From tutor to manager – Ella’s Explore Learning journey

It has been a complete whirlwind of emotions, experiences, events, and lessons!

Having started as an online tutor all the way back in 2020, with no experience, to graduating from university and to now being a service delivery manager - I feel incredibly empowered by the journey I have been on not just from a career perspective but also as an individual.

As a tutor, I was able to not only be in a role which matched my passions of working with and inspiring children, but I was also given the chance to further enhance my personal skill set. There were so many opportunities given to me, such as virtual tutor trainings as well as direct feedback from my managers that led me to build resilience, leadership skills and an ability to adapt.

Alongside this, I was also given the opportunity to train as an on-call supervisor and it was this very opportunity that helped me to start to understand the business side of Explore Learning. I was able to interact with members, customers and even have a small glimpse at what leading and developing a tutor team could be like. I loved this role so much that I then decided to apply to the future leader's pathway. This scheme gave me even more opportunities to further develop and supported me in securing a service delivery manager role!

It is now 6 months on from my first day as a manager, and I am still loving every minute of it! It has been incredible to get stuck into new things (such as holding progress meetings), plan for my centre’s growth and really utilise my experience as a tutor to develop a tutor team who all deliver outstanding service.

I have gained so much in my first 6 months, and I am still learning every day. There are many opportunities to keep developing as a manager, such as virtual classrooms, which I love as you get the chance to meet and learn from other managers. I also have incredible support from my line manager, and we work together every day to ensure we offer amazing service and showcase Explore Learning’s educational credibility. I, personally, have learnt how to be proactive, tailor my educational recommendations for our members’ needs and more importantly, my confidence in leading a team has grown massively and I now lead a team of almost 70 tutors!

I am often asked what led me to want to be a manager at Explore Learning, but the answer is simply the people! Explore Learning is a family; I feel so supported every day and grateful that I get to make a difference to children’s education and personal lives daily.