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Kumon pros and cons
Worldwide, Kumon claims to have 4 million students at 26,000 centres in over 50 countries. This includes the US, Australia, Canada, Germany and Brazil. These are run on a franchise basis in much the same way as businesses such as McDonalds, Costa Coffee and Subway.
Although a privately held company, Kumon is thought to be worth over $650 million.
How does the Kumon Method work?
Kumon is essentially a system for learning Maths and English (the original focus was on Maths, but an English programme for native speakers was added in 1997). It’s designed as an independent programme with instructors and their assistants tailoring education for individual students.
What does Kumon cost?
Before starting you will need to pay a one-off registration fee of around £40 in London. The cost is then around £65 per month per subject. This includes two 30 minute sessions a week at one of the study centres (often these are schools or church halls). The student will also receive five other sets of work each week.
Most centres offer a two-week trial so you can see how your child gets on with the Kumon programme before fully committing.
One criticism is that many students find the work boring and repetitive because it focuses on rote learning rather than understanding the subject matter.
They also say their children have little time to complete the homework from school and the Kumon work. As a result, they can become quite stressed.
However, evidence suggests children who start on the Kumon programme from a young age may learn valuable long-term life-skills such as self-reliance and managing their time appropriately. Some also progress more quickly in school but this might not happen immediately.
Are there any alternatives to Kumon?
For those unsure about Kumon, several other learning programmes are available. One of these is Explore Learning. Like Kumon, it offers Maths and English teaching for 4-14-year-olds. However, it also adds 11 Plus/entrance exam tuition too.
Currently, there are 139 Explore Learning centres across the UK. These include centres within shopping centres such as Westfield London, Lakeside, Cabot Circus and Sainsbury’s supermarkets. Over 35,000 attend these centres every week.
Explore Learning’s Maths and English tuition is aligned to the national curriculum. The downside is that it’s expensive. Maths and English tuition typically cost between £109 and £134 per month for two sessions plus a joining fee of £50.
Tutoring for the 11 Plus is even more pricey – between £135 and £160 per month for three sessions per week (Maths, English, 11+). Some parents also complain that the program is overly reliant on computer software rather than teaching.
How to pass the 11 Plus Exam
Kumon Method – DVD-based learning programme
Another learning programme which has attracted much attention recently is the Student Support Centre. Instead of the child having to go to a specific learning centre every week, the Student Support Centre’s ‘Simply’ programme claims to offer individualised learning via a series of DVD-based lessons.
Once your child has watched a DVD, they simply complete one of the exercises provided with the accompanying textbook. Like Explore Learning, the Student Support Centre is based around the national curriculum. But again it’s not cheap. Typically each ‘Simply’ learning programme costs around £1650 for a course of lessons.
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