Tutor Information Page

Please find below all you need to know about being a tutor with Bright Light Education.

Tutor Requirements:

Please note, you are not employed by Bright Light Education UK LLP and you are responsible for your own tutoring sessions.

As a self-employed tutor, you are responsible for paying your own taxes and insurance.

You are also responsible for registering with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if necessary.

We require all tutors:

• To live in the UK.
• To have the right to work in the UK as self-employed.
• To be a qualified teacher with Qualified Teacher Status and 2 years’ teaching experience (i.e. completion of ECT period). 
• To hold an Enhanced DBS Certificate and be on the DBS Update Service. 
• To hold appropriate safeguarding training and ensure this is refreshed every two years.

Communication:

If you haven’t done so already, please ensure you have joined our Tutor WhatsApp group by clicking the link here. This is a WhatsApp group community group which means that your details are not shared with anyone else in the group and only the admins (Dani and Charlotte) can write a message. We use this group to share new jobs which become available so it is essential you join!

Please save our phone number to your contacts (+44208 088 4514) and use this number to contact us via WhatsApp if you are interested in a job.

Please note that if you are using WhatsApp to communicate with your clients, we recommend you have a professional profile picture on your WhatsApp account.

We may also email you from time-to-time regarding enquiries or to share other information. Please do check your junk mail folder regularly in case our (or potential clients’) emails end up there.

Payment:

The Client and Tutor will agree on a Lesson Price, which comprises of the Tutor Hourly Rate and the Bright Light Education Introduction Fee (and the VAT chargeable on this). 

Here are some suggestions:

Lesson Price £52 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £40)
Lesson Price £57.20 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £44)
Lesson Price £58.50 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £45)
Lesson Price £62.40 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £48)
Lesson Price £65 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £50)
Lesson Price £67.60 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £52)
Lesson Price £78 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £60)
Lesson Price £84.50 (Tutor’s hourly rate is £65)

For ease of understanding, the Tutor’s hourly rate is multiplied by 1.3 which gives the amount the Client will be charged (the Lesson Price).

As outlined in the Tutor Terms, the Tutor can choose the method in which they receive pay from the Client. One option may be to choose the 3rd party provider, Tutor Cruncher, to process payments. This provider allows a ‘split payment’ process to occur, in which the Client’s payment is automatically split between the Tutor’s pay and Bright Light Education’s Introduction Fee (and the VAT that accompanies this).

With Tutor Cruncher, invoices are sent to clients after each lesson. Once the Tutor ‘Completes’ the lesson, an invoice will be sent out automatically. Once the Client has paid, the money will transfer to the Tutor’s Stripe account in 7 calendar days. The funds are then in the Tutor’s Stripe account and will automatically be paid out at the end of the month (or on a date decided by the Tutor). If required by the Tutor, the Tutor can make one manual pay-out per month, if they want to be paid earlier. The Tutor logs into their Stripe account and makes the transfer. The funds are then transferred to the Tutor’s bank account automatically, which can take up to 3 days.

Tutor Onboarder:

We use the third party, Tutor Onboarder, to onboard new tutors. TutorOnboarder is a specialised platform designed to automate and streamline the recruitment, compliance, and onboarding process for tutoring agencies and educational institutions. It helps businesses manage tutor applications, verify qualifications, conduct DBS/background checks, and schedule interviews efficiently to ensure safer recruitment.

Tutor Cruncher

If you decide to use Tutor Cruncher, here are some tips on navigating around the software:

How to check your jobs:

1) Click on ‘My Jobs’ on the left hand side of your profile.
2) Check your ‘Open Jobs’ which we will be created for you once you have agreed a job.
3) When you have a new job, check that the Client name, Student name and Tutor Rate is correct. (The Tutor Rate is your take home fee).

How to log lessons:

1) At a time that suits you (as you go along or all in bulk at the end of the month), record the lessons you have delivered. Do this by going into ‘My Jobs’ and clicking on the specific job.
2) Click on ‘Add new lesson’.
3) Input the Start Time and Finish Time for the first lesson.
4) For ‘Topic’, this is entirely your choice what you write.
5) Click on ‘Record the lesson’.
6) You can ‘Skip Report’.
7) It will then automatically be marked ‘complete’.
8) Under ‘Actions’, you can then add a new lesson, or ‘Repeat’ that lesson.
9) Ensure you press ‘Complete’ once the lesson has been delivered. This will trigger the invoice for that lesson to be sent to the Client.

Lesson Information:

• You cannot mark lessons as ‘COMPLETE’ before the lesson has taken place. This can only be done AFTER the lesson has been delivered.
• If you create the lesson in the future, the lesson will be created as ‘Planned’.
• You can mark it complete at a later stage by clicking on it, and clicking ‘Mark Complete’.
• Once you have permanently finished tutoring a child, please mark the job as ‘Finished’. This will automatically send out a request for a review for you from the client.

HERE is a handy guide to using Tutor Cruncher.

Integrations and Other Features:

Tutor Cruncher has a number of integrations which may be of use to you, e.g. BitPaper, Zoom and other Online Classrooms. You still have to pay for these services, but you can connect your account to your Tutor Cruncher profile if you’d like to. Zoom can be done yourself via your Tutor Cruncher account, but for any other integration, you will need to contact us to set it up.

Creating a safe, professional, and supportive working environment for students

To ensure a safe, professional, and supportive working environment for students, whether tutoring online or face-to-face, there are a number of safeguarding, safer-working, and professional-boundary measures that you should consider:

• Always follow our Safeguarding Policy and report any concerns promptly.
• Ensure parental awareness and oversight at all times (a parent nearby for online lessons; shared, open spaces for face-to-face tutoring).
• Maintain clear professional boundaries: no physical contact, no gift giving, and appropriate professional clothing.
• Communicate with students in a calm, respectful, and professional manner. Conversations should remain appropriate and learning-focused; tutors should not share personal information about themselves.
• Use approved communication channels only; do not contact students via personal email, phone, messaging apps, or social media.
• Deliver online lessons using secure platforms, with an appropriate background and professional setting.
• Keep clear lesson records and communicate transparently with parents and the organisation.

Continued Professional Development, Resources and Discounts:

Please click HERE for CPD opportunities, resources and discounts for tutors, including:

• Bright Light Education 11+ Webinars for Tutors
• Bright Light Education Books
• Bright Light Education Raising the BAR: Writing Assessment Grid
• A discount on Storytime Magazine subscription
• A webinar about dyslexia, led by Doodle Dyslexia Services
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: A basic overview for tutors
• Discounts from The Tutors’ Association

Atom Learning:

We are pleased to offer the tutors who we work with, access to our Bright Light Education x Atom Enterprise account. Atom Enterprise is an online platform for tuition agencies which is used to set practice and measure progress.

The tutors who we work with can choose to use Atom Enterprise with their 1:1 students. If tutors choose to use this product, they can use it to support their 1:1 students, without their clients needing their own Atom Home subscription. It covers English, maths, VR, NVR and science.

Tutors have access to 90,000+ questions which they can use within lessons and to set for homework. They can set baseline assessments, providing an instant assessment of a child’s ability. Atom Enterprise supports Key Stage 2 children (year 3-6), including aiding children with 11+ preparation. Everything is automatically marked so tutors can spend more time on student intervention. If you would like access to this account, please let us know. Read more HERE.