Becoming a private tutor- all questions here

therivierakid

I've had a couple of messages from Jon at Beanbag. It seems to be a very well put together site (certainly for tutors anyway)... I just hope parents are going to find it when they're searching.

whatamidoing?

Hi I am thinking about tutoring to bring in some extra money, but there's 2 things I'm wondering about.

The first having to register as self employed with HMRC. Do I need to do this before I start, or at any point? I'm not sure I will earn that much from doing this and doubt I would earn enough to get above the amount where I would need to pay tax. Also if I got a part time job and continued to do this as well, would things be tricky from a tax point of view with 2 jobs? One where i was employed and the other self employed as a tutor?

Also what about public liability insurance?

Would appreciate some comments/advice.

kim_ley

Anyone can apply for a criminal records check...
I would say ring around see whats available in your area already and how much they charge. Have a good look though as you may find its not worth it as there is too much competition. You could also set up a website and offer online help at a set charge per session using a private chat. Most websites have a basic chat function available at no extra cost but you can pick up more advanced software for next to nothing.

claralou

whatamidoing? wrote: »

Hi I am thinking about tutoring to bring in some extra money, but there's 2 things I'm wondering about.

The first having to register as self employed with HMRC. Do I need to do this before I start, or at any point? I'm not sure I will earn that much from doing this and doubt I would earn enough to get above the amount where I would need to pay tax. Also if I got a part time job and continued to do this as well, would things be tricky from a tax point of view with 2 jobs? One where i was employed and the other self employed as a tutor?

Also what about public liability insurance?

Would appreciate some comments/advice.

You can't register as self-employed before you start. You have to wait until you have started; and make sure you have done it at least within 3 months of starting otherwise you're liable to pay a fine. It's very easy though - a quick phone call or an online form. You might find this page helpful http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/register-selfemp.htm

I have been doing a mixture of self-employed tutoring and employed other work over the past couple of years and it's not a problem. When you fill in your tax return you have separate sections to declare your earnings from each job, whether self employed or employed. You might find (as I did) that you actually end up claiming back some tax on your employed job.

I'm not sure about public liability insurance. You may need to look at it if you're doing the tutoring totally independently, I'm not sure. I tutored through an agency so was covered by their insurance.

Hope that helps!

missheatherwilson

I earn about £400 a month extra from tuition at Kip McGrath and doing one to one tuition too. I emailed my local Kip centres and got the job that way- we earn up to £40 for a 1 hour and 20 minute lesson, and I'm currently spending some of my lovely holidays teaching at their summer school too! That and exam marking makes my salary up to almost £33k and I'm just a main scale teacher Yes, it takes up a lot of my spare time but with 13 weeks' holiday, it's no biggie.

thecraftybear

Hi all
I agree that however much you charge, you should be declaring it. BUT ... by the time you've knocked off paper, pens, fuel, books etc and all your essential teaching aids, you won;t pay much tax - if any. For the first three years of me tutoring, (and charging at least £15 per hour as an unqualified tutor) I was never charged tax ( i think my day job covered it all). Since then, It's never been a huge bill and I'm earning far more by doing it this way. I live in Kent and since I qualified I can earn £30+ per hour.

I'd suggest that you download from the AQA, Edexcel and OCR sample past papers before they remove them and get yourself one or two decent textbooks to work from with your first few week's wages. I also charge for 5 lessons at a time and keep the fee if they simply don't turn up. I also ask them to buy a textbook to use for their homework and set homework each week (which must be done or I sack the student for repeated failure to do homework!). I have waiting lists now purely off recommendations.
I'm sure that even if recession hits, I'll still be full, but my students will come fortnightly instead of weekly. Now is a great time to start because our 11+ will be sat in Sept.

Good luck

polesana

I have a degree in Italian and I lived out in Italy for a couple of years teaching English (I also have a Trinity TESOL cert). I would like to get into tutoring either Italian or English as a Foreign Language but I'm not sure if there's much demand. Does anyone have any experience of teaching either of these subjects?

bobito

Kim (message 94) says "Anyone can apply for a criminal records check..."
I was told that the only way to get an enhanced CRB check, which I believe is necessary for working with young or vulnerable people, is through an (or prospective) employer. I would like to have one done, but the local police station (in London) referred me to a scottish website which does not seem to do CRB checks for england, so I would like to know what the true situation is. Meanwhile, I'm registering with a supply teaching agency and they will apply for it.
Bob

dunelm

As the CRB officer for our organisation (First Class Learning) I know that its a bit catch 22 if you are self employed:
"The current legislation does not allow the self-employed or individuals to apply for a CRB check on themselves. In addition, parents who employ a nanny/au pair/babysitter directly cannot apply for a CRB check; however, if an agency supplies the nanny/au pair/babysitter, the agency is entitled to carry out a CRB check."

Usually an employer or agency will do this for you. If you work with children you should have an enhanced CRB. Some employers/agencies will pay for the check and some will ask you to pay for it yourself (currently about £45).

CRB checks can take a while to process as the checks go from national to regional to local police and then back to the orriginator. I have experienced checks lasting from as long as 3 months to as short as 4 weeks. As I am able to track our applications, any hold up seems to be at local level and perhaps due to their current workload at the time.

There are some changes due to take place:
The Home Office announced that from 12 October 2009 individuals will need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if they are to work or volunteer with children and/or vulnerable adults in a regulated activity.

The cost for an individual to apply to register with the ISA will be a one-off, lifetime fee of £64.00. Hopefully this will speed things up if you already hold a CRB and are registered as employers will be able to check an individual’s ISA-registration status online or as part of an Enhanced CRB check.

Incidentally, if you are thinking of earning a decent living tutoring then check us out at www.firstclasslearning.co.uk - we don't bite!

Austin_Allegro

I'm considering something along these lines, any advice appreciated.

I have a degree in English, postgraduate qualifications in publishing (proofreading, editing etc), I write plays for children and have helped them learn lines etc at an amateur dramatics group (I am held in awe as 'the man who writes the words' LOL). I've not done much else with children apart from working briefly as a classroom assistant, which I enjoyed but found a bit wearing.

I'm not really interested in schoolteaching because of what I can gather (from friends who are/were teachers) about red tape, discipline and educational theory, or lack of, in schools.

I would like to offer some kind of help with reading/reading aloud/handwriting etc for younger children (say, primary school age) on a one-to-one basis. It would be informal and wouldn't be directly concerned with passing exams etc. I wouldn't expect to be paid full tuition rates but would something like £10 a hour be realistic?

Is there much scope for this do you think, or is this kind of thing offered free of charge in schools these days? I'd like to start out small and see how things progress.

I'm happy to get a CRB check (as a single man in his thirties I'm probably a prime candidate for suspicion ) but does one mention this in publicity etc or just wait until one is asked?