Can a tutor come to my home during lockdown?

[gruffalo28]

I know the detailed guidance is out tomorrow but thought I would ask consensus? I have a tutor come to my house for 2 hours a week to teach ds and dd. I employ her through an agency. The agency ask for payment at the beginning of the month (today). I made it clear that zoom lessons wouldn't fit the bill and it had to be in person and it was agreed that lessons would be suspended if that were the case.

Today I asked the agency if we could continue during lockdown and they are categoric we can provided the tutor and I are both comfortable (we are). She has asked for the next month's money in advance. I'm just a bit nervous as I'm not sure this is how I read the guidance and I'm worried agency will keep my money and try to move to zoom.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this is likely to be permitted under the lockdown from Thursday?

My dd has a tutor for english and one for maths. The last month dd has been doing zoom for english as the tutor is vulnerable, we pay termly and it is £££ she is happy doing zoom. The maths is a friend so cheaper and payg we will give zoom a go next week and hope for the best.

It is what it is im afraid OP and the rules are the rules. My mum is having to undergo surgery this week, its highly risky surgery and i cannot see her so no, dont be selfish your tutor cannot come in your house

Thanks ImMoana that made me smile. IABU probably not to have used the SEN board as I'm listening to parents reeling off with pride all the many things their DC can do online. My DS not so much.
Thanks though this is helpful, it looks like from a legal point of view agent is probably right.

I am a private tutor. Before all this happened, I taught both at my home and at my students’ homes. Since March I have only offered my services online. I lost a number of students where it wasn’t possible to teach remotely as a result. I accepted that that would happen.

In any one day, I teach several students. One after the other. If I continued with face to face lessons, I would of course be at a higher risk of catching Covid. If I did become infected, then i would lose a lot more income from having to self isolate for up to two weeks - a lot more if my symptoms became serious. If I am asymptomatic, then in any one day I could infect up to 5 different households. Across the course of one week, I could potentially be exposing hundreds of people.

It would also mean that I wouldn’t ever be able to see my parents, or friends, because I could become infected at any time, and wouldn’t know I was infected until symptoms started to show. If they appeared at all.

I am not prepared to take that risk. For myself, my friends, my family, or any of my students.

People working in your home was allowed even during the last lockdown although not for the first couple of weeks. It is not the same doing Zoom at all, my children struggle with Zoom tutoring, so I would either cancel or have the person over.

And this is why the pandemic continues, irrisponsible at best having a person come into your house when not absolutely necessary.

Why would you want a third party in your home to potentially introduce a deadly, virilent, horrible virus into your home.

You may be fine if you catch COVID-19, but you may also pass it on to someone who is vulnerable and not survive.

Oh come on what a ridiculous comment. Rules have been set out, it is fine to follow these rules which state that you can visit someone's home for work purposes. Clearly the tutor cannot work from home as the OP will not employ them unless they come to the house.
You clearly have zero understanding about the purpose of these restrictions, which is to "flatten the curve", not "eradicate covid and prevent anyone else getting infected ever ever again".
These restrictions are designed to reduce infections at the population level. There is no point in individuals making up their own extra restrictive (and badly spelled) rules and trying to randomly impose them on strangers on the internet.

The tutor can come to your house to work. And if face to face is the best way for your child's education to be delivered, then that is fine. Just like it is in schools.

I think therapists are also mostly continuing to work face to face. With the best will in the world, a lot of interactions are second best on zoom and whilst that might be ok for a short while, most people don't want that going forward. It's not quite the same as a cleaner who obviously can't zoom, or an electrician, but it is work and I don't think it's the same thing as working from home if you are in a call centre.

dont be selfish your tutor cannot come in your house

So is it also selfish to go out to buy food or to exercise, to send children to school, to go to work, or to do any of the other things that are allowed under the rules? Why pick this one thing and call the OP selfish?

Will it be possible for the tutor to socially distance/wear a mask?

My sister is a cello tutor. She is cramming in her lessons for this week before Wednesday, and then will go zoom as per the previous lockdown, iit worked ok then , none have dropped out,

@gruffalo28

Thanks ImMoana that made me smile. IABU probably not to have used the SEN board as I'm listening to parents reeling off with pride all the many things their DC can do online. My DS not so much. Thanks though this is helpful, it looks like from a legal point of view agent is probably right.

My child also has SEN. His tutor will come here if she is happy to do so. Zoom is not an alternative.

Bring on the wrath of MN.

Bring on the wrath of MN.

I'm in Northern Ireland and we're 2 weeks into a tighter lockdown. We can't have mixing in households, but tutoring and music lessons in your home are allowed.

Justifiable is a different question. I needed to be sure what the legal position was first. I was just worried the agent was after the month's money upfront which she might keep as a credit against future tuition once it is ascertained tuition cannot be provided. The rights and wrongs of face to face tuition I will decide together with DH and the tutor herself rather than on here.

Zero understanding, I've already seen too many people die from covid....... Come and spend a day in my shoes nursing them as they die alone, gasping for breath.

It's heart breaking.

with respect this is a pointless discussion until the LAW, not guidance, is finalised and made

That sounded harsh. I totally appreciate and empathise with your situation. I just mean its unhelpful to pick things apart until we know the law. I think it just leads to more worry and also confusion where people come away thinking they can do xyz when we don't know until law is made. The way this gov is going about things isn't helping

@Spud13 - my best friend is a palliative care nurse. I don't think I've ever heard her talk about patients like that. In fact none of my nursing friends use that kind of melodramatic language. Odd.

I hope we're not going to have much more of those ridiculous debates about cleaners/electricians/plumbers/tutors/handymen/gardeneres/window cleaners/workmen being allowed within the home. They were allowed last time (after some initial confusion, granted), they are allowed this time! It would be ridiculous to stop them working, it's shit enough as it is, let's not make our own stupid rules on top. I will have my cleaner (she wears a mask and I stay out of her way) and any tradesman I need (some work going on). I don't have tutors and Im lucky that my children do well on online lessons like cello but if they didn't then I would consider continuing.

Yes but they can work from home over zoom or teams. I think the can't work from home/ working in other peoples home rule is meant to apply to people like cleaners, plumbers, electricians or decorators.

Unfortunately in a anonymous environment such as this forum you are are able to be blunt, that's how it is, I'm in an area with a massive 2nd wave surge. Of course drugs are given for comfort and staff do what they can but bare bones.... It's shit.

Agreed Newmumatlast. We don't know for sure until law passed on Wednesday. This has been helpful though as I did have a sneaking suspicion that the agent was pulling the wool over my eyes but it seems it isn't an unreasonable interpretation of position so I was being unfairly suspicious.

Unfortunately in a anonymous environment such as this forum you are are able to be blunt, that's how it is, I'm in an area with a massive 2nd wave surge. Of course drugs are given for comfort and staff do what they can but bare bones.... It's shit.

I think tutors are similar to plumbers in that they work at your house so exempt but can your kids social distance from the tutor ? I'm assuming not so would personally postpone.

The comments about Zoom tutoring are unhelpful. You know the most effective way to teach your kids and if it's in person that's fine.