Tutor FAQs
Information for qualified teachers about joining West Lancs Tutors, receiving tuition opportunities, managing lessons and getting paid.
Joining West Lancs Tutors
Who can become a West Lancs Tutors tutor?
West Lancs Tutors works with qualified teachers and suitably qualified education professionals. Applicants must provide evidence of their identity, teaching qualifications, right to work in the UK and the safeguarding checks required by West Lancs Tutors.
Joining the network is subject to satisfactory verification and does not guarantee that tuition opportunities will be offered.
What DBS check do I need?
Tutors must hold an appropriate Enhanced DBS certificate covering work with children before accepting tuition through West Lancs Tutors. Tutors are responsible for arranging and paying for their own DBS check. West Lancs Tutors does not currently obtain DBS certificates on behalf of tutors. Where a certificate is registered with the DBS Update Service, West Lancs Tutors will ask to see the original certificate and, with the tutor’s permission, check its current status. If a certificate cannot be verified through the Update Service, the tutor may be required to obtain a new check before accepting tuition. The precise evidence required and our verification process will be explained during registration.
Am I employed by West Lancs Tutors?
No. Tutors provide their services as self-employed independent contractors rather than employees or workers of West Lancs Tutors. Tutors are responsible for managing their own tax affairs, National Insurance, expenses and any required registration or reporting to HMRC. West Lancs Tutors cannot provide individual tax advice, so tutors should contact HMRC or a qualified adviser if they are uncertain about their position.
Can I also work for other agencies or find my own clients?
Yes. Tutors are not required to work exclusively with West Lancs Tutors and may provide services elsewhere, subject to their other commitments. However, families introduced through West Lancs Tutors must remain within the West Lancs Tutors payment and administration system.
Will my profile appear on the website?
We will publish a short profile containing your first name, general location, qualifications, experience, subjects and educational levels taught. You may also provide an optional suitable photograph. Agreeing to join West Lancs Tutors does not automatically require you to have a public profile. Just let us know if you don't want it to appear.
Tuition Opportunies
Am I guaranteed tutoring work?
No. Tuition opportunities depend on requests from families, your subjects, levels, location and availability. Joining the network does not guarantee any minimum amount of work or income. When a potentially suitable request is received, West Lancs Tutors may contact you with the relevant details so you can decide whether to accept it.
Do I have to accept every family offered to me?
No. You are free to accept or decline any proposed tuition arrangement. Declining an opportunity will not prevent you from being considered for suitable requests in the future. You should only accept tuition that you are appropriately qualified, experienced and available to provide.
How many families can I tutor?
You may accept as many suitable arrangements as you can reasonably manage. You are responsible for ensuring that your availability remains accurate and that accepting additional tuition does not affect your existing commitments.
Where can I provide tuition?
Depending on your preferences, lessons may be offered online, at the family’s home or at your home. You should tell West Lancs Tutors which formats you offer and the locations or travelling distance you are willing to cover.
Any home used for tuition must be safe, appropriate and suitable for working with a child.
Can I claim travel time or expenses?
Travel time and expenses are the tutor’s responsibility and are not paid separately by West Lancs Tutors. Please consider this when confirming the geographical area you are willing to cover.
What if a family requests tuition for more than one child?
You are free to accept or decline a shared lesson. West Lancs Tutors will consider whether the children’s needs are compatible and confirm the lesson price and tutor payment before the arrangement begins. Do not agree a separate additional-child charge directly with the family.
Who plans and delivers the lessons?
As a qualified professional, you are responsible for deciding how best to plan and deliver tuition for the individual child. West Lancs Tutors does not ordinarily prescribe lesson plans or observe sessions. Tutors are expected to prepare appropriately, act professionally, communicate reliably and provide tuition that reflects the child’s agreed needs and educational level.
When can I begin teaching a family introduced by West Lancs Tutors?
A proposed introduction is not permission to begin tuition. Once the family has accepted the arrangements and made the initial lesson payment, West Lancs Tutors will confirm that the first lesson is authorised to proceed.
Do not deliver the first lesson until that confirmation has been received, even if the family tells you that payment has been completed. After the first lesson, the regular arrangement can continue unless West Lancs Tutors tells you that a lesson has been suspended, cancelled or changed.
Should I contact the family before the first lesson?
Once an arrangement has been agreed, a brief introductory telephone or video call of around 5–10 minutes may be helpful to introduce yourself, clarify the child’s needs and confirm practical arrangements. This is encouraged where appropriate but is not compulsory.
Lesson Payments
How much will I be paid?
Tutors receive 80% of the lesson price paid by the family, with West Lancs Tutors retaining 20% for finding families, managing payments and providing administration and ongoing support. Current family prices can be viewed on our Pricing page.
Does the family pay me directly?
No. Families pay West Lancs Tutors, and West Lancs Tutors pays tutors separately. You should not request or accept lesson payments directly from a family introduced through West Lancs Tutors.
