The moment families resolve to cut private tuition spending is usually the same: after looking at the payments at the start of term. But cutting without a plan leaves a gap in time and learning, and it often comes back a few months later in a more expensive form.

Deciding what will replace it first has a higher success rate than concentrating on the cutting.

First, sort spending into three kinds

Looking only at the total makes it impossible to see where to cut. The items have to be separated by purpose.

• Childcare purpose — filling the hours when a parent is not there. The essence is the time gap, not the learning effect.
• Catch-up purpose — keeping up with the school's pace.
• Extension and pre-study purpose — getting ahead.

The three leave different kinds of gap when cut. So the replacements have to differ too.

Childcare purpose — the replacement is inside the school

For the lower primary years, after-school care, Neulbom School and after-school classes are direct replacements. Neulbom School in particular now runs with a lower threshold for taking part.

Note, though, that after-school care has priority criteria, so applying does not guarantee a place, and applications are generally in March. Missing that window means waiting a semester, so the point at which you decide to cut has to line up with the application timing. The differences between the three schemes are set out in Elementary School.

Catch-up purpose — use the school's support first

Where private tuition exists to keep up, the order is to check the support the school already runs.

• Basic academic ability screening results — see which areas fall short. Available through the class teacher.
• Learning-support student programmes — run within the school.
• Basic Academic Ability Support Centre — referred through the class teacher when in-school support is not enough. Specialist assessment for dyslexia, borderline intelligence and so on at no cost.
• After-school classes — often the same subject at a lower cost.

These are steps you can take before spending hundreds of thousands of won on a private assessment.

Extension and pre-study — the first thing you can cut

Of the three, this is the item that leaves the smallest gap when cut. Cutting childcare leaves nowhere for the child to be, and cutting catch-up puts them behind, but stopping pre-study collapses nothing immediately.

And yet it is the hardest to cut, because of anxiety. So what we suggest is reducing and observing rather than stopping outright. Going from three sessions a week to two and watching for a semester is not too slow.

If you fall within the income thresholds

Education cost support includes items that replace private tuition directly, such as the after-school free-course voucher. Education cost support from an office of education is sometimes available even where you do not qualify for education benefit, so applying and receiving an assessment is the accurate approach. Related material is set out in For Parents.

The order of cutting

1. Sort the payments into childcare, catch-up and extension
2. Reduce the frequency of extension and pre-study first and observe for a semester
3. Check whether catch-up can be replaced by school basic academic ability support and after-school classes
4. Deal with childcare only after a place on a replacement (Neulbom or after-school care) is confirmed
5. If you fall within the income thresholds, apply for education cost support

In summary

Cutting private tuition is not a question of willpower but a question of order. Cut the things that leave the smallest gap first, and deal with the things that leave a large gap only once a replacement is secured. And check what schools and offices of education already provide. Unused, it is the same as not existing.