Everything You Need to Know Before Giving Private Lessons

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."

Albert Einstein

Tutoring is a noble and fulfilling profession that will bring you the joy of helping others and the satisfaction of seeing your students progress.

Before you start, there are some practical questions to ask:

• Do I have to have the skills to be able to teach, and do I need a degree?
• How do I find students as a teacher, and should I work with an agency?
• Can I make a living tutoring in the UK?
• How do I write my bio to attract students?
• How can I stand out from other teachers on a tutoring platform?
• Which professional or tax status should I choose, and how do I declare my income?

We answer all these questions and more in our guide for private tutors.

Want to give private lessons?

Join the Superprof community and share your knowledge with interested and motivated students.

Create an advert

Are you wondering about becoming a private tutor? There are several advantages to choosing this profession as either your main job or a side hustle.

The Passing on of Knowledge?

First, you will have the joy of imparting your knowledge and skills regarding the subject you choose to teach. This may be:

• A school subject such as English, mathematics or science
• A language such as French, Spanish, Korean, or Arabic
• An artistic subject such as dance, singing, acting or drawing
• A sporting activity such as boxing, running or tennis
• A hobby such as sewing, cooking or gardening

Choosing to become a private tutor is a great way to make a living from your passion and pass on your skills to others in a given field.

The Freedom to Plan Your Own Time and Methods ?

If you choose to go into tutoring and private lessons, you will have freedom in the methodology used, unlike school-based teaching. In a class, you must follow school curriculums to the letter.

The freedom of the private teacher is also part of the possibility of organising your schedule as you wish. You decide whether you prefer to work on Wednesday afternoons, evenings, between midday and 2PM, or on weekends. You just need to adapt to the availability of your students.

A Closer Connection With Students ?‍

Being a private tutor also means building a special relationship with each of your students that you will see in a one-on-one scenario. You will have the time to really help your student, to motivate them, to help them to overcome difficulties and to develop a closer connection.

You Feel Useful ?

Tutoring can be a good way to feel useful and responsible by helping to prepare the future of a child or teenager or by advancing a student of any age in your area of expertise. It's very rewarding.

An Attractive Salary?

By being a private teacher, you will be able to benefit from an attractive salary while working for yourself. And if you give lessons online, you can even work from home! This is a great way to save travel expenses and save time.

There is no single path to becoming a private tutor. It is a profession that is aimed at pretty much anyone, as long as you have knowledge and skills to pass on your skills, and above all., the desire to do it!

What Qualifications Do You Need?

In theory, no degree or specific tutoring qualification is required to become a private tutor. In practice, it depends on the subject you decide to teach and also on which platform you use (some educational support organisations will require qualifications or even teaching qualifications).

Being a Private Tutor While Studying ?

Being a private teacher can be a part-time student job (it's a pretty cool alternative to waiting tables or the supermarket). You can teach the area you are studying to less advanced students (economics, history, philosophy…) or give tutoring lessons on several subjects to primary, middle and high school students.

Teaching will also allow you to acquire useful skills, whether you want to pursue teaching or not in the future: creativity, problem solving, communication, time management, patience, empathy, collaboration , adaptability… So many behavioural skills (or soft skills) that will be useful to you and can even help in your future job interviews.

There are a number of different platforms and UK tutoring companies where you can register as a tutor and it can be difficult to know which is best for your career.

Why Choose Superprof ?

We recommend Superprof, due to the number of advantages it provides for tutors.

Choosing Superprof means visibility in England but also around the rest of the world if you want to teach internationally over the internet. Superprof has a presence in 42 countries around the world.

You can teach subjects as different as programming, samba, pilates, drums or Khmer!

Creating an account and posting an ad is completely free. You will simply have a 10% service charge if you get paid through the platform (if you go live, it's completely free for you).

Students pay for a pass (no commitment, cancellable at any time) to be able to contact the teachers of the platform.

Other Platforms?‍

There are many alternatives, but we advise that you research their policies and how much they pay before you get started.

• MyTutor.co.uk pay may only start at £11.50 per hour for those who are inexperienced, and it pays much better to teach groups, which can be tough to organise.
• Tutor House provides you with the chance to earn a bit more, they take a percentage as a commission on a sliding scale.

If you want to pay so much out of your income, we therefore advise you to turn platforms like Superprof which doesn't take a commission.

Want to give private lessons?

Join the Superprof community and share your knowledge with interested and motivated students.

Create an advert

On Superprof, each tutor sets the price of their lessons, so tutoring fees per hour vary greatly. Obviously, this should be competitive your geographical area (and the average price charged), your level of education, your experience or the level of your students.

To help you when creating your advertisement, the average price will be displayed for the subject taught in your local area.

According to talent.com, the average salary for tutors in England is £48,750 per year.

But your pay will depend above all on the number of lessons you give in each given month and your hourly rate ?

Finances on Superprof ?

Students have a variety of methods of payment on Superprof, including credit card and PayPal among others. But it is up to you how you handle finances:

Off-platform payment
For this option, you deal with the finances with your student. Together, choose the payment method that suits you best.

Online payment
Superprof provides you with a fully secure payment platform!

If you choose to use the secure payment platform on Superprof, your balance will be transferred to your bank or Paypal account within 3 working days when you request payment from the "My Account" section, as long as the amount is at least £30.