The central system allows us to maintain accurate records, manage cancellations and credits, and support both the family and tutor if any concerns arise.
What happens if a family’s payment fails?
West Lancs Tutors will manage the failed payment directly with the family. Tutors should not pursue families for payment or accept payment directly. If payment remains unsuccessful, West Lancs Tutors may tell you that the affected lesson is suspended. You must not deliver a suspended lesson unless West Lancs Tutors subsequently confirms that it is authorised to proceed. An authorised lesson delivered in accordance with the agreed arrangement will remain eligible for tutor payment.
When will I be paid?
Tutors are paid monthly for eligible lessons that have been completed and correctly recorded. You will be asked to confirm your completed lessons and submit the required invoice or monthly record by the stated deadline.
Our intended timetable is for tutors to submit their monthly invoice by the 3rd of the following month, with payment made to you by the 7th, provided the information is complete and accurate.
Will I receive confirmation of payment before every lesson?
No. Once a regular arrangement is in place, tutors should assume that scheduled lessons are going ahead unless they are notified otherwise. West Lancs Tutors will contact the tutor if a payment issue affects whether a lesson can proceed.
How do I record completed lessons?
Tutors must keep their allocated lesson tracker up to date, recording whether each scheduled lesson was completed, cancelled, rearranged or missed. The tracker will be used to check family payments and calculate your monthly invoice. Full instructions will be provided before your first arrangement begins.
Do I need to send an invoice?
Yes. As a self-employed contractor, you will submit a monthly invoice for the lessons eligible for payment. West Lancs Tutors will provide a straightforward template and the relevant lesson record to make this process as simple as possible.
Tutors remain responsible for retaining their own financial and tax records.
Can I arrange private tuition or payment with a family introduced by West Lancs Tutors?
No. Tuition arising from an introduction made by West Lancs Tutors must remain within our payment and administration system. Taking an introduced family outside the service would bypass the arrangements that fund matching, administration, payment management and ongoing support. It may also leave both parties outside the policies and records that apply to the arrangement. The detailed restriction will be included in the Tutor Agreement.
Cancellations, Charges and Support
What should I do if I need to cancel a lesson?
Contact the family and West Lancs Tutors as soon as possible. Where practical, you should offer a mutually convenient alternative date. You will not be paid for a lesson you cancel unless the rearranged lesson subsequently takes place. Repeated or avoidable cancellations may affect whether further tuition opportunities are offered.
What happens if the family cancels by 9am?
If West Lancs Tutors receives sufficient advance notice before a subsequent lesson payment has been collected, the upcoming charge may be paused and the tutor will not be paid because the lesson will not take place.
If payment has already been collected and the family provides notice by 9am on the day of the lesson, their payment will normally be retained as credit. As the original lesson has not taken place, tutor payment will normally become due when the credited lesson is subsequently delivered.
What happens if the family cancels after 9am or does not attend?
Late cancellations and missed lessons will normally be charged in full. Provided you were available and prepared to deliver the lesson, you will normally receive the agreed tutor payment. Record the cancellation accurately and notify West Lancs Tutors rather than requesting payment from the family.
What happens in a genuine family emergency?
West Lancs Tutors allows each child one late-cancellation waiver during each school term: autumn, spring and summer. This is intended for a genuine illness or emergency arising after the normal cancellation deadline. It is one waiver per term, not one per half-term.
When the waiver is used, the family will not be charged. Any payment already collected will be credited or refunded as appropriate, and the tutor will not receive payment because the lesson did not take place. West Lancs Tutors will confirm whether the waiver applies.
Once the child’s waiver has been used for that term, any further cancellations after 9am on the day of a lesson will normally be charged in full, with the tutor receiving their usual payment.
Can the family and I change the regular lesson time?
Yes, if the revised arrangement is mutually convenient. Inform West Lancs Tutors before the change takes effect so that lesson and payment records can be updated. Please do not make significant changes to lesson frequency, duration, level, format or price without prior agreement.
What if the family wants to stop tuition?
Families are asked to give West Lancs Tutors at least seven days’ written notice wherever reasonably possible. West Lancs Tutors will confirm the final scheduled lesson, update the lesson records and arrange for the recurring payment schedule to end.
Tutors should not independently confirm that an arrangement has ended or that a particular lesson will not be charged. Please refer the family to West Lancs Tutors so that the notice, final lessons, credits and payments can be handled correctly.
How will my performance be monitored?
West Lancs Tutors does not ordinarily observe lessons or require routine lesson plans. We may seek feedback from families, review attendance and communication records, and contact you if a concern is raised. Tutors are expected to cooperate with reasonable enquiries or complaints. Serious concerns involving professional conduct or safeguarding will be addressed under the relevant procedure.
What if I have a problem with a family or tuition arrangement?
Contact West Lancs Tutors promptly. We remain the central point of contact for payment problems, repeated cancellations, inappropriate behaviour, complaints or concerns about whether an arrangement remains suitable. Do not allow a significant concern to continue without informing us.