of a difference genuinely tailored support can make.

When a child has struggled with learning in the past, it often takes a quiet toll on their confidence. We address that naturally, by pitching each lesson at exactly the right level of challenge, so confidence grows hand in hand with their progress.

Talk to me about tutoring

Led by the child

I adapt to the way your child learns, rather than asking them to fit a method.

Confidence, rebuilt

Lessons pitched at just the right level of challenge, so confidence grows with every step.

English as an additional language

Support for bilingual & EAL learners

Being raised bilingually is a strength as much as it can be a challenge. I've worked closely with EAL pupils, using visual aids and online learning resources to bridge the gaps and make sure everything we cover is easy for them to reach. If your child's first language isn't English and they're finding language barriers difficult at school, please get in touch — we can talk through the tools and approaches that will help, and I'm happy to share a short document outlining some of the ways that have worked well for me before.

Get in touch about EAL support

The early years

Gentle care for the very youngest, 0–5

I have a real fondness for the early years — the babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers just beginning to make sense of the world. With the youngest children I keep everything calm and unhurried, following their own rhythm for naps and meals and weaving in soft, playful learning through songs, stories and time outdoors.

Whether you need a few dependable hours or simply a warm, familiar face your little one looks forward to, this is a stage I genuinely treasure.

Book a free call to meet

Calm and unhurried

Naps, meals and routines followed with patience and plenty of warmth.

Playful early learning

Songs, stories and gentle play that nurture little ones without any pressure.

A little of my background

Experience & qualifications

Real hours with real children — in classrooms, homes and schools, here and across Europe.

DBS checked Training in Primary Education, St John's College, Durham CPR qualified
  1. 2022 – present

    Babysitting

    Caring for children of every age around each family's schedule, for families who have come to trust me.

  2. Aug 2024

    English immersive summer school — Alicante, Spain

    Ten days teaching at an English-immersion summer school for six and seven year olds.

  3. Jan 2025 – Feb 2026

    Volunteer KS2 classroom assistant — Ridgefield Primary School

    Supporting Key Stage 2 children in the classroom with their day-to-day learning.

  4. Feb 2025

    Work-experience exchange — Anton Ree Grundschule, Hamburg

    A ten-day teaching exchange in a German primary school, reaching children across a language barrier.

  5. Sep 2025 – present

    SATs preparation tutoring, online

    Guiding Year 6 pupils through their SATs preparation — finding the gaps and building confidence before their exams.

  6. Oct 2025 – Aug 2026

    Live-in tutor & au pair — Frankfurt, Germany

    Living with a family for a year, caring for and tutoring their children and sharing in their daily life.

Outside the classroom

A little of me, beyond the lessons

I've always thought children learn most from people who stay curious and active themselves, so here is a little of what I get up to when I'm not teaching.

£750 for a school in Jakarta

After researching the low standard of literacy in impoverished communities in Jakarta, Indonesia, I curated a fundraising meal to provide schools with learning materials and to raise awareness of learning poverty — together we raised £750.

A half marathon

I trained for and ran a half marathon, which taught me as much about patience and quiet persistence as it did about running.

Arts, crafts and knitting

I love making things by hand — I recently knitted myself a jumper — and I bring that same creativity into the activities I plan with the children I look after.

A year abroad & cruise-ship guiding

I spent a year living in Frankfurt, Germany, and I've also worked as a tour guide for cruise ships — I love meeting new people and seeing new places.

On my shelf

The reading behind the teaching

I think it matters that the person teaching your child keeps learning too. Here is some of what I've been reading on education and child development, and how each book shapes the way I work. I add to it as I go.

Oracy

Neil Mercer

TutoringEnglish

What this means for your child: Mercer's research shows that children understand far more deeply when they reason aloud, rather than only on paper. It's why I gently encourage your child to explain how they reached an answer — when they can talk it through to me, I know it has truly taken root.

Educated

Tara Westover

PhilosophyTutoring

What this means for your child: Westover's memoir is a quiet reminder that the right teacher, at the right moment, can change the course of a child's life. It keeps me patient, and it keeps me believing in every child I work with, especially the ones who have been overlooked.

The Education World Master

Alexander Brand

TutoringChildcare

What this means for your child: A thoughtful look at the craft of teaching — how good educators plan, adapt and read a room. It has sharpened the way I build a learning plan around one child's particular needs, rather than teaching to a generic syllabus.

Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner

TutoringPhilosophy

What this means for your child: Gardner's idea that intelligence takes many forms — not just one — sits at the heart of how I teach. Rather than assume a single right way to learn, I look for the way each child learns best, which matters all the more for children with additional needs.

Always reading

Child development & early years

ChildcarePhilosophy

I'm forever adding to this shelf, particularly on child psychology, special educational needs and the early years. Do ask me what I'm reading at the moment.

Kind words

What families say

A little of the feedback I've been grateful to receive from the families I work with.

Sophia has been wonderful with our daughter — patient, calm and so encouraging. We've watched her confidence grow lesson by lesson.
— Parent of a Year 5 pupil
Completely reliable and lovely with the children. We always feel at ease leaving them in her care.
— A family in Durham
Our son looks forward to his lessons now. Sophia explains things so clearly and made his SATs feel far less daunting.
— Parent of a Year 6 pupil

Confidentiality & professionalism

Your family's privacy, respected

I will never share the messages we exchange, or any information about your child, with anyone outside our arrangement. I'm committed to protecting the privacy of every family I work with, and to upholding a high standard of professionalism in everything I do.

Let's begin

Book a call, or a £15 trial

Choose whatever feels right — a free introductory call to meet me, or a trial lesson to begin straight away. Whenever you start, today's rate stays with you for as long as we work together.

Scheduling by Cal.com · secure card payment by Stripe — 1.5% + 20p, no hidden fees

English (TEFL)

£20/hr · trial £15

Online across the UK, or in person near Durham.

Book a £15 trial hour Book a free call instead
Most booked

11+ & SATs tutoring

£20/hr · trial £15

A structured, personal plan, with a report after every lesson.

Book a £15 trial hour Book a free call instead

Babysitting

£15/hr · meet first

We always meet on a free call before your first booking.

Book a free call to meet Message me first

Get in touch

Have a question first? Do ask.

The easiest way to reach me is a quick message — tell me a little about your child and what you're hoping for, and I'll come straight back to you.

WhatsApp The easiest way to reach me Email sophiaroth1@icloud.com Call or text +44 7852 468040