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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Can a tutor come to my home during lockdown?

123 replies

gruffalo28 · 01/11/2020 21:11

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?

OP posts:
TW2013 · 04/11/2020 13:04

I wonder what happens to all those thousands of students the government promised would get catch up tutors during this second lockdown...

Comefromaway · 04/11/2020 13:16

Private tutors cannot continue to work face to face unless they are part of a recognised school or colleges formal provision or they also provide childcare that reasonably enables a parent to work or access training. (I guess an after school nanny who also helps with homework would come under that exemption)

The legislation defines what "supervised children's activities is and what childcare is and the exemptions that do and don;t apply.

Comefromaway · 04/11/2020 13:18

Education and childcare
You can leave home for education (formal provision, rather than extracurricular classes such as music or drama tuition), training, registered childcare and children’s activities that are necessary to allow parents/carers to work, seek work, or undertake education or training. Parents can still take their children to school, and people can continue existing arrangements for contact between parents and children where they live apart.

Comefromaway · 04/11/2020 13:19

That's the plain English version on the gov website. For the full legal version see the draft legislation.

GabriellaMontez · 04/11/2020 13:40

Interesting comfromaway as that isnt what the legislation says.

"Reasonably necessary for the purposes of work, education or training "

Comefromaway · 04/11/2020 13:48

Have you read all the caveats and definitions?

I've been following it on a class providers group and they have been seeking legal clarification.

GabriellaMontez · 04/11/2020 13:56

Yes I have! May have skimmed some bits. But... It hangs on 'reasonable' I think.

So the op reasonably needs her tutor to come to the house. Equally if they didnt have broadband for example.

From this thread many people feel the same. But lots dont feel they reasonably need to.

I think that's the point. The guidance encourages people to keep working and education to continue.

AnneElliott · 04/11/2020 15:09

Yes I'd say they can come as the tutor is working. My cleaner is still coming - how is that any different? They're doing a job they can't do at home.

LindaEllen · 04/11/2020 15:14

Yes as it's for work AND education. Take precautions, distance from him, and provide sanitiser.

TW2013 · 04/11/2020 15:41

Although then you would have the anomaly that a tutor could come to your house to teach, but if they usually worked at home you couldn't go to their house. I personally would love ds to still be able to go to piano lessons (grade 1 so early days) especially as we are in tier 1, it is education and if he had the lesson in school time it would be fine although don't get me started on how far down the educational priority list the arts are .

cologne4711 · 04/11/2020 15:47

I think it's fine if the tutor can't deliver the same or largely similar experience online.

Interestingly I've been having a similar discussion with my PT because I thought she can come to my garden as it's not a social visit, it's her working. But the guidance (not the law as far as I can see) says otherwise. We can't really go to a park because it's too difficult to transport everything we need so it's online for us :(

movingonup20 · 04/11/2020 15:55

Education is allowed specifically so if the normal place of study is a tutor becoming to your home it's allowed. Care is also allowed. The rules don't provide bespoke advice for every circumstance so it's about working out whether something is genuinely necessary

Newkitchen123 · 04/11/2020 17:09

@AnneElliott

Yes I'd say they can come as the tutor is working. My cleaner is still coming - how is that any different? They're doing a job they can't do at home.
Your cleaner can't clean your house while they're in their own house A tutor can deliver a lesson from their home online
AldiAisleofCrap · 04/11/2020 17:11

No they can’t , even LA provided tutors for children who are EOTIS are not allowed in homes in lockdown.

Comefromaway · 04/11/2020 17:17

Further clarification for childcare and education has been published

“Out-of-school activities and wraparound childcare
Out-of-school activities (including wraparound care) may continue to operate if their primary purpose is providing registered childcare, or where they are offering other childcare activities, where this is reasonably necessary to enable parents to:

work or search for work
undertake training or education
Out-of-school activities may continue to operate for the purposes of respite care, including for vulnerable children.

Out-of-school activities that are primarily used by home educating parents as part of their arrangements for their child to receive a suitable full-time education (which could include, for example, tuition centres, supplementary schools, or private tutors) may also continue to operate for the duration of the national restrictions.

Youth support services, including 1-1 youth work and support groups, may also continue to operate.

These settings should continue to undertake risk assessments and implement the system of controls set out in the protective measures for holiday clubs and after-school clubs and other out-of-school clubs for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak guidance. Providers of youth services and activities should also refer to the National Youth Agency’s guidance for managing youth sector spaces and activities during COVID-19, where it is relevant to do so.

All other out of school activities, not being primarily used by parents for these purposes, should close for face-to-face provision for the duration of the national restrictions.”

Comefromaway · 04/11/2020 17:19

“ Home tutoring and elective home educating
Home tutoring and out-of-school activities to support elective home education can continue to operate provided that they are primarily used by home educating parents as part of their arrangements for their child to receive a suitable full-time education.”

OneInEight · 04/11/2020 18:12

Aldi Where are you getting your information from. ds2 has an EOTAS arrangement (LA funded) and it has been agreed his home tutor will continue albeit with additional precautions.

ZoeTurtle · 04/11/2020 18:21

OP hasn't said she homeschools, so it's unlikely those guidelines apply.

Not sure how one could argue handwriting practice is a reasonable need during a month long lockdown.

AldiAisleofCrap · 04/11/2020 18:23

@OneInEight that is good , apologies then it must be area dependent, I home educate my children with SEN and have friends whose children are EOTAS and they have been told no tutors in lockdown only if it can be arranged online.

lemurllama · 04/11/2020 20:15

@Comefromaway where did you get that information from? I copied and pasted it but couldn't find a gov.uk source.

lemurllama · 04/11/2020 21:33

Thank you @Comefromaway

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