A Dartford mum has transformed from a school teaching assistant into the owner of a private tutoring company managing 60 tutors.

Taylor Rickner, 29, focused on making Love to Tutor services affordable to working-class families and catering to children of a range of different needs and preferences.

She studied for a degree in SEN teaching in 2011 before working at a secondary school in inclusion rooms as a teaching assistant.

After she had her son, she started looking at getting back into work and decided to take up tutoring.

Taylor set up the company Love to Tutor four years ago, when she realised she needed some extra hands for the teaching while caring for her eight-month-old.

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Taylor told the News Shopper: “It is a little bit different from the other tuition companies because the teachers are young and the kids identify and relate to them, it seems to have worked really well!

“We match the tutors to the kids based on personality, likes and dislikes and their needs.

“We also have a lot of SEN kids so children with dyslexia, autism, mental health conditions and so we consider things like that.”

Taylor said she from a working-class background herself and found that her mum could not afford tuition when she was growing up.

This made Love to Tutors affordability a priority to Taylor.

Taylor said: “I know that there are so many kids out there that it would make such a difference to just having that one hour a week with a one-to-one tutor.”

“I tried to make it about the cost of a takeaway, so it was achievable for working-class families to have that support and to try and close that gap in education.”

During the pandemic, Love to Tutor launched their online side of the business and hosted free live lessons on social media to try and provide some extra education during the lockdowns.

The company now offers online or in-person sessions for children from reception age to adults seeking assistance with education.

Taylor recently won ‘Young Business Woman of the Year’ at the Kent Women in Business Awards for her work with Love to Tutor.

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The tenth anniversary of the Kent Women in Business Awards took place on March 11 at The Ashford International Hotel.

Taylor said: “I didn’t expect to win at all, I was ready to go and just enjoy the night.

“It was really inspiring to be in a room full of lovely talented women and the Calabar was so high there I fully expected to not win but I was so honoured.

“A massive thank you to my hardworking team, my husband and family for being so supportive.”

Taylor was also runner-up in the category ‘Women in Education’.

She said that managing the business had its ups and downs, but she is thrilled with how much it has grown.

Taylor explained: “It is hard learning about business when you aren’t really from a business background and making yourself go for it really.

“I always thought it was a fluke when it was starting to go well, and I think the old imposter syndrome was setting in and you have to learn to push that away.”

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