Lockdown learning just got easier thanks to innovative new service pairing university students with children studying at home

What on earth is a fronted adverbial and how do you begin to explain compound fractions to a 10-year-old? If, that is, you can even remember the answer yourself. Home-schooling is causing massive headaches for lots of parents – who are also trying to work from home at the same time.

Cue innovative educational start-up Student Nannies which has launched a new Virtual Student Nannies service so parents can now book thousands of clever Student Nannies from top universities all over the UK as expert study buddies and homework helpers in maths, English, sciences, languages + more (from art, drama and singing to zoology and astrophysics).

As the ‘new term’ starts on Monday 20th April, many parents are seeking extra support, fearing that they are knocking their children’s confidence with their impatient, grumpy teaching style.

In the 1-2-1 sessions students can answer questions, explain tricky bits, boost confidence and encourage children on. And we all know that children are far more likely to cooperate and less likely to argue with someone who is not their mum or dad!

‘Bookings from working parents wanting help with maths, English and science are flooding for next week,’ says mum of two, founder and CEO Tracey Blake. ‘It’s hard having a conference call while being constantly interrupted by your children asking for help with their maths! We also have parents looking for revision help for mock exams and the 11 plus’.

But it’s not all about core subjects. ‘We’re seeing a trend for fun subjects too, like drama and singing. One parent has hired an LSE student from Portugal to teach her football-mad son Portuguese because he’s obsessed with going to Brazil one day! Another parent has booked singing lessons for herself!’

The service is also a hit with the UK’s students, with around 30 a day signing up. With universities closed early and many students returning to their family homes, the service enables them to carry on earning money in a safe way, using the skills and expertise from their degree.