Becoming a private tutor- all questions here

Mrs_Money

I'm thinking of doing private tutoring again and wonder where and how tutors on here advertise?
I know that word of mouth is good, but I've not done it for years as I've been teaching in FE (and now I'm not any more, due to lack of available hours there) so I'm out of the loop.

There are quite a few on-line tutoring agencies - and I don't know which to go for, or even if they would bring results in my local area. When I last taught privately I advertised in my local Friday Ad - it brought a few students, but an awful lot of timewasters who seemed to think that they could get private, one-to-one tutoring for something like the minimum wage !:eek: Plus now the Friday Ad advertising seems to have got very expensive.
Any advice would be appreciated!

ajwolf

I haven't done a lot of tutoring so others may have better suggestions but I found a website called First Tutors very good. I received offers from a number of students not long after signing up.

It's free to list on and the tutee pays a fee to get your contact details from the company (this should discourage timewasters). From then on First Tutors has no further involvement. You create a profile with a bit about yourself and the rate you charge. There is also the option for students (although generally a parent) to leave feedback on your profile which is viewable to potential tutees.

Mrs_Money

Thanks, I'll have a look at First Tutors - not having to pay anything upfront is definitely the way I need to go!

Titchvic

Hi,
Just wondered if any of you on did private tuition for KS1 or KS2? Is there much call for it?
Any tips or ideas gratefully received!
Thanks

Gazing_On_Sunsets

I used to put ads up in newsagents but all my work this year is coming from internet. I have my own site which pops up on local searches, and I advertise on a site (I'm not on commission...it's hometutorsdirectory. com) which has always paid for itself pretty quickly.

bubbleoflife_2

Gazing_On_Sunsets wrote: »

I used to put ads up in newsagents but all my work this year is coming from internet. I have my own site which pops up on local searches, and I advertise on a site (I'm not on commission...it's hometutorsdirectory. com) which has always paid for itself pretty quickly.

So far I have received more responses to ads that I place regularly in libraries than in news agents. I have heard about
http://www.hometutorsdirectory.co.uk/ but never tried it yet.

I have a couple of pupils who need to prepare for the entrance exam into private schools and I need some past exam papers. I can only find Maths papers but not the Science. One site I have found is http://www.11plus.co.uk/ but I'm looking for more past papers for the Science entrance exam.

bubbleoflife_2

Titchvic wrote: »

Hi,
Just wondered if any of you on did private tuition for KS1 or KS2? Is there much call for it?
Any tips or ideas gratefully received!
Thanks

I advertise for GCSE-AS but get contacted for KS3 and 13+ common entrance exams (and offer a cheaper rate for those).
So, I suggest you to advertise for KS1,KS2,KS3 and you'll most probably get calls from parents who's younger children need help with their homework.

Mrs_Money

bubbleoflife wrote: »

So far I have received more responses to ads that I place regularly in libraries than in news agents.

Your local library service allows you to advertise in their libraries? You are lucky! Unfortunately in my local libraries no commercial adverts are allowed - only charity notices and club notices.

vallo56

Please be aware that you need to register as self-employed within 3 months of starting tutoring. The taxman is targetting tutors this year. As a newbie on here I'm not allowed to post direct links so please cut and paste the following (remove any spaces):
http: // www. tayloraccounting. co.uk /news/hmrc-to-use-automatic-search-programmes.htm
http: // www. startups.co.uk/new-hmrc-software-will-scour-web-for-tax-cheats.html
http: //www. lovemoney.com/news/household-bills/tax/12182/beware--the-taxman-is-on-your-tail

For details about how to sign -up as self-employed and for Class 2 NI payments (which applies even if you have a main job as an employee and pay NI through that) visit http: // www. hmrc. gov.uk/startingup/

I know they're doing it because I run a small tutor/client matching service in my spare time, not directly employing any tutors, and they tracked me through Google places and are now asking for names/addresses of anyone who acts for me as a tutor/ instructor etc.etc, although I have registered. It's not just websites either- they scour newspapers, freeads and sites like Gumtree and Friday Ads.They are also contacting agencies and asking for information about anyone the agency makes payments to. So it's not a hassle-free sideline- it's real business. This applies to anyone who gives any sort of tuition or coaching, qualified or not.

therivierakid

Just to add to vallo's warning, I would also keep detailed records of your tutoring. As a bare minimum, names and contacts details of your tutees and their parents; what you charged on which days and how much commission you paid. You could do it on a spreadsheet but I have an Access database that I use.