Rise in students being tutors

[Daisypod]

I've noticed recently a rise in people advertising either for themselves or their kids to be tutors when they have just passed their GCSEs as they've done really well. This is for younger children now doing their GCSEs. I have nothing against this but they are charging almost the same as local qualified teachers who do tuition. As well as not being trained to tutor at just 16 they are unlikely to have the skills to teach or the depth of knowledge of their subjects even if they did get grade 8/9.
So
Yabu let them crack on
Yanbu helping out younger kids is great but setting yourself up as a proper tutor is taking the mick

We had an A Level pupil do weekly maths tutoring with our primary children. She charged £15ph compared to professional tutors £30 in our area. Our kids related better to her as a young person and she made it really fun. I think as long as they are upfront about their age and experience level, then they can charge whatever they like. If people are willing to pay it, then I don’t see the problem.

We tried a few of these qualified teachers who tutor in their spare time with our kids. They were universally dreadful. Really dull, no enthusiasm, not able to adapt the way to teach to my son and daughter (they're very very different personalities and learning styles!!)

Now we use a company who train up young tutors and they are FANTASTIC. My daughter's current tutor is about 18, possibly a bit older, and my son's tutor is about the same age. They are so good - my kids love their lessons, are really excited for them, and the tutors are full of energy and enthusiasm for their subjects. They are very very well trained though and it's a proper company they work for, not just a Facebook advert.

This is quite likely and again it's up to the parents to check what they're paying for.
I'm a qualified teacher. I would not entertain working for an agency. The vast majority of my clients are from word of mouth and after school I'm fully booked with a waiting list. I've never used an agency. I've used one with a finder fee as a one off but that's paid by the client not me. I would never use one where they are paid every week and certainly wouldn't use one where i don't set my own rates.

I'm a private tutor, and tbh, us tutors who are fully qualified teachers, don't feel in the least bit threatened by students being tutors.

They can't get away with charging much, and don't have much in the way of teaching skills. From what I've seen as well, they don't stick at it very long.
But for those parents who want their child to have a bit of extra help, but can't afford much, hiring a student is a reasonable option.

However, by employing student tutors, you are at risk of "pay peanuts, get monkeys."

The student tutors corner such a small part of the market, that honestly, it has no impact on the tutors with professional training.

The market will tell them if it’s too much.

Well I thought the thread title said 'Tudors' so this whole discussion is very boring compared to what I was expecting! 😫

Some would be good, some wouldn't. My oldest would have been good at tutoring maths at GCSE once she'd started A-levels. She used to do a lot of helping her peers and that sort of thing from a young age and really enjoyed being able to help. I'm not sure my other two would have been good though.

I did wince when I saw a FB advert in September 2020 from a child I knew really well who would have just received her GCSE results, offering tutoring for GCSEs for several subjects (at £40 as well) saying that she'd got all 8s and 9s in her GCSEs. Well, she might have, if her teachers had been prepared to lie that much as they were teacher assessments, but I know her predicted grades in February had been 5s and 6s tops, and she had no patience for younger children either. However I couldn't see any parent/child/her lasting beyond a couple of lessons.

I think I'd say from that if you as a parent do choose any tutor, firstly ask to see the certificates (including DBS-dm was with a couple of agencies and she was never asked for one by the agent nor parents) and secondly I'd make sure you're around/listening at least at the beginning and checking that they're sounding reasonable competent. You might get a really good one for a cheap price, but I would be wary.

Why should a parent's only reason for selecting academic support be how cheap it is though?
There are many benefits a "youngster" might have, better rapport with the student, recent experience of the same thing, more understanding revision techniques.
Being older or a teacher doesn't make you a better tutor.

Most of the better teachers I had throughout school were the younger ones, who on the whole were much more dynamic, engaging and energetic than teachers who had beed doing the same thing day in day out for 30 years and had less spark to them.

I used to tutor GCSEs and A-levels while at uni 10+ years ago. I charged (and got) £25 an hour then so doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

I was the top rated tutor in the region on the platform I used and had so much work that I booked up for the year within a couple of days and regularly had to turn people away. All my students did really well and I’m still in contact with some of them now. I think it’s an entirely different skill to classroom teaching.

I have to formally teach in my career now at university level. I have never had any specific training for it and it’s expected to be done by me and my colleagues for free in our spare time.

You can't apply for an enhanced dbs yourself.

I think it's a great thing for students to help younger pupils if they want to. However, the price should reflect that. Teachers know how to mark, have access to great resources such as mock papers, and will have more in depth knowledge, no matter how good the student is. Even an A* student won't know everything. Teachers will also have knowledge about pastoral care such as managing anxiety or SEND issues.

You can apply for a basic one, but also I would expect an agency to do enhanced ones before putting anyone on their books, and they could set up to do them.

