Tutors - what's the going rate?

[cat811]

I know it will vary hugely, but just to get some kind of range - for a Y4 child after school, what would you pay (as a parent) or charge (as a tutor) per hour, in Home Counties?

sowornout yes, she's qualified. I've never actually met her, ds drives himself there after school, but she seems to know her stuff and he's feeling a lot more confident about the exams now

Glad to hear it! .

I charge £30 per hour at my home for 1 to 1, and £60 per hour for up to 4 kids at the same level (part of my work is now with a group of home educators who get together fortnightly and hire me for an afternoon of fun maths)

I am not a teacher, nor do I have a degree, but I am a "professional" maths tutor who tutors up to GCSE level though I am mainly called on for Y3-6 primary school level - I have done it for 5 years, I currently have an 18 month waiting list, I have never advertised, but gone by word of mouth only - there IS a lot more to tutoring than opening a text book - but tutoring is not just about teaching either....

Missbopeep - it also goes the other way round - it gets my goat when people who have been teachers automatically assume they will make good tutors....

Do you never feel slightly guilty that you are charging more than a lot of teachers who have trained for 4 years?

How did you get into tutoring?

On the basis that you are unqualified, and other tutors like me have 30+ years' experience, a degree and specialist PG training, I should be charging twice as much- surely? :)

I am not for one moment saying you are not a good tutor- just asking myself why I spent 4 years training when I could have just said "Hey, I'm a teacher!"

Does it differ depending on what you want the tutor for. I think my son needs help just to keep up with his class. I am not looking at getting him to do any entrance exams or anything. It's no good me trying to help him as he just ends up screaming at me. I need someone else to do it with him. Some of the tutors I have spoken to about him seem a bit sniffy about taking on anyone who isn't going to get into somewhere very selective and make THEM look good.

I just want my son to be able to cope at the (state) secondary he will be going to.

I'd be happy to tutor your son! Not saying I could as I too have a long waiting list- but in principle, I think there are plenty of teachers who are happy to work with children who are at state schools- most of mine are- and who are just a bit behind. But I still think you need a qualified teacher. It's like any profession- would you go to an unqualifed lawyer, doctor, counsellor etc- who SAY they can help you- to save money ( maybe). There is an assumption sometimes that just because someone speaks Englsih, can read, write and do some maths then they can be a teacher

I never say "hey I'm a teacher" - I am not a teacher I am a tutor- they are different, and no I never feel guilty charging more than teachers who have trained to be teachers for 4 years as once more, I am not a teacher , I am a tutor.

If they want to charge £30 an hour and have the skills to be able to meet the needs of children in their area, than why aren't they charging that amount - supply and demand....

I got into tutoring by helping a friend's child to understand Y4 maths and helping them learn "smart" so that they could pass school tests rather than just get bogged down on the first question. I took him through the topics which he really didn't understand - fractions/ratios - and then some other mums asked for my help - Year 1 went like that, for an occasional bottle of wine as a thank you, then someone said "You should do this professionally" so I signed up for some OU courses, did some volunteering to help with maths at my local primary school - keeps me up to date on current methods, and my help is valued (which is worth as much as money to me) spoke to the taxman and hey ho 3 years later £30 an hour.

In Glasgow for secondary geography. £26/hr

I charge £28/hr for A-level Biology, £25 for GCSE. I am not a qualified teacher, but have a degree and Ph.D in Biology. I also taught 2nd year Undergraduate level at University. For a specialist subject at post-16 level, I would argue you don't necessarily need a qualified teacher. The students that come to me have no faith in their 'qualified' teachers and some teachers clearly don't know their subject matter in depth. My students get very good results without me having a PGCE.

I concur absolutely that some post 16 students do not need a qualified teacher- my DD had one for A levels. Had I been able to find a teacher though ( science subject) I would have preferred that. I do agree though that there are many teachers ( and I said this 2 posts back) who are useless either in the classroom or working 1;1. But that doesn't mean all non-teachers are good tutors either- or should even try to teach.

I think it is semantics to differentiate between a tutor and teacher in the context of private tutoring. I am a teacher with QTS etc but what I do with pupils 1:1 is tutor so I am referred to as a tutor.

