FAQs

I have just been sent the details of a new client.  When should I contact them?

ASAP! If you are unable to call a new client right away, please send them a quick email to arrange a call – just so they know everything is in hand.  We expect you to make contact with a new client within 48 hours of receiving their contact details. 

I need to stop providing tuition for one of my students. What should I do?

We appreciate that circumstances change and sometimes you might need to stop working with a student mid-engagement.  In the first instance, please contact Owl Tutors.  We can discuss the best way forwards in terms of communicating this to the client and overseeing a smooth transition where a new tutor is stepping in.  You should try to give as much notice as possible.  

My student hasn’t turned up to their lesson – can I charge for it?

Yes.  Where a client has failed to give sufficient notice* of a lesson cancellation, you can submit a timesheet for that session.  However, if this is a “first time offence” or a particularly “good” client, you may be inclined to waive the fee. The client may just need reminding of our Terms and Conditions, so please feel free to contact Owl Tutors if you would like us to do so.  

* We ask for 7 days notice ahead of a scheduled session where a student is receiving two hours or less of tuition each week. Where a tuition engagement exceeds two hours of tuition in any given week, we ask for 28 days notice, should a client wish to cancel a session.  

My student keeps cancelling their lessons – what should I do? 

If a parent or student is repeatedly cancelling sessions, please let us know.  We can explain to them that you will be unable to hold that time slot for them on an ongoing basis.  If it is the student who is repeatedly cancelling, the parent may not be aware of this! Again, please let us know and we can try to resolve the issue.

When will I be paid for any tuition that I have delivered?

You will be paid fees for tuition on or before the 20th of every month for tuition that took place in the previous month. Please make sure that you submit timesheets by the end of the day on the 1st of each month.  

My weekly availability has changed – where can I update this? 

Please keep us updated of your weekly availability – this way we can get you into work quicker.  You can update this by logging into your tutor dashboard and editing the “My availability” section.  This information will then pull through into each job application, saving you time! 

I am applying for a lot of roles, but not having much success – what am I doing wrong? 

We appreciate it can be frustrating and demoralising when your applications don’t come to fruition.  Clients will base their decision on which tutor to use almost entirely on the tutor’s profile, so it is always worth looking at the profiles of “similar” tutors and seeing where the differences lie: 

• Do you need to add more information and detail to your profile? Are you missing out key experience and professional achievements that would be of interest to prospective parents? 
• Does your profile picture need updating? Check that your profile picture meets the standards that we are looking for. Is the lighting good? Do you look smart and professional? Are you smiling?! 
• Write content for the website. Writing informative articles that can help our clients and students can significantly increase the demand for your services. Our most popular tutors have often contributed informative blogs for the website that really showcase their skills and experience.  
• Are you setting your hourly rate too high? If you are desperate for work, sometimes dropping your hourly rate by even £5 can make a difference.  You can reset your hourly rates via the tutor dashboard.

My student’s internet connection is disrupting our online sessions. Is there anything I can do?

Firstly, a Google search for “Internet Speed Test” brings up a handy widget that will give your student a number for their internet speed. If this is below 10 MB/s for download speed then this is definitely the problem. Check yours to confirm as well. Assuming the problem is their connection (and not yours!), there are a number of things they can do to improve this:

a) move closer to the wifi router if they are a long way from it.

b) have your student set up a wired connection to the WiFi router using an ethernet cable (these are relatively inexpensive and significantly improve speed).

c) suggest that your student acquires a WiFi extender if they cannot do steps a) or b) (again very cheap!)

d) have the student or parent speak to their internet provider. They may be on a lower speed tariff. Also, sometimes internet providers ration users until they complain, so simply phoning up can improve the speed for no extra work.

e) ask if anyone in the household is watching Netflix / similar or doing any other data-intensive activity, as this might be impacting the connection speed.