Private tutor/references/CV etc

[Eleanor02]

Great difficulty in finding a tutor to help DS with one of his AS courses. Finally, an agency came up with several local tutors. Tutor 1 was unprepared (came only with a note pad even though wed told him in advance what DS wanted to cover) and was too familiar with DS. DS said he felt uncomfortable when tutor tried to joke, touched his shoulder and even, at one point apparently, put an arm round him. Clearly not coming back .
Tutor no 2 tutorial was in tutors house and DS said room cluttered, furniture rickety and cat in the room bit of a nuisance (tutor had to go out and feed it at one point). Again, tutor unprepared and in fact DS said that tutor had laboured over a question, clearly not understanding it and struggling to explain. I know kids can be prone to exaggeration but I dont think DS was this time. The context is this DS pretty desperate, exams imminent. Id spoken to this tutor on the phone and emailed. Asked him if he knew the board/syllabus/had taught the subject to A level. Totally evasive on all counts. Asked him if he could kindly provide a reference. No, he couldnt said agency had done the checks.
Said agency is now asking us to email through any concerns and dont want to speak on phone. They did say that all they do is pass on names to parents. Id have thought that this underlines the fact that as parents we are in effect the employer and therefore can legitimately ask for relevant information from the tutor and for sight of a reference or a referees phone number. Also for DBS/CRB (though said agency is supposed to have taken those up, too).
Clearly dont want to waste more money or disappoint DS any further so were going to look for a good, reliable, experienced tutor from September. In the meantime, pretty annoyed about this particular agency and the very odd tutors theyve put our way. Would like re-funds actually, suggested to tutor no 2 that he re-funded on the basis that he wasnt going to assure us about his background and experience and that session was clearly unsatisfactory. He told us to take a running jump .
Thoughts? Thanks!

What subject?
We used a tutor for DS2 when at prep for one subject badly taught by the school, we went through an agency as it's not a completely mainstream subject and couldn't find anyone. The first session was free, my DS decided if he liked the tutor, the tutor if he liked and felt he could help my DS (he was younger than the usual age group he taught). The agency provided the references (and there were many very positive comments about him on their website by other tutee's, parents etc.) but he did show us his current and up to date CRB as it was then called. Having established we were all happy we them paid the agency a commission and started the lessons.
We alternated between our house and his, he like us is hopelessly untidy, and like our house the room is cluttered (he's an eccentric) but I don't care. My DS did unbelievably well in the subject in a very difficult entrance exam that was what we were paying for not a tidy house!
If it's a mains stream subject and therefore there's lots of tutors or you live in a big city and have lots of tutors to choose from continue looking for one that suits.

On some points, I'd agree with you completely. It is important to have a relationship of trust when working (quite intensively) with someone on a one-to-one basis.

However, I would take issue with you referring to yourself as "effectively the employer". You are not their employer, otherwise you would be liable for employers NI contributions, sick pay etc etc etc, you are the client of a self-employed tutor. In other words, whilst you might ask a potential tutor if they could provide you with a CV, references, CRB etc, they are not under any obligation to provide these and you are not entitled to it if the tutor chooses not to provide it. Note, tutors are not obliged to have a CRB/DBS check done at all (though most do) because they are not expected to be in sole charge of under-18's.

Of course, if someone is not willing to provide this information, you may decide that it is too important to you and not to proceed further without it. Personally, I usually offer to show people my certificates,CRB etc at the first session (and in my case, my career history is easily google-able anyway due to my past academic career). I would suggest talking over the phone with a tutor before booking the first session and be absolutely clear about what you expect from them. After that, try a session and see how it goes. If there are any doubts on either side (the tutor's or yours) about being able to work together at that point, you've only spent an hours worth of fees.

Tutors are self employed and so don't have to show CRB or references etc but it is good practice and I'd be surprised if most don't. I have an up to date DBS (new CRB), offer references and would never dream of showing up unprepared. I also tell new tutees' parents exactly what I'm going to do in the first session in terms of assessment, checking the tutee is comfortable with me etc and then ask them to sign a contract with my terms.

I'd try to find a tutor through personal recommendation or a reputable site like First Tutors (though maybe you did-I'm not sure from your OP).

(To be clear, the contract comes after the first session, so if the tutee doesn't like me there's no obligation to come back.)