Looking to ignite my tutoring business in Gloucestershire but unsure if there is any demand

[Tutoringteacher]

I’m a mum of three and a fully qualified teacher. I’ve been working in the classroom a long while and really want to branch out in the tutoring world as it’s working directly with children that I love the most. I live in Gloucester but am unsure whether to give up my classroom job if there isn’t demand. I am primary based and have experience in both KS1 and KS2. I also have experience with the 11 Plus. I guess I’m wondering whether anyone would use a primary tutor’s service or whether there is little demand comparative to secondary.

I would have thought there was huge demand for 11+ tutoring given the number of local grammars. But it’s not something that could replace a full time job because kids can only be tutored in the evenings and at weekends. It’s not exactly a family friendly job.

Thanks . Perhaps so. Yes I think like most, I would be looking at running affordable group tutoring as well as 1:1 in order to make it sustainable. I would love to help SEN children out of education as this has a personal connection.

I'm not in your area, but have both my children in tutoring. The older one for 11+ and the younger for extra phonics and reading work as was behind. We pay £25 for 1hr 15mins in a small group of up to 6. It seems to be the going rate.

I think out tutor does home Ed and sen 1-2-1 in the weekdays. I think some is funded through the council for out of school kids.

I'm in north Gloucestershire - the market town that floods 😉 There is demand for tutors here. The couple I know of are full.

I'm wondering about a tutor because Dd age 9 dislikes doing things at home. She's recently diagnosed as dyslexic so needs inventive learning.

ShelfShark lots of kids are home schooled so could be tutored during the day. We looked into it for DD15 - unfortunately it wasn’t for her. The tutors charged an average of £35 an hour. I would love to earn that much although I appreciate there’s probably a lot of work involved.

Surely the best thing would be to try it as a side hustle for a bit and see if it takes off? You could give it a go in the upcoming May half-term and summer holidays.

I've used tutoring in the past but it was always on Saturdays/the school holidays/the evenings. You don't say how old your DCs are now, so no idea whether those working hours would suit you or not.

Ask on local Facebook groups.

Thank you, it’s quite a big leap for me at the moment as my school wouldn’t look favourably on me tutoring and being a full time class teacher so I need to build my confidence before I approached this. I would offer groups in primary English (creative writing/ handwriting also), maths, reading for £15 an hour (face to face)in a group of no more than 6. Im based around Hucclecote. If I were to run 1:1 face to face I don’t think I could do it for less than £30- so thank you for letting me know that you’d think this was too high as I’m really interested to learn how to pitch things right. Thank you for your ideas also of running a course in one of the half terms this could give me an idea perhaps of the uptake. 😊

Research on line to see what is available now. Check if there are virtual schools you could be involved with. Are there any franchise groups- kip McGrath, kumon etc- act as a potential customer to market test.

I have worked with many dyslexic children and they respond so well to inventive ways of teaching 😊. I wish your daughter luck in her learning journey and fingers crossed for supportive teachers who understand her needs !

@Tutoringteacher I live very near you! As in just down the road!

Can't give you any advice but when my young DDs are older maybe I'll contact you about tutoring them for 11+ if you end up doing that we are certainly spoilt for choice for grammars here so I would imagine you could get a lot of work doing this.

We are very spoilt for choice aren’t we! I definitely need some courage to take a leap of faith. I will definitely be persuing this at some point as I love teaching and really enjoy the small group aspect and 1:1!

I wouldn't call it spoilt for choice! In fact the opposite!

There's only one state school where I live and the grammars cream off the top and mess up the demographic. Wish they'd get rid!

Most of the Gloucestershire grammars are filled up by out of country kids -
BBC News - Gloucestershire grammar schools filled by out-of-county children
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-68678224

All my children’s tutoring was online. It was actually a local company but didn’t matter as we never met them face to face! Could you join an already established company and build up your confidence and tutoring skills rather than jumping all in and setting up your own business (yes, you’ll only get a cut of the hourly rate, but don’t have to do any of the admin around running a business, marketing, tax etc).

I used to tutor on the side when I was in my second year of teaching. I didn't do it as a large scale business per se, just advertised locally and took on one evening and two Saturday sessions. I was charging £25 an hour back in 2018, in Manchester.

I personally stopped because my Saturday clients were pains in the arse. Basically expected me to jump when they clicked their fingers. They were always changing session times, cancelling or trying to add extra ones, nagging that I wasn't pushing their child hard enough etc.

So many homeschooled families now, they might want tutors. I'd focus on that market.

@Curlewwoohoo I do agree with you 100% - I would be ecstatic if we had no grammar/private schools and an education system that provided free and excellent comprehensive education for all our children.

I went to a comprehensive in Gloucestershire myself which was very good at the time but has declined hugely in the last 15 years. I really hope whoever is in charge of the country for the next 5/10 years makes a change for the better!

Regarding this thread though, I was speaking in the context of our current reality locally and the OP's career plans!

I am in Gloucester and used a tutor for my oldest for 11+ and will likely soon be looking for a tutor for my youngest (our tutor has stopped tutoring for this year but I'm hoping she is going to re start!)
There is huge demand for good 11+ tutors in the area, a friend of mine has had real difficulty in finding a tutor and has eventually signed up with one who has all kinds of strict conditions - ie must commit for a full year, buy all of the books and do at least 3 mock exams, and she charges £45 per hour! The tutor I used was much more casual about it, and I paid £25 per hour for 2.1 tutoring.
For non 11+ I'm not sure of the demand at primary age - perhaps you could look at local homeschooling groups and see if the would have any interest? I'm not sure if 11+ would be enough to replace a full time teaching role, as everyone would want weekday evenings.

I use a tutor, someone local who I found through a recommendation. My child needs extra support and the tutor is a great way to do this, and can help with reinforcing the basics. I am close to the area you've mentioned. After Covid and just generally I think there are a lot of people who'd use a tutor for consolidating learning, as well as 11+ although that is not a focus for us.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my post. It is really helpful to hear of the different ways you use tutoring services. All your comments have been helpful in some way so thank you 😊

This definitely gives me food for thought and I really hope to build my business soon.I think I’m going to sign up to Tutorful and start advertising my services for the start of the summer.

I will offer face to face small groups and one to one. I’m thinking £15 each for an hour for a small group of 6 (maths, English, reading or 11plus) and £35 for an hour face to face. Although I will charge £30 per hour as a summer discount over the hols as I can offer these as standalone lessons with no minimum contractual agreement.

Thank you to those who also mentioned home education. I would definitely like to offer provision for those children not able to go to school for a variety of reasons, at some point in the future as this is close to my heart.

I’m in your area and have a tutor for my two DC. Pay £35 an hour twice a week (children have SEN). Our tutor is amazing and was recommended by our school. We use her services throughout the year including holidays to keep them ticking over. She’s done absolute wonders for them. Good luck, I think in your shoes, I’d do the same.

I pay £35 for 45mins, in the north west! I think the demand is definitely there but depends on your qualifications, I personally wouldn’t touch someone without teaching experience I wouldn’t want a TAs or classroom assistants.

Thanks I’m a fully qualified teacher with QTS and years of full time classroom experience. I have SEND experience and I have a child who is autistic so I understand difficulties from the parents perspective too. 🙂

Please PM me your details if you do go for it, as I'm likely to be looking for a tutor soon

I want an 11+ tutor for my son in Gloucester, if that helps?