Families are turning to tutors in rising numbers to ensure their children do not fall behind as COVID-19 wreaks havoc in Queensland schools.
Parents say mass student and teacher absences have caused "chaos" in term one, which is already two weeks shorter because of the Omicron wave.
Classes were also cancelled during the floods in south-east Queensland.
Toowoomba mum Kym Morrissey has daughters in years four, seven and 10 and says the disruptions are affecting her family's wellbeing.
"I can't wait for it to be over, to be honest, because it's been a really bumpy ride," she said.
"It's not just in the classroom — it is more than that.
"It is the socialisation of students, it is building community and confidence and wellbeing — those things we're missing out on at the moment because there's a lot of people sick with COVID."
Ms Morrissey first sought a tutor in 2020 at the onset of home learning.
It is an extra measure she believes has been necessary during the uncertainty of the pandemic.
"I'm very grateful and very appreciative of the fact that we have a tutor that gets my girls and that we can sort of customise their tutoring around that," Ms Morrisey said.
Learning in quarantine
Another Toowoomba mum said her youngest son, a year seven student, became disengaged after two periods of quarantine.
"At the beginning, he thought, 'Oh yeah, let's go — I'm in lockdown!'" the mother, who did not want to be named, said.
"But then when he realised he was missing out on all these other little activities, it became hard.
"I think he's lost all his mojo.
"If we didn't have that [tutoring], I think I think the kids would have just lost complete interest in everything."
Demand for tutors
The federal government's job outlook report predicts the tutoring sector will grow by more than five per cent annually over the next five to eight years.
Australian Tutoring Association chief executive Mohan Dhall said there was no denying the impact of the pandemic on children's learning.
"When we rebounded [from COVID lockdowns], there was strong growth," he said.
"It's now been this early part of 2022, when there's been restoration in growth again, and we expect that growth will be ongoing.
"When there are delays and losses of time, face to face in classrooms, there is absolutely learning loss."
Price to pay
Tutoring company director Ted Carter has put on extra educators to cope with the numbers of students, which have risen from 35 to more than 80 a week over the past two years.
"During those initial five weeks of lockdown, some parents couldn't work," he said.
"There were families who were having to either buy food or pay for data so their kids could do homework.
Mr Carter said the demand had not wavered since the initial pandemic lockdown in March 2020.
"It's as if the everything went into fast forward mode, leaving teachers with fewer opportunities to support the kids as much as they would like to and that compounded the frustrations and difficulties for many students," he said.
"As much as the schools and the teachers try, what can they do when there's such incredible interruptions?"
Hope for the future
The Queensland Department of Education is warning parents to choose carefully if they decide to engage a tutor, because "some children don't respond well to tutoring".
It advises families to speak with school staff to find out if their child needs extra help.
Despite the continuing COVID turmoil in schools, Queensland Teachers' Union president Cresta Richardson says there is respite on the horizon.
"At the end of the year kids will have gotten there, they'll have gotten what they needed to learn out of the year," she said.
