Choosing a tutor
Clients of tutoring businesses and coaching colleges need to ask the following of any provider of tutoring or coaching services.

Staff
- Are your tutors screened for child protection? If not, how do you screen your staff to know that they are safe to work with children?
- Do you conduct face to face interviews with every member of staff before they get work here and how many reference checks do you make?
- What are the qualifications and experience of the tutor or tutors who will be tutoring my child?
- Is the tutor trained specifically in the subject area in which they are tutoring?
Fees and contracts
- Do you have a refund policy?
- How much can I expect to pay in total for the tuition?
- What will happen if my child is unhappy or we want to cancel the tutoring? Are there any cancellation
- Fees or charges?
- How much notice will I have to give in order not to be charged for a session of tutoring?
- Will I have to pay for any additional support materials or books
Education and Programmes
- Do you follow the formal school curricula or have your own? If you do have your own – can I view them?
- How will your programmes be relevant to my child?
- Is there any additional work expected of my child in the form of homework or after hours study?
- Do you give reports on my child’s progress? If so, how often?
- What do you do if a child does not seem to be benefiting from the programme you apply?
Operations
- Can I view the tutoring when it takes place?
- Is the tutoring one to one or in a group? If it’s a group situation how large is it and how will the needs of my child be catered for?
- Where will the tutoring take place – What materials and methods will my child use/experience?
Key Questions to ask of Tutors
Child Protection
- Have you been screened for child protection purposes? If no – why not?
- If yes – by whom and when? Can I see your paperwork?
- Where do you work – in my home or yours?
Education and Experience
- Could you tell me what your qualifications and experience are, that are relevant to the area I am seeking tutoring in?
- Do you have a university qualification in the field of education?
- What is your awareness of the requirements of the Board of Studies in this State/Territory?
- How long have you been tutoring/teaching this subject for?
- Do you have satisfied clients that I can call and ask about your tutoring?
Programmes and Reports
- Do you follow a set programme of study or curricula?
- Will there be additional out of hours work expected of my child?
- How often will I get verbal/ written progress reports?
- If my child is not meeting your expectations how will I know?
- If my child asked you to do their assignment for them – what would you do?
Payment and Receipts
- How do you like payment? What is the total cost of tutoring?
- Will I be given a receipt for any payments I make?
- If my child cannot or does not want to continue tutoring will there be any cancellation fee or other charge applied?
Questions to ask of ALL tutors or tutoring organisations
- Are you a member of the ATA?
- Is there anything I need to know that I haven’t been told or any question I should ask that I have not asked?
- Is there anything I need to know that I haven’t been told or any question I should ask that I have not asked?