HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a Leaving Cert tutor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

The Leaving Cert is Ireland's exam. Here is the vetting to ask for in your UK nation, how to check exam knowledge, and the terms to agree.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a Leaving Cert tutor in five steps

  1. Name the subjects and levelsEach subject and whether it is Higher or Ordinary Level, plus the June exam date. A Leaving Cert tutor plans per subject.
  2. Vetting firstBefore Leaving Cert lessons online, usually with a tutor based in Ireland, see the enhanced DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate that fits your nation.
  3. Check the teaching, not just the knowledgeA Leaving Cert tutor should describe how a typical Leaving Cert lesson runs and how they find out what a student is missing.
  4. Try one lesson before a blockA first Leaving Cert lesson should end with a clear idea of where you are and what comes next. If it does not, try another Leaving Cert tutor.
  5. Write down the termsThe currency, the time zone and lesson times, and the notice to stop, agreed in writing with the Leaving Cert tutor.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to Leaving Cert tutors in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no qualification is needed to tutor Leaving Cert online, usually with a tutor based in Ireland. Subject knowledge, teaching record and vetting are things you ask to see, not entries you can search.

Ask for the qualification and where it was gained, plus a reference from a current learner.

Criminal record check for a young learner

In England and Wales, teaching or instructing a child on more than three days in any 30, or once overnight, is regulated activity — so a Leaving Cert tutor seeing your child for an hour a week in each subject should hold an enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. The definition changed on 1 September 2026: a Leaving Cert tutor who is supervised is now inside regulated activity too. Scotland uses PVG scheme membership, and mygov.scot names tutors and instructors a parent engages for a child as a role to ask about; in Northern Ireland, a self-employed Leaving Cert tutor gets an enhanced AccessNI check with the children's barred list through an Umbrella Body.

You cannot apply on a Leaving Cert tutor's behalf. Ask to see their own certificate and read its issue date — it has no official expiry — or PVG proof in Scotland, or an AccessNI certificate shared from their nidirect account. gov.uk →

Leaving Cert teaching experience

UK teaching qualifications say nothing about the Leaving Certificate, and no UK body lists its tutors. What matters is recent teaching of the subject at the right level in Ireland, and knowledge of its marking scheme.

Ask the Leaving Cert tutor where and when they taught the subject, and for families they tutor now.

Your rights when paying for a block for each subject, sometimes priced in another currency

Working as a trader, a Leaving Cert tutor must teach with reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Booked online or agreed at your home, Leaving Cert lessons carry 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; if you asked for teaching to start inside those 14 days, you pay for what was given. Agree in advance what happens about lessons at times that clash with a UK school day.

Get the currency, the time zone and lesson times, and the notice to stop in writing — a Locufy message counts — before you pay for a block for each subject, sometimes priced in another currency. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Leaving Cert tuition from a UK-based tutor is exempt when the Leaving Cert tutor teaches personally as a sole trader or partner, the subjects being ordinarily taught in schools; a tuition company or its employees are standard-rated. Below the £90,000 registration threshold an individual tutor charges no VAT in any case, and has no VAT number to give.

Ask where the Leaving Cert tutor is based and who invoices; a UK sole trader under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

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

A good answer: A straight yes. A Leaving Cert tutor who works with children online, usually with a tutor based in Ireland expects to be asked.

“Have you taught this subject at Higher Level recently?”

A good answer: Named years and students; the Leaving Cert marking scheme rewards specific answer styles.

“Can you prepare for the oral exams?”

A good answer: For languages, regular speaking practice in the format of the oral.

“Are lessons online, and at what time?”

A good answer: Online is normal; agree times that suit a UK school day.

“How do you work with what my child's course covers?”

A good answer: From the Leaving Cert syllabus and past papers, not from GCSE or A level materials.

“Can you work with a small group?”

A good answer: If so, how many students and at which levels.

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

A good answer: Notice periods that fit a block for each subject, sometimes priced in another currency, written down, with the Leaving Cert tutor's own cancellations made up.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and any extra for evenings before the mocks or the orals
  • The minimum booking — usually one hour — and what happens if a session ends early
  • What the student brings (the syllabus, exam papers, marking schemes) and what the Leaving Cert tutor brings
  • The subjects and levels agreed before the first hour: Higher or Ordinary, papers or orals
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • No vetting shown, though the Leaving Cert tutor would see your child for an hour a week in each subject
  • Promised grades: no honest Leaving Cert tutor guarantees the points a college offer needs
  • They teach from GCSE or A level material instead of the Leaving Cert papers
  • No refund rule for a block for each subject, sometimes priced in another currency, or one that changes after you pay

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Leaving Cert 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. Subjects and levelsHigher or Ordinary per subject, agreed first.
  2. Past papersWork starts from real Leaving Cert papers and marking schemes.
  3. Weekly practiceAnswers written by the student, marked to the scheme.
  4. Orals and practicalsSpeaking practice for language orals; project and practical deadlines planned.
  5. Exam run-inTimed papers in the months before June.

Leaving Certificate
Ireland's final school exam, sat in June at the end of upper secondary school.
Higher and Ordinary Level
The two main levels at which most Leaving Cert subjects are taken.
Marking scheme
The published guide to how answers are marked.
Oral exam
The spoken part of the language exams, held before the written papers.
Points
The score from Leaving Cert grades used for college entry in Ireland.
GCSE and A level
The UK qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — a different system.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the recordsKeep the subject invoices and the marked past papers, with the written terms.
Test the progressCompare a timed past-paper question at half term with the first one, marked to the Leaving Cert scheme.
What you are owedThe points a college offer needs is not something anyone can guarantee; the agreed Leaving Cert lessons, well taught, is.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked Leaving Cert lessons. A problem goes to the Leaving Cert tutor first through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Tell the Leaving Cert tutor, in writingSay what went wrong — for example lessons at times that clash with a UK school day — and what you want: Leaving Cert lessons made up, repeated or refunded. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you can ask a Leaving Cert tutor to repeat what fell short, or for part of the money back if that cannot be done.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the Leaving Cert tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers Leaving Cert 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 Leaving Cert 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. Bring the subject invoices and the marked past papers to the claim.

Hiring a Leaving Cert tutor: questions people ask

The law does not require it of every Leaving Cert 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. Recent Leaving Cert teaching of the subject at the right level is what to ask about.

No UK publisher prices Leaving Cert tutoring, so there is no UK figure yet. Ask each Leaving Cert tutor for the rate per hour per subject, the minimum booking, and the papers or orals you will cover first. The Leaving Cert tutor price guide explains what drives it.

From a UK-based tutor working as a sole trader or partner, no: the subjects are taught in schools and that tuition is exempt. A tuition company or its employed tutors are standard-rated, and a tutor based in Ireland follows that country's rules.

Some families who move from Ireland, or live near the border in Northern Ireland, keep to it. Ask the school or exam centre what applies to your child.

That is a decision for you and the school; a tutor can say how far through the course your child is, not which system to choose.

MORE GUIDES

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Leaving Cert tutors near you

Leaving Cert tutors in LondonLeaving Cert tutors in ManchesterLeaving Cert tutors in BirminghamLeaving Cert tutors in GlasgowLeaving Cert tutors in BelfastAll leaving cert 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