Giving back to my community

Having grown up and attended school in Bradford, Zubhiya Yunis was keen to give something back to young people growing up in the communities she knew well

I have always been passionate about working with young people from many different backgrounds."

Zubhiya Yunis, Tutor

18

months

Having grown up and attended school in Bradford, Zubhiya Yunis joined our tutor community in late 2022 with an ambition to give something back to local young people like her.

She was, she says, keen to work with pupils in schools similar to the one she had attended.

I had hopes of working with young people in West Yorkshire and particularly Bradford – growing up here myself I understood then and now, that there is often a gap in education in areas that might be described as underserved. I have always been passionate about working with young people from many different backgrounds.”

Zubhiya Yunis

Having previously worked as a cover supervisor and teaching assistant, supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in a one-to-one setting, as well as mentoring children from early years to KS4, Zubhiya brings a broad range of experience to her role as tutor.

Since graduating from the University of Bradford in 2023, with a degree in Public Health and Community Wellbeing, Zubhiya has been working a couple of days a week with us. And very often she is supporting young people in multiple sessions a day in the same school.

As well as the enjoyment she has from being able to share her passion for English Language and for English Literature, Zubhiya gets equal satisfaction from the non-academic elements of tutoring.

There is often an almost pastoral element to tutoring – I often get to interact with students who may have challenges with confidence or self-esteem which can affect performance in school subjects. This is something that I can work on throughout my sessions through positive reinforcement, encouragement and tailored planning for those students."

“I also see students who may have initially found it hard to speak to me as a stranger and ask me for assistance become more relaxed and comfortable speaking to me – which is great to see. Not only does this support the National Curriculum aims around pupils developing confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills, but also shows that my tutees are developing interpersonal skills whilst being tutored.”

Zubhiya Yunis

And, as with other tutors who work with us, Zubhiya says she gets just as much out of tutoring as her pupils and is inspired by their ability to overcome challenges.

My tutees have a massive impact on me as a tutor; my tutees are often very resilient and have a determination to meet their targets and even exceed them. This is something that, even as an adult, can be difficult to take on but it is extremely endearing to see young people have this attitude towards their learning and their life outside of school.”

Zubhiya Yunis