We have a performance-based pay band system for school tutors so that you earn more as you gain more experience.
How does it work?
You collect coins by completing recurring slots - for each recurring slot you complete, you’ll collect as many coins as the number of lessons you deliver in that slot.
For example, if you accept a recurring slot of 10 lessons, deliver 9 and request cover for 1, you’ll collect 9 coins once the slot is completed.
What happens to my coins if I cancel or miss a slot?
If you can’t make a slot for any reason, you can cancel it at any time. But you won’t collect any coins.
You’ll have to cancel a recurring slot if you go over our limit for cover requests. You can read more about all that in our Schools Programme Tutor Cancellation Policy.
If you miss multiple lessons in the slot without letting us know, we’ll remove you from it. This will count as a cancelled slot, and you won’t collect any coins.
In any of the above cases, you won’t collect any coins from the recurring slot.
But if you get partway through a slot and the school cancels the remaining lessons or reschedules them to a time you can’t make, we’ll still count this as a completed slot on your behalf.
What are the thresholds?
Level | Lessons required | 1-1 GCSE take-home pay | 1-1 A-level take-home pay | 3-1 Pay take-home pay | 3-1 A-level take-home pay |
Diamond | 750 | £18.00 | £18.50 | £26.00 | £26.50 |
Gold | 300 | £15.83 | £16.33 | £21.00 | £21.50 |
Silver | 125 | £14.33 | £14.83 | £18.00 | £18.50 |
Bronze | 30 | £13.33 | £13.83 | £16.00 | £16.50 |
Base | 0 | £12.83 | £13.33 | £14.00 | £14.50 |
Why is it based only on recurring slots?
When we ask pupils how we can make lessons better for them, their most common response is, “I want to keep the same tutor for all my lessons”.
During a standard 10-week programme of lessons, 40% of our pupils have at least three tutors. Sometimes that’s because the school reschedules the time of the pupil’s lessons. But in 80% of cases, it's because tutors are requesting cover or cancelling entire slots.
Pupils make the most progress when they have consistency, so we reward tutors who are able to commit to an entire recurring slot and stay within the limit for cover requests.
Are cover and private lessons counted?
You won’t collect coins for completing cover lessons, for lessons you deliver in a slot that you cancel, or for private lessons.
This means the number of coins you collect will most likely be lower than the total number of lessons you’ve ever delivered.
Which band will I start on?
New tutors all start on the base pay band and can work their way up. You can track which band you’re on by logging in, clicking your icon in the top right corner, and selecting the “School Pay Bands page”.
How do I move up a band?
You’ll be moved up as soon as you reach the required coins threshold, and your pay will be automatically adjusted to reflect this.
How can I get more tutoring work to move up the bands?
By tutoring reliably and boosting your profile, you can earn yourself a top priority for new opportunities. Read on for more information on how this can work:
Add more subjects and levels to your profile.
Did you know that the majority of school lessons are at GCSE level? Core subjects are most popular (Maths, English, Sciences), so offering these subjects will increase your chances of seeing opportunities the most. And while you’re at it, why not extend them to KS3 and A Level too?
It’s worth including non-core subjects, too, particularly for the higher levels. Since fewer tutors teach them, there’ll be less competition.
Download our tutor app.
This is the quickest way to get notified of new opportunities in real-time.
Update your availability
If you’ve told us you’re unavailable or already teaching, you won’t see opportunities at that time. The majority of school lessons happen between 2pm and 5pm, around the end of the school day, so being available then ups your chances the most.
Don’t forget to boost, and do it as often as you can.
When you boost, you’re telling us that you’re ready and available to work. You’ll be bumped up the ranking for new opportunities relative to tutors who aren’t boosting. Do this weekly to show us if you’re still looking for work.
Actions speak louder than boosts.
Your behaviour on-site impacts your priority status for new opportunities. So, if you’re turning up for lessons on time and not leaving early, you’ll be on top of the priority list, and you’ll see opportunities before tutors who are below you.
Typically, school demand starts to increase in November and really gets going in January and February, ahead of exam season. We anticipate you’ll start seeing more slots available to pick up from September onwards.