This is general educational guidance. Check the linked official sources and your child’s school instructions for the applicable syllabus and assessment year.
Repeated gaps in prerequisite skills
The child may avoid tasks that depend on an older skill, make the same type of error or require increasing help to start. Review several assignments to see whether the pattern is consistent.
Ask the teacher or child which earlier concept seems to be blocking current work.
Falling independence or confidence
Watch for a student who can follow an example but cannot begin a similar question, or who gives up before reading the task carefully.
Support should rebuild manageable success and decision-making, not make the child dependent on someone completing work beside them.
A mismatch between effort and method
Long study hours with little improvement may signal passive rereading, unanalysed practice papers or corrections that are copied but not retried.
Before adding tuition, test a clearer routine: retrieval, targeted practice, feedback and delayed correction.
When to consider other support
If sudden academic changes come with persistent distress, health concerns or major changes in sleep and behaviour, talk with the school and appropriate professionals. A tutor should not be used as a substitute for wellbeing or learning-support assessment.
If tuition is appropriate, define one or two goals and review them after several lessons.