Tutor Qualifications

Tutors introduced by Fleet Tutors are highly qualified with university degrees, teaching certificates, professional qualifications or a combination thereof. Although mostly from a school teaching background, Tutors also come from other walks of life including training establishments. This allows tuition to be offered in business, commercial and technical subjects too.

The Fleet Tutors selection process includes taking up professional references in respect of Tutors and checks with the CRB. To enable us to provide a fully professional service we would be very grateful to hear from you if a Tutor provided by us falls short of your expectations in any way.

The Tuition Course

Different Tutors have different teaching methods and styles. One of the primary benefits of private tuition is that the Tutor can tailor his/or her method to the needs of the individual student in a way that cannot be achieved in the larger group classroom setting. There is no set pattern or material for private tuition. Every student is an individual, and student and Tutor need to find their best approach together. The background information given before starting is of great help and the Tutor will ask for any additional information needed.

Please ensure that tuition can be conducted in a quiet atmosphere conducive to concentration on the tuition involved. Provision of exercise books and textbooks is usually the responsibility of the client.
Tuition normally consists of one-hour sessions. Shorter or longer sessions should be agreed in advance between client and Tutor.

At the start, it can be difficult to determine how much tuition a student requires. Fleet Tutors tries to be as flexible as possible as it is important to get the balance right for you or your child. Some parents use private tuition as a year round supplement to their child’s education. For others, just a few sessions may be required as a top-up and confidence builder prior to an exam. All parents and students would like to see private tuition as a quick fix, in reality it is not. It can take time for trust and rapport to be built between Tutor and child. Fleet Tutors will endeavour to find a suitable match between the Client and Tutor taking into account the Tutors available to Fleet Tutors, and your individual requirements, which you communicated to us prior to our assignment to you of a Tutor. However, sometimes a Tutor’s teaching method or personality may not suit the student involved. If this is the case, please contact us straight away, and we will do our best to find a replacement as soon as possible.

Responsibilities

A Tutor cannot be held responsible for chaperoning minors, nor guarding a house and household effects while Tutoring. Please ensure that a responsible adult is on the premises at all times.

Attendance

The minimum charge for the attendance of a Tutor at a session is your hourly rate of charge for that Tutor. Please note that there can be considerable preparation involved before each session of tuition, in addition to travel time and cost to the Tutor.

Illness & Holidays

Please contact your Tutor directly over such matters, especially during the usual holiday periods, giving a minimum of 24 hours’ notice (except in unforeseeable situations). Cancellations without due notice will be charged at the one-hour rate.

Tuition stopped-by Tutor

If a Tutor, for any reason, has to stop tuition mid-course, Fleet Tutors will endeavour to replace that Tutor as soon as possible, subject to availability, in order to minimise disruption to the student’s progress.

Tuition Stopped by Client

Please give at least a week’s notice of end of tuition in writing both to your Tutor and to Fleet Tutors, so that your Tutor may conclude his/her work with the student and plan his/her work with the student and plan his/her own commitments. This cancellation provision applies after tuition has commenced. You may either e-mail or post your notice to the address on this leaflet. The notice will be deemed to have been received by Fleet Tutors the second working day after the notice was posted.

Payment for Tuition: Weekly Tutors

Two payment plans exist, a prepayment plan and monthly billing plan. With the monthly payment plan, invoices are sent to you early in the month to cover tuition in the preceding month. For example, tuition received by a client during the month of September will normally be invoiced to the client early in October. Invoices thus rendered cover monies receivable for and on behalf of the Tutor together with fees due to Fleet Tutors and any VAT, thereon. Please insure that payment for all invoices is received within 14 days of the date of the invoice.

By selecting the prepayment plan, you are offered a reduced rate for an agreed number of sessions, which are paid in advance. Payment must be made prior to the commencement of the first session after the free introductory session with the Tutor. Once tuition has commenced, there are no refunds for the cancellation of sessions by the client prior to completion of the course. However, the course is flexible in terms of illness and holidays, and sessions can be rescheduled for an alternative date if the client provides a minimum of 24 hours notice of the cancellation of the session to the Tutor. The course of sessions can commence at any time of year.

