The Good Schools Guide is celebrating 25 years with its most comprehensive edition yet. Currently, they’re offering an introductory £9.99 subscription which will let you access all of their online content.

As well as reviewing schools up and down the country, The Good Schools Guide is one of the few publications interested in shining a light on the private tuition industry in the UK. As an aside, The Tutor Pages is one of its recommended websites for private tuition.

Recently, they published a list of 7 questions to ask before deciding to employ a tutor, which I’ve included below. It’s sound and sensible advice – exactly what we’ve come to expect:

“If you’re considering a tutor, avoid an exam horror story by asking these key questions first:

1. What are your qualifications? There’s no formal accreditation for tutors – anyone can call themselves one. So ask for chapter and verse: are they a student, an unemployed graduate, or a former teacher with bags of experience?
2. How do you keep up to date on the latest curriculum or exam requirements? Your tutor may have a PhD in astrophysics, but that won’t help your child prepare for grammar school reasoning tests. Make sure the tutor you choose is an expert in preparing for the exam your child will be taking.
3. Are you CRB checked? Over the top if your tutor comes with glowing praise from your friends, but worth asking if they’re unknown and you can’t check them out in other ways.
4. What’s it going to cost? Pin down how much, how often and whom you pay. Does it go to the tutor? To the agency? Do you have to pay extra for the tutor’s travel? What happens if you have to cancel a lesson?
5. Do I have to sign a contract? If so, check what you are committing to. Some agencies try to tie you into a ‘package’ of lessons before you’ve even met the tutor – beware!
6. Can I talk to some of your existing clients? Ask for phone numbers and make sure to ring them.
7. Do you offer small group instruction? Some magical tutoring happens in settings of three or four pupils – and it can save you a bundle in fees. It won’t suit everyone, but can work well for grammar school exams and other school entrance tests.”

There were interviews with two people who have detailed knowledge about this industry: Janette Wallis from The Good Schools Guide and James Turner, Policy Director at the Sutton Trust.

Below is a handy summary of what I think are some of the key points from their discussion. I hope you find it useful!

Why do parents hire a private tutor?

Janette mentioned there are two reasons why parents hire a tutor: firstly, a child who is struggling in a particular subject can improve their confidence and grades through tutoring. Secondly, there is the more negative aspect where tuition can be ‘contagious’, leading to the so-called tutoring ‘arms race’ among parents.

James agreed with the latter problem, noting there is more competitiveness and pressure than ever before. More children are getting top grades at GCSE and A-level, there’s a squeeze on university places and a squeeze on graduate careers. Parents naturally want to do the best for their child, and so will try to give them the edge.

Who hires private tutors?

James referenced a survey by The Sutton Trust which shows that a fifth of all children have had some form of private tuition over the course of their school careers, rising to more than 40% in London.

Parents of various financial means will make sacrifices to pay for a tutor, but there will still be many parents who can’t afford private tuition at all. As a charity, James mentioned how The Sutton Trust is concerned about those families from poorer backgrounds that miss out.

Janette talked about the type of parent who can’t afford £5000/term for private education, but who does have enough to pay £500/term for private tuition. In other words, these parents will go the state route but ‘top it up’ in certain subjects with a private tutor. She also stated that demand in some circumstances is driven by children themselves who are influenced by their classmates having tutors.

Does all this tutoring mean there is something fundamentally wrong with the state education system?

James noted that although private tuition is most popular in London, state school standards have actually risen faster in London than in other urban areas, so the amount of tuition isn’t necessarily correlated with the standards in state schools. He said how it’s more about an increasing consciousness of the issues and the competitiveness already talked about.

Tuition isn’t regulated in the UK: so how should parents choose a tutor safely?

Janette mentioned three key points in this regard. Firstly, parents should look for a tutor with a CRB check as a basic minimum. Secondly, some parents feel more comfortable if a tutor comes to their house because they feel that it’s a safer environment (although it’s a more expensive option). Finally, she recommended speaking to others who’ve used the tutor to help build up a picture of someone who’s trustworthy.

Does private tuition work?

James mentioned how research proves quite conclusively that private tuition provides the best way of boosting a child’s results. For that reason The Sutton Trust is currently piloting a tuition programme for children from poorer homes, not only to help those children but also to assess exactly effective one-to-one or small group tuition can be.

