HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a painting and drawing teacher in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

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

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a painting and drawing teacher in five steps

  1. Pick the mediumWatercolour, acrylic, oil, pencil or urban sketching — and your level. A painting and drawing teacher plans around both.
  2. See the criminal record checkFor painting sessions with a child, ask for an enhanced DBS check in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland or AccessNI in Northern Ireland. A painting and drawing teacher applies and shows you.
  3. Ask about recent studentsHow many learners at your level a painting and drawing teacher teaches this year, and what changed for them.
  4. Start with one sessionOne painting session at a studio, or outdoors for sketching tells you more than any profile; commit to a single session or a course only afterwards.
  5. Write down the termsMaterials, what happens in bad weather for outdoor sessions, and the course refund rule, agreed in writing with the painting and drawing teacher.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

None of the four UK nations licenses or registers painting and drawing teachers; no qualification is needed to teach drawing and painting at a studio, or outdoors for sketching. Their own work and how long they have taught are the evidence; there is nothing official to search.

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

Criminal record check for under-18s

For a painting and drawing teacher teaching your child at a weekly session of two or three hours, 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 painting and drawing teacher 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 painting and drawing teacher working alone obtains via an Umbrella Body.

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

Training, portfolio and insurance

The law sets no qualification for teaching drawing and painting, and no register exists. An art degree, years of teaching and their own body of work are what to look for. Public liability insurance is not compulsory for a painting and drawing teacher working alone, but it is what pays if someone is hurt; HSE says businesses with staff will probably need employers' liability cover.

Ask a painting and drawing teacher how long they have taught and who their insurer is. hse.gov.uk →

Written terms for a single session or a course

Like any trader, a painting and drawing teacher owes you reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. For a leisure booking with a fixed date or period, regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually removes the 14-day cancellation right, so agree with a painting and drawing teacher in writing what happens if you have to drop out. The usual dispute is a course that never moved past copying the teacher's example.

Ask for materials, what happens in bad weather for outdoor sessions, and the course refund rule in writing, and keep the message, before a single session or a course changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Drawing and painting tuition is exempt when the painting and drawing teacher gives it personally as a sole trader or partner, art being ordinarily taught in schools; a studio company or its employed tutors charge the standard rate. Anyone teaching alone below the £90,000 registration threshold charges no VAT at all, so there is no VAT number to ask for.

Ask whether the teacher invoices personally or a studio company does; a sole trader under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“What vetting do you have for teaching children?”

A good answer: A specific answer naming the check for your nation, offered before you ask twice — a painting and drawing teacher who teaches at a weekly session of two or three hours hears this question often.

“What medium will we use, and are materials included?”

A good answer: The medium, the brands of paper or paint if it matters, and the cost if not included.

“How many people are in a painting session?”

A good answer: A number; small groups get more feedback.

“Do you teach drawing basics first?”

A good answer: Proportion, tone and perspective early, so painting has something to stand on.

“Can you help with a GCSE art portfolio?”

A good answer: Teaching and feedback only; the work stays the student's.

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

A good answer: Clear written rules: what notice you give, and that a painting session a painting and drawing teacher cancels is rearranged or refunded.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour or per session, and whether evening or weekend classes cost more
  • The minimum booking — usually a two-hour session — and whether an early finish is charged in full
  • What each side brings: easel, paper and paints, or a list for you to buy, and protection for your table
  • The medium and the goal agreed before the first hour: pencil, charcoal, oils, watercolour, a portfolio
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a children's class

Walk away if

  • They brush off the DBS, PVG or AccessNI question for painting sessions with your child
  • The painting and drawing teacher cannot say in writing what the class includes until you arrive
  • A course that never moves past copying the teacher's example
  • A large upfront payment beyond a single session or a course, with nothing in writing
LOW
£29
TYPICAL
£40
HIGH
£60

What a painting and drawing teacher costs: £29–£60 per session

Drawing and painting lessons are priced per session; materials and group size move the price most. Drawing & Painting 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

Painting and drawing 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. Warm-up sketchA quick drawing to loosen up.
  2. TechniqueOne skill demonstrated — washes, blending, perspective.
  3. Your paintingWorked on with help.
  4. FeedbackSpecific comments on what to change.
  5. PracticeSomething to try at home before the next painting session.

Wash
A thin layer of watercolour across the paper.
Wet-on-wet
Painting onto damp paper so colours blend.
Perspective
Making flat drawings look three-dimensional.
Urban sketching
Drawing buildings and streets on location.
Botanical painting
Detailed, accurate painting of plants.
Gesso
A primer painted on canvas before acrylic or oil.

AFTER

When the job is done

File what you were givenYour work from each session and the receipts are your record if anything goes wrong.
Test the progressCompare your first painting with one after a few sessions: tone, edges and colour mixing should be more controlled.
What you are owedA finished exhibition piece is not something anyone can guarantee; the agreed painting sessions, well taught, is.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked painting sessions. A problem goes to the painting and drawing teacher first through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Write to the painting and drawing teacher firstName the painting sessions that fell short and the remedy you want; with painting and drawing teachers, it is often a course that never moved past copying the teacher's example. Where painting sessions paid as a single session or a course 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 painting and drawing teacher first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers painting and drawing 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 a painting and drawing 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 your work from each session and the receipts as evidence.

Hiring a painting and drawing teacher: questions people ask

There is no blanket legal duty, but a painting and drawing teacher teaching your child more than three days in any 30 is in regulated activity in England and Wales, which a barred person must not do. Ask for the enhanced DBS check — PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

The law in all four nations is silent on who may teach drawing and painting. An art degree, teaching experience and their own work are what to ask about.

£29–£60 a session, with £40 typical for a two-and-a-half-hour beginners' class. There is more detail in the drawing and painting lessons price guide, and the search above lists painting and drawing teachers in your area.

Not when a painting and drawing teacher works as a sole trader or partner: art is a school subject and the tuition is exempt. Classes from a studio company or its employed tutors are standard-rated, with VAT added once over £90,000.

Many start with pencil and watercolour or acrylic; the teacher will suggest one for your goals.

Usually two to three hours.

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Painting and drawing teachers near you

Painting and drawing teachers in LondonPainting and drawing teachers in ManchesterPainting and drawing teachers in BirminghamPainting and drawing teachers in GlasgowPainting and drawing teachers in BelfastAll painting and drawing 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