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FAQs

Q: How does Kumon’s home-based programme work?

Kumon is a partnership between student, parent and Instructor. The Instructor creates an individualised study plan for each student, and sends home the worksheets they are ready to learn next on their own.

Instructors are also available for regular communication by phone, email, SMS or video messaging. Students study their worksheets, daily. Parents encourage their children to complete their worksheets to the best of their ability. Parents then mark and grade the completed worksheets. While students do corrections, parents record the results on the study record sheet.

Q: What kind of results will I see in my child through Kumon?

The Kumon Method is individualised to each student’s ability. Through a comprehensive initial assessment and ongoing recording of their completed worksheets, a student’s study plan is constantly updated to make sure they are studying at a level that is challenging, yet achievable. This ensures students progress at a pace determined by their ability and not their age.

All Kumon students begin learning at an easy starting point. This is done to improve concentration, strengthen fundamentals in maths and reading and to allow a student to adjust to the Kumon Method of Learning before they progress to more advanced levels.

Students do not pass or fail Kumon. Rather, their performance is monitored according to the time taken to complete their work and the accuracy of their answers. Students are given the chance to revise and practice concepts until they are confident and ready to move on to a new topic.

Kumon uses a selective curriculum that covers all the essential concepts needed for a student to confidently solve advanced calculus or comprehend complex English texts. By studying these fundamentals for between 15 and 30 minutes each day, students progress to study topics beyond their school grade level and become self-learners.

Q: How much does studying with Kumon cost?

There is an initial, once off enrolment fee of $100. With a monthly fee structure, Kumon tuition fees are $160 per subject per month.

If your child is enrolled in both Kumon English and Kumon Maths, you will pay $320 per month.

Fees cover the cost of tailored support from your Kumon Instructor and daily assignment of worksheets for study.

Q: How do I enrol into Kumon?

Step 1: Locate your nearest Kumon Education Centre

We invite you to use the search feature on our website to find a nearby Kumon Education Centre that operates at convenient times for you. Click here to view our search for a Centre website.

Step 2: Attend a Parent Orientation

Contact your preferred Kumon Education Centre to find out when the next Parent Orientation will be held. At a Parent Orientation, the Kumon Instructor will let you know how Kumon works and how students learn within the Kumon Education Centre, and at home. You will also have a chance to ask questions.

Step 3: Assessment

The final step is for your child to be assessed in their maths and/or English by completing a short Diagnostic Test. Based on the test results and the observations of the Kumon Instructor, an individualised study plan will be created for your child. The plan shows what your child will be learning in their first days of Kumon up to what the Instructor predicts your child will be learning after 12 months.  This procedure comes free of charge and with no obligation to enrol.

Q: Is there a minimum age to enrol in Kumon?

Our programmes start with content that supports very young children to develop their pencil skills and concentration ability. Minimum age requirements vary from centre to centre. We recommend speaking with your local Kumon centre for further details.

Q: How does Kumon complement the Australian school system?

The Kumon Programmes complement school by using a selective curriculum that covers all the essential concepts needed for a student to confidently study advanced high school maths or comprehend complex English texts. All Kumon topics appear in the Australian curriculum.

The key difference is that Kumon students make progress based on their ability rather than their age. The aim is to develop a student’s academic ability and study skills to the point where they can learn material ahead of their class for confidence and success at school.

Q: How does Kumon help my child improve in school?

The Kumon programmes help children to develop strong study habits, mental calculation skills, strong reading comprehension, perseverance and the motivation for learning independently. These are essential for success in school.

Q: If my child is behind in class, how long will them take to catch up?

Kumon is an individualised programme. Students learn at the level ‘just-right’ for them. This said it generally takes 12 months for students to begin to study advanced material. An individualised study projection for your child will be created by your Kumon Instructor shortly after enrolment.

This projection will contain specific goals for your child’s learning.

Q: Why is my child doing the same worksheet again?

As playing an instrument or sport requires practice to improve, the skills of maths and reading can also be improved through practice

To ensure a student can progress to a new topic smoothly, it is important that the student is confident in each topic that comes beforehand. In many cases, students will be given the opportunity to revise worksheets until their Kumon Instructor considers they are ready to move on to a new concept.

Q: Why is my child doing such easy work at the start?

At Kumon, we emphasise an easy starting point. This is so your child can complete worksheets accurately and with a good pace, right from the start of the programme. This early fluency and accuracy is important as it not only supports your child to become comfortable with the routine of doing Kumon, but it will help develop your child’s confidence as they experience a feeling of accomplishment with each worksheet.

The easy starting point also reinforces their mental calculation and/or reading comprehension to ensure strong foundations before moving on to more challenging work. Please talk to your Kumon Instructor to further discuss your child’s study plan and goals.