Janette mentioned there is research that shows how it’s the one-to-one nature of tutoring that works so well, and not necessarily whether a tutor is highly qualified or not. In that respect, parents often underestimate what they can do for their children themselves (on this point see Tutoring: A Tool for the Masses).

On tuition scare stories

A final word from Janette: Whenever I hear that ‘everyone in the class is getting a tutor’, you’ve got to be a little sceptical – it’s like ‘everyone in my class has an iPhone’ – I don’t think it’s always true.

Published just last month, The Good Schools Guide has called The Tutor Pages “impressive” and  “a clear zealot for quality”. In fact, we are the only tutor directory recommended alongside tutoring agencies in their section on private tuition.

The Good Schools Guide also referred to us as “The John Lewis of the off-the-peg providers”. If you think about it, this is a pretty accurate assessment. The best private tuition agencies up and down the country will provide a “tailor-made” service for parents, matching the student’s needs carefully with what the agency perceives to be the best tutor for the job.

In contrast, The Tutor Pages provides a high quality “off-the-peg” service. Parents and students are able to contact tutors directly for free, thus avoiding the hefty commission and introductory fees which agencies usually charge. With The Tutor Pages, both parties benefit by entering into a payment arrangement without the middle-man.

The consequence of this way of working is that the onus is on parents and students to assess the suitability of the tutor, and we provide substantial advice on how to do this. Since we are a subscription-only tutor directory, we are able to make this task easier by maintaining high standards on the site. All tutors registered with us have up-to-date profiles. They are obliged to provide substantial information about themselves, and this includes at least one article related to a subject they teach.

If a tutor hasn’t responded to an enquiry, we also try to follow it up on behalf of the student, in case the message hasn’t got through, or in case the tutor is no longer able to take on students.

So, what is the consequence of our commitment to quality?

We’ve found that we’re able to cut through the often impersonal nature of the internet, and put real students in touch with real tutors. It’s very rare for unwanted requests to come through our site (we check every one), and both tutors and students report having had a good experience of the site. Here are some tutors reporting on their experience:

According to my experience, genuine students come on this site. (Nasira, Leeds)

The students are reliable and the reputation of the website ensures that there is an element of trust between student and tutor even prior to the first lesson. (Basit, Harrow)

So far since joining, all the students I have taught have been top high quality serious learners. 10/10 for The Tutor Pages. (Helen, West Drayton)

The students that I’ve helped through this contact have all been very pleasant, positive and grateful for any help they have received. (Jan, Colchester)

The Good Schools Guide only usually recommends tuition agencies, and so to feature in the Guide is a strong endorsement of the quality service we provide and our unique approach to private tuition.

So, how exactly do we differ to tuition agencies?

Simply put, The Tutor Pages is a high quality advertising platform where tutor profiles are manually checked before being posted on the site, and where students or parents are able to contact tutors free of charge. Unlike an agency, The Tutor Pages doesn’t perform background checks on the tutors listed, and it is the parent’s responsibility to do so.

Why do we work it this way? The result of this shift in responsibility is the potentially huge cost saving for both student and tutor. As our Safety Advice explains, working independently (i.e. without an agency) is ‘the method of choice for many well-qualified and experienced tutors. This way of working has always worked for private music tuition, and we’re simply extending the principle to academic and other types of tuition.’

What did The Good Schools Guide review have to say about The Tutor Pages, then?

For the full report, you’ll need to wait until the new year, but we can say that The Good Schools Guide is not known for mincing its words (it’s not for nothing that the TES reported how, ‘It is just as untroubled by the sensibilities of schools and as cavalier in the face of squawks from those it has offended.’).

The Tutor Pages did not come out of the assessment unscathed: for example, its coverage of the whole of the UK was described as ‘patchy’ and ‘wonderfully quirky’.

On the other hand, the review did state that ‘The Tutor Pages is impressive … a clear zealot for quality in this industry in which there are all too many free-loaders’. It went on to say, ‘The site is worth a visit, whether or not you want a tutor’ and that:

If you want a tutor and don’t want to employ a posh and expensive agency, take a look. Trust your judgement, interview potential tutors carefully and you could get a real bargain.

We’re certainly pleased with The Good Schools Guide assessment, since it reinforces our belief that The Tutor Pages is unique in the kind of service it provides. The positive endorsement from The Good Schools Guide cannot fail to be of benefit to all those who use our website.