Dm was able to apply for one as a tutor through a local government scheme for exactly that. I don't know if all LAs did it, or if it still is possible to do as dm hasn't tutored for some time.

I'm a qualified teacher. No longer work in a school. Tuition is my main job without an agency and has been for over a decade. I've never once been asked for a dbs.

A think a lot try to advertise themselves at similar rates to teachers, in reality i know no parents who use teenagers/students as tutors for anything more than about 1/4 or 1/3 of what an experienced teacher gets.

I live in an expensive south east commuter location and the local community buy/sell pages are full of annoying/cheeky ads from "tutors" aged about 19 and based in cheap areas in the north trying to target affluent families for online tuition because they think they can charge a lot to people down south. They are increasingly blocked by site admins as the site is for local businesses!!

A couple of the kids that my dd tutors are kids who really dislike school. I think their parents feel that dd will be more relateable than a qualified teacher and that the kids will engage more. Plus she is a kind of positive role model.

I've listened in to some of her online sessions and I have to say, she does an awesome job. And a few of her pupils have been with her for nearly 2 years now so I presume that they're happy with what she's doing!

YABVVU.
Anybody can set themselves up as anything they want. If it doesn't represent value for money, they'll soon go out of business.
And unlike say, an unqualified dentist a couple of sessions with an 'unqualified' tutor isn't going to cause lasting damage. It's very easy to get a sense of how good they are, and the progress a child is making.

@Twentytwo22 I think it really depends on what a child needs. If a child has SEN/anxiety/whatever and parents want someone to handle that they can't cheap out.

However, having tutored myself as a uni student. I have no formal SEN training but being ND myself had a good understanding of others with a similar profile. Certainly, I was able to pinpoint not only what they struggled with but how their minds worked, similar to mine so I help them leverage it to their advantage.

These days I teach juniors in a very technical profession and the same principles apply.

The objective is not to get someone who knows 'everything' it's someone who can get the best out of the student. And if people are paying the prices, it's worth it to them. If they find it too much they can just find a professional or DIY. their choice.

At the school where I teach we have lots of peer tutors who work with younger kids in maths. Some of them are excellent and great at explaining things, some are not. Knowing the material enough to get high grades doesn’t always translate to being a good teacher but some of them do a really good job of it.

Now, this is free through the school so they aren’t charging premium rates. I would absolutely not pay the same for a 16/17 year old as I would for a qualified, experienced teacher but I wouldn’t discount them totally!

I do understand parents not wanting to pay as much for student tutors with no teaching qualifications. I might well feel the same in their shoes.

However, some parents have tried quite hard to negotiate dd down on her rates on the basis that they could get a qualified teacher at the rate she charges, and they have been quite annoyed when she has refused to do it at the rate they think is fair. Her argument is always that her time is precious and that she actually has a waiting list of people who are willing to pay what she charges, so why on earth should she do it for less just because they're looking for a cheap option?!

If they want a qualified teacher and can get one at that rate, then they should go ahead with that option rather than trying to hassle young students to reduce their rates. DD doesn't need the work and won't do it if it isn't worth her while... I'm not quite sure why some parents take offence at this!

Exactly!
One thing I'll say tutoring is not completely scalable. Of course a good tutor will have their own notes they can re-use but apart from the actual time spent with each student there's a lot of individual behind the scenes prep to be done. Consequently a good tutor can only take on so many students.

If you can't get a place with a 'qualified' teacher and have to pay a 'student' the same rate that's on you. Unlike a GP or electricity you're not owed a tutor and actually what we should all be focusing on is well-resourced schools so this whole tutoring thing isn't needed in the first place!

I have had a lot of pupils who haven't liked school but have thrived one to one.
The way I teach one to one is completely different to the way I used to teach in schools.

Tutoring 1 to 1 is very different to teaching a whole class with different abilities.

Yes...

That's why being a qualified teacher who covers the whole class isn't comparable to tutoring. Which is what some posters were saying was a requisite for a tutor.

Indeed
I'm tutoring someone at the minute who doesn't have the best relationship with the teacher. I can fully see why but on a one to one level it's a totally different story.
I have almost 30 years of teaching experience but none of that is at A level so I don't offer it. It's not the subject knowledge, I don't know what a typical grade looks like. It would be a lot of work for me and I don't need it I'm already full.
I don't think students offering cheap tuition are any threat to my business but I do agree that they should have at least a level higher than they're offering and I don't think they should be charging full fee. Or maybe I should reword that, I wouldn't pay full fee. Some obviously will.

I don't think they should be charging full fee. Or maybe I should reword that, I wouldn't pay full fee. Some obviously will.

Exactly. They can charge what they like. It is for the clients to decide how much they are willing to pay!

I think if I was looking for a tutor for exam subjects, I would probably look for someone who had experience of exam marking as well as teaching. Sometimes it's not just the answer, but the approach to the answer which can make all the difference.