HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire an English tutor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register lists English tutors. Here is the vetting to ask for, how to judge course knowledge, and the terms to agree.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

TWO WAYS TO BUY THIS

Which do you need?

An English tutor, by the hour

One person who teaches your child at the times you book, following the texts and skills you set. Right for help with a set text, essays or a GCSE paper, week by week.

A tuition company, for a programme

A business that matches a tutor, plans a course of lessons in writing and covers absence. Right when you want a structured programme, regular reports or a replacement tutor if one leaves.

What changes between them

A rate per hour against a price for the programme; one tutor against whoever the company sends; your instructions against a written plan; and VAT, since a sole trader's lessons are exempt and a company's are standard-rated once it is registered.

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an English tutor in five steps

  1. Say what the English is forReading confidence, GCSE Language or Literature, set texts, Higher English, or a personal statement. An English tutor teaches each differently.
  2. See the check before the first English lessonEnhanced DBS, PVG or AccessNI depending on where you live. A parent cannot apply for it; an English tutor can show it in a minute.
  3. Ask what they have taught, and to whomWhich levels, how many English students now, and what those students went on to do. Knowing English is not the same as teaching it.
  4. Try one lesson before a blockA first English lesson should end with a clear idea of where you are and what comes next. If it does not, try another English tutor.
  5. Agree the terms in writingHow long essay marking takes, the notice to stop, and lessons missed for illness — in writing before the first payment. A message on Locufy counts.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

None of the four UK nations licenses or registers English tutors; anyone may advertise English tuition at home or over video with a shared document. What a tutor knows and has taught is a matter of asking and seeing evidence; there is nothing to look up.

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

Criminal record check for under-18s

For an English tutor teaching your child every week in term time, 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 an English 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 an English tutor working alone obtains via an Umbrella Body.

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

Qualified teacher status and recent teaching

Qualified teacher status (QTS) is recorded by England's Teaching Regulation Agency, but its check-a-teacher's-record service is for employers, so a parent cannot search it. An English degree, QTS or examining experience help; for younger readers, experience teaching reading matters more than a literature degree.

Ask an English tutor for the school they teach at, if any, and the levels and boards of their students this year. gov.uk →

Your rights when paying for a half-term block

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires an English tutor who trades to provide the teaching with reasonable care and skill. If the booking with an English 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. The usual dispute is essays returned late or without comments.

Ask for how long essay marking takes, the notice to stop, and lessons missed for illness in writing, and keep the message, before a half-term block changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

English tuition is exempt when an English tutor teaches personally as a sole trader or partner, English being ordinarily taught in schools; a tuition company or its employed tutors are standard-rated. An individual under the £90,000 registration threshold charges no VAT and has no VAT number to give; a tuition company over it must charge VAT and show it separately.

Ask whether you are paying the English tutor in person or a company: a sole trader is exempt, and a company over £90,000 should give its VAT number and show VAT on its own line. 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 English tutor starts.

“Do you know my child's set texts?”

A good answer: The named texts on your child's course, and how the English tutor teaches them — not one generic Shakespeare plan.

“How do you teach essay writing?”

A good answer: A clear structure, short practice paragraphs marked between lessons, and model answers explained rather than copied.

“How do you help a reluctant reader?”

A good answer: Short, regular reading at the right level, chosen with the child, and checks on understanding — not just reading aloud.

“Is this English Language, Literature, or both?”

A good answer: A tutor who separates the two papers and their skills for GCSE, and knows Scotland's Higher English has a critical essay and reading for understanding paper.

“Can you support a pupil with dyslexia?”

A good answer: An honest answer about training and experience; structured literacy support is a specialism.

“What happens if you cancel an English lesson, or we do?”

A good answer: Notice periods that fit a half-term block, written down, with the English tutor's own cancellations made up.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends the lessons — the tutor named, or another the company sends, employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number if a tuition company is invoicing, with VAT shown as its own line
  • What an English lesson costs and how many minutes it runs
  • Booked by the hour instead: the rate per hour, the minimum booking, and the texts or skills agreed before the first lesson
  • Materials and equipment: what the English tutor provides and what you buy
  • The refund rule for a half-term block

Walk away if

  • No criminal record certificate for regular English lessons with your child, or "it isn't needed for English"
  • Promised grades: no honest English tutor guarantees a top grade in Literature
  • They write essays or personal statements for the student
  • A large upfront payment beyond a half-term block, with nothing in writing
LOW
£20
TYPICAL
£35
HIGH
£50

What an English tutor costs: £20–£50 per hour

English tutors charge by the hour, usually weekly in term; coursework and literature specialists charge more. English Tutor 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

English 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, or book by the hour.

  1. Read the evidenceSchool reports, recent essays and the set texts — the English tutor starts from the child's own writing.
  2. Skills and textsReading, analysis and writing skills taught through the texts on the course.
  3. Writing practiceA short piece most weeks, written by the student and marked against the board's criteria.
  4. Feedback that sticksEach piece comes back with two or three specific targets carried into the next.
  5. Exam preparationTimed answers, quotation banks for set texts, and planning under time pressure.

English Language and Literature
Two separate GCSEs in England; your child may sit both.
Set texts
The novels, plays and poems named on your child's course.
Unseen poetry
A poem not studied in advance, analysed in the exam.
Critical essay
Part of Scotland's Higher English, written on a studied text.
PEE / PEEL paragraph
A school paragraph structure: point, evidence, explanation (and link).
Spoken language
A GCSE English Language assessment reported separately from the grade.

AFTER

When the job is done

File what you were givenHold on to the marked essays and the block invoice; together with the agreed terms they settle most disagreements.
Test the progressKeep the first marked essay and compare it with one at half term — structure, quotations and analysis should all have moved.
What you are owedA top grade in Literature is not something anyone can guarantee; the agreed English lessons, well taught, is.
Leave the reviewOnly booked English lessons can be reviewed on Locufy; if something went wrong, the make-it-right step sends it to the English tutor first.

STEP 1Put it to the English tutor in writingSay what went wrong — for example essays returned late or without comments — and what you want: English lessons made up, repeated or refunded. If the English lessons were not given with reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets you ask for them again or for a price reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the English tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers English 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 an English 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. The marked essays and the block invoice will be your evidence.

Hiring an English tutor: 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.

The law in all four nations is silent on who may teach English. Ask about their teaching of your child's course and set texts, and for references from current families.

£20–£50 an hour, with £35 typical; examiners and literature specialists sit at the top. There is more detail in the English tutor price guide, and the search above lists English tutors in your area.

Not from an English tutor working as a sole trader or partner: English is a school subject, so that tuition is exempt. A tuition company or its employed tutors are standard-rated, and once over £90,000 the company adds VAT.

With planning and feedback, yes. The statement must be the student's own writing.

Reading and writing move slowly: expect a term of weekly lessons before the marks show it.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in lessons & tutoring

How to hire: GCSE TutorHow to hire: A-Level TutorHow to hire: Maths TutorHow to hire: Science TutorHow to hire: Physics TutorHow to hire: Chemistry TutorHow to hire: Biology TutorHow to hire: Primary School TutorAll 701 hiring guides →

English tutors near you

English tutors in LondonEnglish tutors in ManchesterEnglish tutors in BirminghamEnglish tutors in GlasgowEnglish tutors in BelfastAll english 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 — check a teacher's record (England)
  6. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  7. gov.uk — statement from the qualification regulators on GCSEs, AS and A levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  8. gov.scot — school leaver attainment in National Qualifications (SQA)
  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