HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a children's coding tutor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

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

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a children's coding tutor in five steps

  1. Say the age and the languageScratch for younger children, Python or web code for older ones, robotics, or GCSE Computer Science. A children's coding tutor plans around it.
  2. Ask which check they holdA children's coding tutor should name it: an enhanced DBS check in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland or an AccessNI check in Northern Ireland — and show the date.
  3. Ask about recent studentsHow many learners at your level a children's coding tutor teaches this year, and what changed for them.
  4. Book a single class firstJudge a children's coding tutor on one coding lesson before paying for a term's club fee or a block of sessions.
  5. Write down the termsThe term fee, kits and software, online safety arrangements, and the notice to stop, agreed in writing with the children's coding tutor.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

There is no register of children's coding tutors anywhere in the UK, and no qualification is needed to teach coding at an after-school club or online at home. Their own work and how long they have taught are the evidence; there is nothing official to search.

Ask how long they have taught coding, what training they had, and for someone who can vouch for them.

Criminal record check for under-18s

For a children's coding tutor teaching your child for an hour a week in term, the England and Wales rule is simple: more than three days of teaching in any 30, or one overnight, makes it regulated activity, and the right check is an enhanced DBS with the children's barred list. From 1 September 2026, supervision no longer removes a role from regulated activity, so a children's coding tutor working under another teacher still counts. Living in Scotland, ask for PVG scheme membership: mygov.scot includes tutors and instructors a parent engages for their child. In Northern Ireland, ask for an enhanced AccessNI check, which a children's coding tutor working alone obtains via an Umbrella Body.

Before the first coding lesson, see the certificate itself (a parent cannot apply for one on a self-employed children's coding tutor's behalf) and check the date; in Scotland, PVG proof; in Northern Ireland, the AccessNI certificate shared online. gov.uk →

Experience and insurance

The law sets no qualification for teaching coding, and no register exists. Software development or computing teaching experience, and teaching children, are what to look for. Public liability insurance is not compulsory for a children's coding tutor working alone, but it is what pays if someone is hurt; HSE says businesses with staff will probably need employers' liability cover.

Ask the children's coding tutor for their training, examples of their own work, and the name of their insurer. hse.gov.uk →

Your rights when paying for a term's club fee or a block of sessions

Like any trader, a children's coding tutor owes you reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If the booking with a children's coding tutor is made online or at your home, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 allow 14 days to cancel; teaching you asked to begin in that time is paid for. Most arguments with children's coding tutors are about a robotics kit charged on top of the term fee.

Ask for the term fee, kits and software, online safety arrangements, and the notice to stop in writing, and keep the message, before a term's club fee or a block of sessions changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Coding lessons for children are exempt when a children's coding tutor teaches personally as a sole trader or partner, since computing is ordinarily taught in schools; a coding club run as a company, or its employed instructors, are standard-rated. A tutor working alone under the £90,000 registration threshold does not charge VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask whether the coding tutor invoices you personally or a club company does; a sole trader 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 a children's coding tutor starts.

“Which language and why?”

A good answer: Scratch first for most under-tens, then Python or web code; a coding tutor explains the choice.

“How do online coding lessons stay safe?”

A good answer: A link you control, a parent able to see the screen, and no private chat channels with your child.

“Will my child build something real?”

A good answer: A game, an animation or a small website by the end of a block.

“Can you support GCSE Computer Science?”

A good answer: Programming practice and theory for the course, if that is the goal.

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

A good answer: Something specific — for example 24 or 48 hours' notice — and the same rule applied to the children's coding tutor's own cancellations.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour or per session, and whether after-school or weekend slots cost more
  • The minimum booking — often a 45-minute or one-hour session — and what happens if your child finishes the project early
  • What each side brings: your child's laptop or tablet and accounts, the tutor's robotics kit or software licence
  • The project agreed before the first hour: Scratch, Python, a game or a website, and the age it suits
  • ID checked and the rating, the vetting certificate, and how online sessions are supervised

Walk away if

  • They brush off the DBS, PVG or AccessNI question for coding lessons with your child
  • The children's coding tutor cannot say in writing what the class includes until you arrive
  • They want private messaging with your child outside lessons
  • A large upfront payment beyond a term's club fee or a block of sessions, with nothing in writing

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Children's coding tutors 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. Set-upThe software and an account set up safely.
  2. ConceptsLoops, conditions and variables, one at a time.
  3. BuildA small project each few weeks.
  4. DebuggingFinding and fixing mistakes — the core skill.
  5. ShowYour child shows you what they made.

Scratch
A free block-based programming language for children.
Python
A text-based language often taught after Scratch.
Loop
Code that repeats.
Variable
A named store for a value.
Debugging
Finding and fixing errors.
Computer Science GCSE
The school computing qualification.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the paperworkHold on to your child's projects and the invoices; together with the agreed terms they settle most disagreements.
Test the progressAsk your child to show you something they built and explain how it works.
The guarantee, honestlyNo children's coding tutor can promise a job-ready programmer. What you are owed is the coding lessons agreed, prepared and on time.
Leave the reviewReview the children's coding tutor once the block ends; if it went wrong, the make-it-right step gives them the chance to fix it first.

STEP 1Tell the children's coding tutor, in writingSay what went wrong — for example a robotics kit charged on top of the term fee — and what you want: coding lessons made up, repeated or refunded. Where coding lessons paid as a term's club fee or a block of sessions were not taught with reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 entitles you to a repeat or a fair reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the children's coding tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers children's coding tutors, 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 a children's coding tutor 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 your child's projects and the invoices as evidence.

Hiring a children's coding tutor: questions people ask

The law does not require it of every children's coding tutor. What it does say is that a barred person must not work with children in regulated activity, which across England and Wales includes teaching a child on more than three days in 30 — so ask to see an enhanced DBS check, PVG membership in Scotland or an AccessNI check in Northern Ireland.

No UK nation licenses this work or keeps a register of it. Software or computing teaching experience, and experience teaching children, are what to ask about.

No UK publisher sets out coding lesson prices for children, so there is no UK figure yet. Ask each children's coding tutor for the rate per hour, the shortest session they take, and the project your child will build. The coding lessons price guide explains what drives it.

Usually not from a children's coding tutor teaching alone or in a partnership, because computing is a school subject and that tuition is exempt. A coding club run as a company, or its employed instructors, is standard-rated and adds VAT once over £90,000.

Many start with Scratch around seven or eight.

An after-school club costs far less per session; one-to-one moves faster.

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Children's coding tutors near you

Children's coding tutors in LondonChildren's coding tutors in ManchesterChildren's coding tutors in BirminghamChildren's coding tutors in GlasgowChildren's coding tutors in BelfastAll children's coding tutors 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 Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  10. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  11. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  12. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  13. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  14. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  15. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register