14th July 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
With 25% of children receive one-on-one lessons, the popularity of additional tutoring has never been higher. In London almost half of children have additional lessons outside their formal schooling, up 30% in just five years. What is more, tutoring is common among both privately and state schooled children as a way of boosting confidence, understanding and exam results through more individual attention and tailored lessons.
One in four children in the UK has received some form of private tutoring, yet unlike school teachers, tutors are not required by law to complete formal background checks. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), formerly known as the CRB, is a full criminal history check carried out by the government. It is compulsory for those employed in areas which frequently interact with minors, such as teachers, social workers or medical personnel. However, as most tutors are self-employed, they do not require a DBS by law. A national children’s charity, has warned that this “loophole” allows potentially dangerous adults unvetted access to children and the system needs a more thorough approach in order to eliminate the risk. The NSPCC argues that there should be the same standard of safety for private tuition as classroom teaching.
Many tutoring agencies do already require their tutors to provide a recent DBS, or give clients the option of specifically requesting a tutor who has been DBS certified. Also, the majority of agencies recruit through a process of interviewing and many contracts specify that an adult must be in the house at all times so the tutor is never left entirely unsupervised. On the other hand, those who set themselves up independently do not have this requirement and rarely have formal contracts in place. Equally, employers or agencies can apply for DBS checks for their employees and contractors, however individuals cannot request one themselves. This leaves independent tutors and parents unable to run their own checks. The NSPCC therefore advises parents looking for tutors over the summer or further in the new school year to employ tutors through a reputable agency.
So why not make it compulsory? DBS checks are not free for those who will benefit financially from the activity for which they need the check in order to perform. Simply put, as tutors are being paid to teach, they must themselves pay for the DBS check at a price of £51. Educational institutions, in this case, agencies, must also pay £300 to register as an organisation in order to allow contracted tutors to apply for the check through them. More than the financial cost, the process takes months to complete, involves several stages including identification verification in person, and must be repeated every 1-3 years. For those doing only a few hours a week of casual tutoring to supplement their income, or students and recent graduates teaching only over the summer, this is a fairly onerous process. With such high demand for tutors, making this compulsory could be a barrier to entry to new tutors, pushing prices ever higher.