HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire an art teacher in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register lists art teachers. Here is what to ask, the vetting for children, and the terms to agree.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an art teacher in five steps

  1. Say what the art is forPainting for pleasure, a children's club, life drawing or a portfolio for college. An art teacher plans each differently.
  2. Ask for the vetting for your nationDBS in England and Wales, PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland — an art teacher teaching a child at a weekly two-hour class should show you theirs.
  3. Check the teaching, not just the knowledgeAn art teacher should describe how a typical art class runs and how they find out what a student is missing.
  4. Try one class before a blockA first art class should end with a clear idea of where you are and what comes next. If it does not, try another art teacher.
  5. Write down the termsWhat materials are included, the model fee for life drawing, and the course refund rule, agreed in writing with the art teacher.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

There is no register of art teachers anywhere in the UK, and anyone may run art classes at a studio, an arts centre or a community hall. Training, a portfolio and teaching experience are things you ask about, not things on a register.

Ask the art teacher what they hold, where they trained, and for two people they teach now.

Criminal record check for a young learner

In England and Wales, teaching or instructing a child on more than three days in any 30, or once overnight, is regulated activity — so an art teacher seeing your child at a weekly two-hour class should hold an enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. The definition changed on 1 September 2026: an art teacher who is supervised is now inside regulated activity too. Scotland uses PVG scheme membership, and mygov.scot names tutors and instructors a parent engages for a child as a role to ask about; in Northern Ireland, a self-employed art teacher gets an enhanced AccessNI check with the children's barred list through an Umbrella Body.

You cannot apply on an art teacher's behalf. Ask to see their own certificate and read its issue date — it has no official expiry — or PVG proof in Scotland, or an AccessNI certificate shared from their nidirect account. gov.uk →

Experience and insurance

The law sets no qualification for teaching art, and no register exists. An art degree, teaching experience and a body of their own work are what to look for. HSE says a business with employees will probably need employers' liability insurance; ask an art teacher working alone whether they hold public liability insurance.

Ask an art teacher how long they have taught and who their insurer is. hse.gov.uk →

Your rights when paying for a single class or a course

An art teacher is a trader in law, so the Consumer Rights Act 2015 term of reasonable care and skill applies to every art class. Classes and lessons for a leisure activity booked for a set date or period usually fall outside the 14-day cancellation right — regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 — so the written terms decide what you can cancel and when. Agree in advance what happens about materials charged on top that were said to be included.

Ask for what materials are included, the model fee for life drawing, and the course refund rule in writing, and keep the message, before a single class or a course changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Art lessons are exempt from VAT when an art teacher working as a sole trader or partner teaches them personally, as art is ordinarily taught in schools and universities; a studio run as a company, or teachers it employs, are standard-rated. On top of that, an individual whose taxable sales stay under £90,000 a year is not registered, charges no VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask whether the art teacher invoices you personally or through a studio business; an individual under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Which criminal record check do you hold, and when was it issued?”

A good answer: The right one for your nation — enhanced DBS, PVG or AccessNI — with a date, shown before an art teacher starts.

“Are art materials included?”

A good answer: A clear list from the art teacher: paints, paper, canvases — and what to bring.

“How big is the art class?”

A good answer: A number, so you know how much help the art teacher can give each person.

“Can you help with a college or GCSE art portfolio?”

A good answer: Teaching and feedback; the portfolio work must be the student's own.

“Is the model's fee included in a life drawing art class?”

A good answer: Usually yes; ask.

“If my child is ill, or you are, what happens to that art class?”

A good answer: Notice periods that fit a single class or a course, written down, with the art teacher's own cancellations made up.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour or per session, and whether evening and weekend classes cost more
  • The minimum booking — a two-hour session, say — and whether a class that ends early is still charged in full
  • What each side brings: paper, paints and brushes from the art teacher, or a list for you to buy, and an apron
  • What you want to work on, agreed before the first hour: drawing basics, watercolour, a portfolio piece
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting if the class is for children

Walk away if

  • They brush off the DBS, PVG or AccessNI question for art classes with your child
  • The art teacher cannot say in writing what the class includes until you arrive
  • They offer to produce portfolio pieces for a student
  • A large upfront payment beyond a single class or a course, with nothing in writing
LOW
£10
TYPICAL
£30
HIGH
£60

What an art teacher costs: £10–£60 per session

Art classes are priced per session, often with materials; courses cost less per session than drop-ins. Art Lessons price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Art teachers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. IntroductionThe medium and the plan for the class.
  2. DemonstrationThe art teacher shows the technique.
  3. Your workYou paint or draw with help as you go.
  4. FeedbackSpecific comments on composition, tone and colour.
  5. Take homeYour work and something to practise.

Life drawing
Drawing a live model, usually in timed poses.
Medium
The material used — watercolour, acrylic, oil, charcoal.
Composition
How a picture is arranged.
Tone
Lightness and darkness in a picture.
Portfolio
A collection of work for a course application.
Drop-in class
A single class paid on the day.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the paperworkThe course terms and the receipts are your record if anything goes wrong.
Test the progressKeep your first piece and compare it with one from a few weeks later.
The guarantee, honestlyNo art teacher can promise a place on an art foundation course. What you are owed is the art classes agreed, prepared and on time.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked art classes. A problem goes to the art teacher first through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Tell the art teacher, in writingSet out the problem (materials charged on top that were said to be included is a common one) and ask for a fix or a refund by a date. Ask for the remedy the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives — the art classes again, or money back for what fell short.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the art teacher first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers art teachers, so a consumer complaint goes to Trading Standards through your nation's helpline: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeSmall claims handle a dispute with an art teacher without a solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales (small claims track), £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland. Keep the course terms and the receipts as evidence.

Hiring an art teacher: questions people ask

Not by default. Regular teaching of a child is regulated activity in England and Wales, though, so the enhanced DBS check with the barred list is the one to see; Scotland uses PVG membership and Northern Ireland an enhanced AccessNI check.

There is nothing official to look up for this kind of teaching. An art degree, teaching experience and their own portfolio are what to ask about.

£10–£60 a session, with £30 typical for a two-hour beginners' class. The art lessons price guide breaks it down; search your town above to see art teachers who work near you.

Not from an art teacher working alone or in a partnership: art is taught in schools, so that tuition is exempt. Classes from a studio company or its employed staff are standard-rated, and a business over £90,000 must add VAT.

Many classes include them; check, especially for oils or printmaking.

Usually not; look for a children's class with a vetted teacher.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in lessons & tutoring

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Art teachers near you

Art teachers in LondonArt teachers in ManchesterArt teachers in BirminghamArt teachers in GlasgowArt teachers in BelfastAll art teachers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk (DBS) — regulated activity with children
  2. gov.uk — change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026
  3. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  4. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  5. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  6. gov.uk — VAT registration thresholds
  7. HSE — get insurance for your business
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts excluded from cancellation
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  11. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  12. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  13. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  14. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  15. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  16. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register