If anyone asked me what I did at 5pm on Mondays I'd say I tutor- not teach - or they would think I was in school.

I charge £25 per hour for GCSE Maths tutoring. £30 per hour for A level. They come to my house (or my school classroom if it's been organised through school) though so I don't have travel time or costs to worry about. I'm in Cumbria.

South east, going rate is £35 ph for 1:1.

Whilst maths may be slightly different (it's not my subject) I think if you are not a qualified teacher it would be very difficult to tutor GCSE or A Level students, purely because although you may know your subject you are not au fait with what the exam board require. LaQueen you sound well read, but are complaining that your relative is teaching 'to the test' and that they only know 'what is required for the curriculum'. The point is that you need to know what is required for the curriculum. Yes, it's a poor way of teaching to my mind - but if you have hired a tutor to coach your child to get the best possible grade then you do need someone who knows exactly what sort of questions will be asked, how to answer them, what examiners are looking for, etc. If you are not teaching this subject and marking coursework professionally I would imagine it is difficult to be absolutely confident that you know what the exam board require in enough depth.

sowornout - the exam boards have specifications available on their websites, endorsed textbooks are available from all good booksellers and there are masses of past papers, mark schemes and examiners reports available. I think anyone with a half decent brain can work out what is required from utilising all of these materials. I make damn sure I am 100% familiar with all of these. I am also a registered examiner for one of the exam boards - they don't require me to have a PGCE or to be actively teaching. They seem happy enough with my qualifications and subject knowledge. There's no reason why a parent looking for a quality tutor wouldn't be either.

LaQueen the fact that you know of someone who appears to be under-qualified who is a teacher in a school ( which may have occured due to teacher shortages) doesn't make it right for unqualified people to work as tutors.

I am sure you know your stuff and are a good tutor- but there are equally many, many teachers who work both as teacher and as tutors who are as well, if not more, qualified than you are.

It works the other way too LaQueen- teachers who love literature find that the requirements of the exams demand a tiny fraction of their knowledge. Latterly this has meant that complete texts are rarely studied for GCSE ( deemed " too hard"), and texts set fot A level were once GCSE texts..and I could go on! Without blowing my own trumpet I find that my literature students do well because I tend to give more than they need for the exam.

'tis truly shocking.

A few years ago I tutored a boy who was studying a Dickens novel for his GCSE at a very good private school as it happened- and I was shocked to hear he only had to read the first few chapters.

What is more shocking was that years ago I had read that book when I was a pupil- aged 11- 12- at grammar school where it was our class reading book.

Yes, I too was astounded when ds told me that they "don't need to read the whole play"

It's just bizarre, not to mention disappointing.

When I was a governor at a primary school I was talking to the "literacy coordinator" about English. It was not going well as I had mentioned Shirley Hughes of whom she had never heard, and then a few classics which also drew blank looks. She then puffed out her chest and demanded to know what exact qualifications I had as I wasn't a teacher .

My dd1 (year 8) is currently reading macbeth. They are studying it at school but won't be reading more than a few scenes, so she has decided to read the whole thing herself. It's great that she has such enthusiasm but it's such a shame that not all of her class will bother. Most of them will watch the film in class (not even the proper version - a 'modernised' version with only the very basic storyline).

Missbopeep. I too am a highly qualified teacher. I don't tutor because I am too busy and live in a remote area so would just be making parents pay to cover for my own inadequacies, but I have done so in the past.

I have been teaching for 20+ years.

However, I would disagree with you about the need for a qualified teacher as a tutor. I am not sure what part of my vague, waffly, mad Cambridge PGCE prepared me for tutoring - if there was anything, I slept through that bit. What I do have, is experience. But why can't a tutor without a PGCE have that too? Also, let's face it, even A Levels are just not that hard if you have a degree in the subject and can look things up. Past papers are plentiful, exam technique has changed very little over the years and anyone with a degree knows how to be a successful learner.

OP - good luck to you and to all tutors - good on you. I find small numbers very intensive and really hard work. Give me 20+ teenagers any day! And here in my bit of Scotland we do teach the WHOLE text....