HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

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

Irish is taught in Northern Ireland and by community groups in Britain. Here is the vetting to ask for, what to ask, and the terms to agree.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an Irish language tutor in five steps

  1. Say what the Irish is forA GCSE or A level in Northern Ireland, supporting a child in Irish-medium school, family heritage or conversation. An Irish language tutor plans each differently.
  2. See the criminal record checkFor Irish lessons with a child, ask for an enhanced DBS check in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland or AccessNI in Northern Ireland. An Irish language tutor applies and shows you.
  3. Ask what they have taught, and to whomWhich levels, how many Irish students now, and what those students went on to do. Knowing Irish is not the same as teaching it.
  4. Book a single lesson firstJudge an Irish language tutor on one Irish lesson before paying for a termly community course or lessons by the hour.
  5. Write down the termsThe dialect and exam taught, the notice to stop, and any summer-course fees, agreed in writing with the Irish language tutor.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

There is no register of Irish language tutors anywhere in the UK, and Irish can be taught by anyone who chooses to, online, at home or at a community class. Fluency and teaching skill are different things, and only the second is in a certificate you can ask to see.

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

Criminal record check for under-18s

For an Irish language tutor teaching your child at a weekly class or lesson, 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 Irish language 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 Irish language tutor working alone obtains via an Umbrella Body.

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

Training as an Irish language tutor

No licence or register applies to teaching Irish, and being a native speaker is not a teaching qualification. Training shows in a degree, QTS or a language-teaching certificate; teaching shows in current students like you.

Ask an Irish language tutor how they trained and which exams or goals their current students have.

The terms for a termly community course or lessons by the hour

Like any trader, an Irish language tutor owes you reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If the booking with an Irish language 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 exam preparation from a tutor who did not know the CCEA papers.

Ask for the dialect and exam taught, the notice to stop, and any summer-course fees in writing, and keep the message, before a termly community course or lessons by the hour changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Irish lessons are exempt from VAT when an Irish language tutor teaches personally as a sole trader or partner, Irish being ordinarily taught in schools in Northern Ireland; a language school company or its employees 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 you pay the Irish language tutor directly or a school company; an individual 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 — an Irish language tutor who teaches at a weekly class or lesson hears this question often.

“Have you taught Irish for GCSE or A level in Northern Ireland?”

A good answer: Recent pupils and the papers they sat, if that is the goal.

“Which dialect do you teach?”

A good answer: An honest answer — Ulster Irish is common in Northern Ireland — and whether it matters for your goal.

“Can you help a parent support a child in Irish-medium education?”

A good answer: Everyday phrases, homework language and reading at the child's level.

“How much of each lesson is speaking?”

A good answer: Most of it for conversation; exam pupils also practise the speaking test format.

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

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

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and whether evening or weekend lessons cost more
  • The minimum booking — one hour is usual — and what happens if a lesson finishes early
  • What each side brings: the course book or dictionary, and the tutor's audio for the dialect you want
  • The aim agreed before the first hour: a GCSE or A level, conversation, or Irish for the family
  • ID checked and the rating, and an AccessNI check for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • No vetting shown, though the Irish language tutor would see your child at a weekly class or lesson
  • An Irish language tutor who promises fluent conversation within a year
  • They cannot say which dialect or exam they teach to
  • No refund rule for a termly community course or lessons by the hour, or one that changes after you pay

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Irish language 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. Level checkSpeaking and reading checked in the first lesson.
  2. GoalExam, family, heritage or conversation sets the plan.
  3. Each lessonSpeaking, pronunciation and one grammar point in context.
  4. Between lessonsVocabulary and a short listening task.
  5. ReviewA recorded conversation or exam task compared with the first.

Irish-medium education
Schools where lessons are taught through Irish, found in Northern Ireland.
Ulster Irish
The dialect most spoken in the north.
Séimhiú
Lenition — a change at the start of a word that learners meet early.
GCSE Irish
The Irish GCSE taken in Northern Ireland, regulated by CCEA.
Conversation class
A group lesson built around speaking, often run by community groups.
Heritage learner
Someone learning the language of their family.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the recordsThe course terms and the receipts are your record if anything goes wrong.
Test the progressEvery half term, hold a short conversation in Irish on a topic from your lessons, or sit a timed exam task.
What you are owedNo Irish language tutor can promise fluent conversation within a year. What you are owed is the Irish lessons agreed, prepared and on time.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked Irish lessons. A problem goes to the Irish language tutor first through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Write to the Irish language tutor firstName the Irish lessons that fell short and the remedy you want; with Irish language tutors, it is often exam preparation from a tutor who did not know the CCEA papers. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you the right to have teaching that fell short of reasonable care and skill done again, or to 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 Irish language tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers Irish language 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 Irish language 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 the course terms and the receipts as evidence.

Hiring an Irish language tutor: questions people ask

No law makes every Irish language tutor hold one. But teaching a child at a weekly class or lesson becomes regulated activity in England and Wales once it passes three days in 30, and a barred person must not do it — so ask for the enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list, PVG membership in Scotland, or an enhanced AccessNI check in Northern Ireland.

Not one of the four UK nations keeps a register of people who teach Irish. A language degree or teaching experience in Irish is what to ask about, with references.

No UK publisher prices Irish language lessons by the hour, so there is no UK figure yet. Ask each Irish language tutor for the rate per hour, the minimum booking, and the dialect and level you will work on. The Irish language lessons price guide explains what drives it.

Usually not. Irish is taught in schools in Northern Ireland, so an Irish language tutor working as a sole trader or partner is exempt; a language school company or its employed teachers are standard-rated and add VAT once over £90,000.

In schools and Irish-medium education in Northern Ireland, and through community classes and private tutors in Britain.

Online widens the choice of tutor, especially outside Northern Ireland.

MORE GUIDES

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Irish language tutors near you

Irish language tutors in LondonIrish language tutors in ManchesterIrish language tutors in BirminghamIrish language tutors in GlasgowIrish language tutors in BelfastAll irish language 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 — statement from the qualification regulators on GCSEs, AS and A levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  9. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  10. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  11. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  12. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  13. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  14. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register