Q: How does Kumon assess students ability?

Kumon Diagnostic Tests pinpoint a child’s strengths and any gaps in knowledge and understanding they may have in that subject. Accuracy and time taken to complete worksheets are also used to gauge a student’s ability of that topic. Kumon students do not pass or fail tests. Rather, results are used by the Kumon Instructor to plan a student’s programme.

There are also other ongoing, informal assessments of students’ academic skills and abilities.

Q: What role do parents play in their child's Kumon study?

As Kumon is primarily a home-based study programme, parents are given the opportunity to greatly enhance their child’s progress by supporting their learning at home.

This support changes from family to family and Kumon Instructors can advise parents based on individual circumstances. Kumon parents often say that supporting their child them brings peace of mind, as they are able to see their child’s progress in comparison to the benchmark of Kumon’s International Standard.

Parents also use Kumon as a tool to teach their children the value of practice, responsibility and discipline.

Q: What are the qualifications of Kumon Instructors?

All Instructors are trained and qualified by Kumon Australia and New Zealand. Instructors progress through extensive screening, training and receive ongoing professional development.

Only university qualified candidates are able to become Kumon Instructors. All prospective Kumon Instructors must also pass maths and English proficiency tests, Working With Children Checks, and complete initial and ongoing training.

Thereafter, Instructors run their Kumon Education Centre while adhering to quality standards. A dedicated team of field staff ensure Kumon Education Centres operate using best practices.

Although many of our Kumon Instructors come from an education background, some have previously worked in other industries.

Q: What usually happens at Kumon Education Centres?

Students are usually at the Kumon centre for 30 to 45 minutes per subject, depending on the student’s age and difficulty of the worksheets. During this time, Instructors discuss completed homework with students and clarify any instructions or exercises. After this support has been provided, students will then complete their worksheets and supplementary activities for that day.

Q: Is Kumon available during the school holidays?

Kumon Education Centres operate all year round, except for a period of up to three weeks over the Christmas/New Year period. Kumon does not offer ‘special’ holiday programmes, but new students are welcome to enrol in our regular programmes at any time. During the school holidays, many Kumon students choose to increase their study to prepare for the new school year.

For families new to Kumon, commencing Kumon study in December or January can help your child begin to develop maths, reading skills and study habits before the start of the new school year.

Please contact your nearest Kumon Education Centre to find out how Kumon can benefit your child over the holiday period.

Q: Do students have to commit to a certain period of time?

No, but the Kumon Method is designed to be and most effective as a long-term study programme. It aims to fully address the fundamentals of maths and English and develop students’ life-long learning habits.

In general, we aim for a student to be studying just above their school grade after 12 months. From this point on, they can advance their learning even further. Many students find that by staying with the programme, they learn the value of persistence and patience as well as time management and organisation.

We encourage you to talk with your local Kumon Education Centre to further discuss your child’s situation.

Q: Is there a specific programme for pre-schoolers?

The Pencil Skills Programme is available to pre-school children who are starting to use pencils and have enrolled in either Kumon English or Kumon Maths. The programme is intended to be fun and helps young children acquire basic pencil control skills.

These include the ability to, hold a pencil correctly, maintain proper writing posture, use consistent writing pressure, control the start of, and end of, lines; draw straight lines, draw curved lines, and draw lines within narrow spaces.

For more information on the Kumon Pencil Skills Programme click here

Q: What is the difference between Kumon and tuition?

While Kumon Instructors give individual support when needed, the overall aim of Kumon is for students to become self-learners. Kumon students who have developed the discipline, persistence and confidence to be self-learners find that they are not limited by their access to a tutor or teacher and can independently manage their learning.

Q: Is it possible for an adult to enrol with Kumon?

The Kumon Programmes cover content from pre-primary through to materials seen in Year 12. While many of the students who attend Kumon are of primary school age, there are no age restrictions.

Q: Does Kumon use a phonics-based or whole language approach to learning English?

Kumon uses both phonics and whole language elements within the Kumon English Programme.

Level 5A is particularly devoted to phonic elements, as children learn to recognise the sounds of letters (5A1-70). They build on this through understanding sound parts (5A 71-150). In level 4A, the sounds of familiar letter combinations are covered in 4A1-100. Rhyming skills are covered in 4A101-150, with sound parts a focus here as well. In level 3A, spelling patterns and syllables build on the development of children’s ability to link the printed word to the sound it makes.

Coupled with this are Levels 7A & 6A which help children associate the whole word with its meaning through the use of word/picture association. This provides children with exposure to words and the images that represent the meaning. The use of key words and their corresponding pictures supports the development of children’s comprehension skills and this approach continues all the way through the early levels.

In summary, Kumon uses both phonics and whole language approaches. We believe this is the best way to help nurture mature, skilled readers of English.