HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

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

No register lists Italian tutors. Here is the vetting to ask for, how to check they fit your goal, and the terms to agree.

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

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an Italian tutor in five steps

  1. Say what the Italian is forA holiday, family, singing, an exam or conversation. An Italian tutor plans each one differently.
  2. Ask for the vetting for your nationDBS in England and Wales, PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland — an Italian tutor teaching a child for an hour a week should show you theirs.
  3. Ask what they have taught, and to whomWhich levels, how many Italian students now, and what those students went on to do. Knowing Italian is not the same as teaching it.
  4. Start with one lessonOne Italian lesson online or at home tells you more than any profile; commit to a block of lessons only afterwards.
  5. Agree the terms in writingThe lesson focus, the notice to stop, and any exam-centre fees for a private candidate — in writing before the first payment. A message on Locufy counts.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

There is no register of Italian tutors anywhere in the UK, and Italian can be taught by anyone who chooses to, online or at home. 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 Italian, what training they had, and for someone who can vouch for them.

The check for teaching your child

An Italian tutor who works with your child for an hour a week is in regulated activity in England and Wales once it passes three days in any 30 (or any overnight session), and should hold an enhanced DBS check that includes the children's barred list. Supervision used to take some roles outside the rule; since 1 September 2026 it does not, whoever an Italian tutor works alongside. In Scotland the equivalent is membership of the PVG scheme, which mygov.scot says to expect for tutors or instructors a parent hires for a child. In Northern Ireland, an Italian tutor working for themselves applies for an enhanced AccessNI check through an Umbrella Body.

Parents cannot request the check themselves: an Italian tutor applies and shows you the certificate. Note the date on it; in Scotland ask for proof of current PVG membership, in Northern Ireland the shared AccessNI certificate. gov.uk →

Teaching skill, not just fluency

Speaking Italian well is not the same as teaching it, and no UK register lists those who do. Training shows in a degree, QTS or a language-teaching certificate; teaching shows in current students like you.

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

Your rights when paying for a block of lessons

Reasonable care and skill is the legal standard for Italian lessons from a trader (Consumer Rights Act 2015). The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give 14 days to cancel when you book an Italian tutor at a distance or at your home; ask for Italian lessons to start sooner and you pay for those already taught. Most arguments with Italian tutors are about a heritage learner taught from a beginner book.

Ask for the lesson focus, the notice to stop, and any exam-centre fees for a private candidate in writing, and keep the message, before a block of lessons changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Italian lessons are exempt when an Italian tutor gives them personally as a sole trader or partner, Italian being ordinarily taught in schools and universities; a language school 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 you pay the Italian tutor directly or a language school; an individual under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Will you show me your DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate?”

A good answer: A straight yes. An Italian tutor who works with children online or at home expects to be asked.

“Have you taught Italian for my exam or goal recently?”

A good answer: A specific answer — GCSE or A level and the board, National 5 or Higher in Scotland, or the work or travel situation you need. An Italian tutor who prepares exam pupils knows the speaking and writing tasks.

“How much of each lesson is speaking?”

A good answer: Most of it — Italian rewards early speaking practice.

“Can you teach Italian for singers?”

A good answer: Pronunciation and diction practised on the texts, if that is the goal.

“Do you teach heritage learners?”

A good answer: Yes, starting from what the learner already understands at home and building reading and writing.

“Does my child's school offer the GCSE?”

A good answer: Fewer schools teach Italian; an Italian tutor can say how a private candidate enters.

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

A good answer: A notice period both ways, written down, and any Italian lesson the Italian tutor cancels made up or refunded.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and whether evenings or weekends cost more
  • The minimum booking — usually one hour — and whether an early finish is charged in full
  • What each side brings: the course book, a notebook, the tutor's reading and listening material
  • The aim agreed before the first hour: a holiday, a CILS certificate, family or business Italian
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • They brush off the DBS, PVG or AccessNI question for Italian lessons with your child
  • An Italian tutor who promises fluency before a family trip
  • They teach every learner from the same Italian course book, whatever the goal
  • A large upfront payment beyond a block of lessons, with nothing in writing
LOW
£25
TYPICAL
£30
HIGH
£45

What an Italian tutor costs: £25–£45 per hour

Italian tutors charge by the hour; exam-focused lessons cost more than conversation for a holiday. Italian 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

Italian 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 checkConversation and a short task to place the learner.
  2. PlanHoliday, heritage, exam or singing sets the topics.
  3. Each lessonSpeaking first, then grammar used in context.
  4. Between lessonsVocabulary and a short listening or reading task.
  5. ReviewA recorded conversation compared with the first.

Private candidate
A student entered for an exam outside their school, often through an exam centre for a fee.
Heritage learner
Someone who grew up hearing Italian at home and wants to read, write and speak it well.
Diction
Clear pronunciation, important for singers working in Italian.
Passato prossimo
The everyday Italian past tense, an early milestone.
CEFR level
The A1 to C2 scale used to describe language ability.
Conversation lesson
A lesson built mainly around speaking, with less written work.

AFTER

When the job is done

File what you were givenKeep the lesson plan and the invoices, with the written terms.
Test the progressEvery half term, have a short conversation in Italian on a topic from your lessons, or sit a timed past-paper task — fluency and accuracy should both show movement.
The guarantee, honestlyNobody honest promises fluency before a family trip. Hold the Italian tutor to the Italian lessons agreed, taught with care.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked Italian lessons. A problem goes to the Italian tutor first through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Put it to the Italian tutor in writingSay what went wrong — for example a heritage learner taught from a beginner book — and what you want: Italian lessons made up, repeated or refunded. If the Italian 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 Italian tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers Italian 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 Italian 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 lesson plan and the invoices as evidence.

Hiring an Italian 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.

Not one of the four UK nations keeps a register of people who teach Italian. A language degree or teaching certificate shows training; ask for students they teach Italian to now.

£25–£45 an hour, with £30 typical; exam preparation and lessons at home in the South East cost most. The Italian lessons price guide explains the spread, and the search at the top finds Italian tutors near you.

Normally no. Italian is a school and university subject, so an Italian tutor working as a sole trader or partner is exempt; a language school company or its employees are standard-rated, with VAT added once over £90,000.

Often as a private candidate at an exam centre; ask the centre about entry and fees, which are separate from lessons.

Online widens the choice of tutor and works well for conversation.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in lessons & tutoring

How to hire: French LessonsHow to hire: Spanish LessonsHow to hire: German LessonsHow to hire: Mandarin LessonsHow to hire: Foreign Language TutorHow to hire: English as a Foreign Language (ESOL)How to hire: Irish Language LessonsHow to hire: Sign Language LessonsAll 701 hiring guides →

Italian tutors near you

Italian tutors in LondonItalian tutors in ManchesterItalian tutors in BirminghamItalian tutors in GlasgowItalian tutors in BelfastAll italian 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. gov.scot — school leaver attainment in National Qualifications (SQA)
  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