You also have the option of being paid directly by your student, without going through the platform, but it's less secure and you don't benefit from Superprof's cancellation policy (we're talking about it just below ?).

What About Cancelled Lessons?

If the lesson is canceled more than 24 hours before it is held, the student will be refunded in full, you will not receive anything on this canceled lesson.

How to start tutoring in the UK? Create your ad here on Superprof.

To find your first students, you will have to write your ad. What should the ad say? What should you highlight? How to create a good title? Don't panic, we give you the best tips for writing an ad that will hit the target!

Choose the Right Words ✍️

Superprof works like a search engine. It identifies keywords in the advertisements to offer relevant results to the student who performs a search.

For example, if the student searches for "piano lesson London", the ads of teachers in the area will be displayed. The user then has the possibility of filtering the advertisements by choosing several criteria:

• Face to face or webcam: in case of webcam, the results will display piano teachers throughout England offering distance learning lessons
• A maximum budget: only teachers below the budget will be displayed
• Response time: if the filter is activated, only teachers that respond within a day will be displayed
• The lesson level: beginner, intermediate, advanced, children… The levels depend on the course chosen. If it is a school course, explain whether you offer tutoring for GCSE, other key stages, A-Level, etc.

The first step is to create your ad, you can always continue to tweak it.

Do's and Don't's For Your Ad

To better stand out and find students via the platform, there are good practices that it helps to understand.

On Superprof, you will have to fill in several sections starting with the title (10 words minimum).

In the title of your advertisement, do not say "give tennis lessons for £x per hour". Instead go for an option that provides information on your own abilities and on the level at which you teach as "semi-pro tennis player gives beginner and intermediate level tennis lessons in London".

You can also talk about your years of experience ("15 years of experience in the guitar"), your degree ("Science graduate") or your place of teaching ("at home", "by webcam"…).

In the section "about your course" (40 words minimum), you are asked to explain your methodology, your way of teaching. You can talk about your teaching techniques, the typical lessons with you, your specificities as a teacher and who your students are (what level, what specialism).

In the "about you" section (40 words minimum), talk about your qualifications, your years of experience, the number of students you have had… You can also talk about your passions and hobbies so that the student connects with you on a personal level.

Do not:

• Provide your contact details in the ad
• Make spelling mistakes: have your article proofread if necessary
• Put a blurry photo of you, a group photo or a logo
• Fail to provide enough details about you

How to Improve Your Visibility ?

En remplissant bien votre annonce, vous devriez déjà avoir une belle visibilité sur la plateforme Superprof.

How to improve the visibility of your ad on Superprof?

• Add a nice, bright, professional photo with a smile
• Add your address: it will not be displayed on the site but will improve the geolocation to avoid you ending up with requests from students from another city where you don't provide lessons
• Give details of your ad, explain your approach, your method, your approach
• Subscribe to Premium to boost your visibility
• Improve your status and attempt to become a Superprof Ambassador
• Provide your qualifications
• Provide your identity card
• Validate your phone number
• Respond quickly to requests (even if it's a negative response). The faster you answer, the more you go up in the search results (and show in teachers who answer in less than 24 hours if the student activates the filter)
• Ask for at least four recommendations from your personal circle (colleagues, alumni, family, friends). On your dashboard, click on “Reviews” then on “My recommendations”
• Ask your students for reviews via the platform: they just have to click on the "review" button in their messaging service once the lesson has finished (these help you progress in the search results)

Through continuing to provide excellence you may be able to become an ambassador.

Many of our tutors are Superprof ambassadors. Ambassadors are advocates of the Superprof passion for sharing knowledge in their teaching, and can be found on the website’s homepage. Ambassadors enjoy much better visibility within the platform and therefore may get more requests.

Free First Lesson?‍

Teachers who offer a free course are 10 times more contacted than those who do not!

Why offer your first lesson free?

• To help get to know students: the first session is not a lesson. It allows you to understand the student's expectations, their level, and their objective and to adapt your approach and your methodology to the strengths and weaknesses of the student.
• Because it promotes your service: like when the baker makes you taste a piece of cake, it makes you want to buy it.
• Because it's more reassuring: the student can meet you without committing and get to know you to find out if your approach suits them.
• Before the first lesson or during this first meeting, you can also offer our quiz so that the student knows the learning style that works for them.
• You don't have to offer a one-hour lesson! On the platform, it is possible to choose the duration of the course provided between 30 minutes, 45 minutes and one hour and then link it with a paid lesson.

Superprof Premium ✨

Premium is also offered to tutors as a subscription, and this can offer you some extra bonuses and an even better experience by offering:

• More visibility
• Insurance for your lessons
• Statistics to help you improve your ad: visibility on the number of views or consultations of your ad
• A dedicated team to support you!

If you earn money by giving private lessons, you must declare your income to HMRC. You will take on the self-employed status, usually via being a sole trader.

Sole Traders

You don't need to register your business or create a private company, but you do need to tell HMRC about your self-employment, pay your taxes, and submit a tax return annually.

This is your responsibility as a tutor, and any income provided by Superprof must be declared in a legally applicable way.

You must fill in a tax return and pay at the end of each tax year if you are tutoring in the UK.

HMRC provides a complete guide to declaring your income and providing a tax return to ensure you are legally protected.

You should now have all the information you need to start with your private lessons, but if you have any questions, feel free to leave us your comments!?