Tutoring

[Maggiethecat]

Posted on another board but no response.

Dd is considering tutoring English in her gap year before attending the course. Likely to be 9-15 age range.

She has done some preparation and is speaking with her teacher about how to approach it.

Does anyone know what kind of rates she could be looking to ask? Does anyone's dc tutor?

I don’t have DC who tutor but my children are tutored (age 9 and 11) and we pay £38 per hour (south east) but for a fully qualified teacher with many years of experience of primary teaching and the curriculum. We used to pay £10 per hour for a uni student to help my then 9 year old with maths. Somewhere in between?! Depends where you are in the country too I would think.

DD was paid £25/hr as an Oxford Grad tutoring maths and biology to GCSE and ALevel students.

@Teeheehee1579 - it is difficult to gauge. She’s learning too that it’s not just a matter of rocking up for lesson but that she has to prep for it too. Am hoping that she can find an acceptable price balance for the effort she has to put in as she seems to enjoy it.

@BigWoollyJumpers - that sounds a good rate - of course your dd is a graduate and Oxford. But that gives an idea of where Dd may have to peg her rate.

I wouldn’t expect to be charged the normal rate for an experienced tutor unless they were fully conversant with the curriculum, exam specification, mark schemes etc.

I’m not sure just having studied the subject yourself at school is enough.

But obviously what parents/students are looking for in a tutor will vary. So if it is younger children who just need someone to go through things with them again, that is different.

@Decorhate - Dh is sensible in her expectations given her limitations. She still needs to work out what a reasonable rate is.

The target group I think will be younger children who need some help and reinforcement in the subject.

Wouldn't she be better getting a job with Explore Learning or similar? Loads of sixth formers get work there.

She’s learning too that it’s not just a matter of rocking up for lesson but that she has to prep for it too

DD did a lot of prep work for her students, so I would agree, that is also quite a lot of work.

Year 12 Dd tutors a child for the 11 plus. She gets £30 for two hours. She didn’t set that rate, the mum advertised at that price.

@crazycrofter - I would say that £15/hour is reasonable if you're going to do a good job of preparing/teaching.

Depends on why she wants to tutor to be honest.
If she wants to earn money earning £15ph sounds quite attractive, but as well as preparation there is a lot of admin to do including advertising and registering as self employed for tax reasons. Working in a tuition centre may sound less attractive in terms of pay per hour, but your dd would be working more hours and there would be some training and they will be able to supply references which may be more useful than tutoring if she is considering training as a teacher after her degree.
What is the tutoring market like in your area, is demand high or low?
It takes some time to build up a business and get your name known. Some families would want tutoring to be for a much longer time than just one year before the tutor starts university.
Where would she be carrying out the tutoring. If it's at your home then you will need to check the implications for your house insurance for having visitors to the house. If it's at the tutees home then would your dd be able to travel there independently and would car insurance cover business travel?
In some areas the market has become saturated because a lot of people have set up as tutors during the pandemic.
Hope that helps.

@catndogslife - some useful points not considered before.

Will mention to her checking out tuition centre.

Has she considered (as you say 'gap year' and not 'around her studies') that there is a limited time frame when the pupils are available ?

What age range is she thinking of tutoring?

How familiar is she with the curriculum for that age range?

I'm not in an 11+ area, but I'd have thought Primary pupil parents would be looking for people with skills and knowledge to 'get people through the exam' or knowledge of how children with a specific learning difficulty learn.
Then KS3 - is there much of a market for English skills ?
GCSEs you'd need to really know the exam boards and what they are looking for I'd have thought ?

I know a couple of people who tutor maths as more people get stuck with a concept and need help working through. Indeed, I paid a University student a few sessions to go through a Science A-level with one of my dc, but it was to give her time to go over what she had done in a lesson.
I'm concerned that there are fewer folk looking for English tutors for 'general support' , and if there will be enough to sustain her through a whole gap year

@BackforGood - she would not be relying on tutoring solely as I think the plan is to work in restaurant/pub etc. But tutoring would allow her connection to what she's interested in.

Hi, OP -

I think the plan of registering with a tutoring centre could be a good one.

On a similar thread recently, someone proposed that the DC market herself as a Homework Helper. This was in response to comments from several teachers and former teachers who felt that tutors should have specialised curricular and pedagogical knowledge. IIRC, the suggestion went down well for the most part.

A number of UGs in my School do Maths tutoring. So they are more qualified. Rightly or - as I think - wrongly, people seem to hold Maths in a bit more awe. I think their usual rate is about £18-20/hr, so £15/hr seems a good starting rate for your DD. She can increase it some after a few months if she is building a good reputation.

PS if your DD develops good relationships with a few tutees this year, they can carry on long distance whilst she is at uni!

get her to do some research as if she was searching for a tutor in your area. That will give her an idea of the market/ competition.
dies she have a dbs? Vital.

We paid a uni student studying math £15/hour. The professional tutor charged £25/hour (English). Both fir GCSE exams.
If just on gap year tutoring non exam students I'd expect to pay around £12/hour.

Why on earth would they want to tutor for £12 per hour especially when you factor in the prep time to do it properly. I did some tutoring as an undergrad years ago and it was quite mentally draining. Far easier to get a less bitty job with more hours in a bar or restaurant. I think managing parent expectations can be a bit of a pain too as expectations can be unrealistic.

If she likes working with kids she could consider doing nannying. I’m a student and I got nannying work through Koru Kids agency (although I’m sure there are others). A lot of the adverts request help with homework and obviously all kids study English up until GCSE, so it could incorporate ‘tutoring’ without the prep work.