Tutoring
Children and young adults are back in classrooms post-Covid and many are getting ready to sit formal exams for the first time in two years. Unsurprisingly, after so much time spent out of the classroom, private tutoring is in high demand.
Private tutoring provides one-to-one or small group tuition. Typically tuition is offered through private lessons held in their own home, in the student’s home or, and increasingly, online.
This profile provides information about starting up and trading as a freelance tutor.
Qualifications and skills
There are no formal qualifications legally required to start up and trade as a tutor. However, most tuition agencies require tutors to have a degree in their chosen subject.
The following courses are suitable for anyone intending to start up as a tutor:
- Learning Provider Accreditation through the Learning & Performance Institute (LPI), delivered by training providers around the UK. For information and to find a local provider, go to www.thelpi.org/programmes/learning-provider-accreditation.
- Planning and Delivering a Training Session, which is a Level 3 qualification accredited by City & Guilds that is delivered at training centres around the UK. Course fees vary according to centre. For more information and to find a local centre go to www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/learning/teaching/6258-delivering-training.
- Social Media Marketing Training, which is a two-to-three-hour online course provided by High Speed Training. The course costs £25 (excluding VAT) and explains the benefits of using social media for marketing and how to comply with advertising standards (highspeedtraining.co.uk/business-skills/social-media-marketing.aspx).
- GDPR Online Training, which is a 60-minute course, provided by High Speed Training that covers the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Topics covered include recognising personal data, understanding individuals’ rights, the importance of appropriate security measures and the consequences of breaching the legislation. The course costs £25 (excluding VAT). Go to highspeedtraining.co.uk/business-skills/gdpr-training.aspx for more information.
- Free webinars provided by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), covering topics including Making Tax Digital, business expenses, self-assessment online, VAT, self-employment and becoming an employer. Go to www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-webinars-email-alerts-and-videos
Providing online tuition
The fastest growing method of delivering tutoring is online lessons. The last two years of Covid has facilitated this expansion of online learning exponentially. With various software available we have pulled together a few options for the would-be online tutor.
- Tutors providing online tuition use specialist online meeting and webinar software such as Cisco WebEx (webex.com) and Adobe Connect (www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect/meetings.html). Features of the software include live video streaming, live chat and session recording and playback. Costs vary but start from around £20 per month.
- Basic videoconferencing via Zoom is free and unlimited for personal one-to-one sessions but limited to up to 40 minutes duration per session for group meetings. Business use for unlimited duration sessions costs from £12 per month. Go to https://zoom.us for more details.
- Free internet calls and videoconferencing are available via Skype (skype.com/en), or via FaceTime if users have Apple devices such as iPhones, MacBooks and iPads (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204380). Google Hangouts work on a range of devices including Android, IOS or desktop computers (https://hangouts.google.com).
- Tutors providing online tuition via YouTube will need to set up a YouTube channel that will enable students to find or subscribe to the tutor’s content. Go to https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407 for more information about uploading videos to YouTube.
- For more information about uploading or delivering tuition via Facebook, go to https://www.facebook.com/help/166707406722029.
Registering with tuition agencies
Tuition agencies act as intermediaries between tutors and students. Some tutors find it difficult to get regular work directly from students when they first start up in business, so registering with tuition agencies provides an opportunity to gain experience and build a reputation. Be aware that all tuition agencies will require a potential tutor to hold a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. The details of tutors who register with an agency are available to anyone searching for a tutor.
Examples of tuition agencies and directories in the UK include:
- Fleet Tutors (fleet-tutors.co.uk), which is an agency that maintains a roster of approved freelance tutors.
- Home Tutors Directory (hometutorsdirectory.co.uk), which is an online directory of tutors and tuition agencies throughout the UK.
- Tutors International (tutors-international.net), which recruits tutors for private clients and specialises in residential placements for tutors who can provide full-time home schooling for a term or a year, or tuition for students whose families are moving abroad.
- Online ‘noticeboard’ agencies match tutors with clients and enable tutors to post details of their services and qualifications. Examples of noticeboard agencies providing opportunities for language tutors include:
This may be the perfect time to look into tutoring. Recent and future reforms set to boost take-up of languages may be positive for any potential language tutors, whereas the announcement for a further years’ worth of funding for music hubs may provide music tutors with some additional students. The recent disruption in education means tutors in all areas are sought after for extra and catch-up tuition.
Where next
If you are thinking of taking the plunge as a tutor, Duport can help with Company registration starting from as little as £9.99 or avoid future disappointment with our name reservation service.
This includes legal documents and access to our expert advisors who are here to help you at every stage. You will also receive a comprehensive report detailing how to start tutoring in the UK. This includes market issues and trends, trading, and commercial and legal insights.