You are, however, entitled to cancel the contract within 8 working days of your acceptance or deemed acceptance of these Terms of Business (“Cancellation Period”), in which case you will be entitled to reimbursement of all Fees paid to Fleet Tutors. However, if you instruct Fleet Tutors or the Tutor introduced to you that you want the tuition sessions to commence before the end of this Cancellation period, you will not be entitled to receive a refund of the Fees paid in the event that such tuition session has already been arranged to take place prior to your cancellation.

At the end of the prepaid course, tuition automatically carries on unless you give one-week’s notice (Termination Notice) both to your Tutor verbally and in writing to Fleet Tutors. This will enable the Tutor to bring tuition to an appropriate conclusion for the student and seek reassignment to another job.

If you do not provide the Termination Notice to Fleet Tutors or do not provide such notice in sufficient time, Fleet Tutors and the Tutor will assume that you wish to continue and keep your agreed time slot with the Tutor reserved for you, and you will be charged for any such sessions arranged. This aids continuity and the Tutor’s availability as long as you need him/her. In this case, your account will automatically default to the monthly payment plan, where you will be billed monthly at the full session price.

If you would like to carry on at a discounted rate, please contact Fleet Tutors no later than the last prepaid session, and you can prepay for another “course” of sessions. The rate agreed in your initial course of prepaid sessions is valid for 100 days from the start of the course or until 31st December 2010 whichever comes first. Therefore, should you choose to extend your prepaid course and the standard rates have increased during the time of the prepaid course, the new discount offered will be the same percentage discount, albeit off the current standard rate and not the former standard rate that existed when the initial course was purchased.

Payment: Full-time tutors

Full time tutors are defined as those which work on daily basis for several hours per day for more than four weeks.

Often they provide tuition for home educated children as a substitute for school on a short-term or longer term basis. Full time tutors are also hired to work over the summer holidays as a supplement to the school year.

Non-residential fulltime tuition is invoiced in advance on a monthly basis for tuition which occurs in the following month. Prior to commencement of tuition, clients are also asked to pay a deposit towards tuition which is deducted from the client’s final bill with Fleet Tutors. Monthly tuition fee payment is due 14 days prior to the month in which the tuition occurs. Fees are at the standard hourly rate appropriate for the level of tuition provided. In some cases, when the tutor is required for a longer day (e.g. more than 4 hours), paying a daily rate may be more economical for the client. In both cases, these options and the number of hours are agreed in advance between Fleet Tutors, tutor and client, as appropriate for the age of the student and goals the client and/or student seek to achieve. As a general guideline, 3-4 hours per day of one-to-one tuition at home is regarded by local education authorities as the equivalent of a full day’s school in a larger classroom group. However, this can vary according to the needs, ability, effort and goals of the individual student.

Residential tuition

Residential tuition (tutors living with a family) is available but detailed in a separate document, entitled Guidelines for Clients and Terms of Business for Residential tutors.

Online tuition

Online tuition or Live Remote Tuition is when the tutor tutors a student where tutor and student are not in the same location as the tutor using the Internet. Live Remote tuition can also be used to supplement face-to-face sessions. Tutor and student using a combination of e-mail, Internet Chat (e.g. MSN, Yahoo or Messenger), and our/or a webcam which enables them to see one another, and/or Skype which enables them to hear and/or see one another as well as use an interactive white board. It is up to the student and tutor to decide which media or combinations of media best suits their preferences and achieves the student’s goals. All online tuition is paid in advance. A minimum commitment and payment of one hour is required. When a client wishes to book more sessions, they are encouraged in order to receive the discounted hourly rate to telephone Fleet Tutors and pay for more sessions over the phone. If a client has more sessions with the tutor than he/she has paid for, he will be automatically invoiced at the end of the month for all additional sessions but all the full (10% higher in price) not the discounted rate. All terms and conditions relating to face-face-tuition apply with online

Client Satisfaction Policy

When a client has prepaid for a course of tuition, and a client is not satisfied with a particular Tutor or if a Tutor must stop tuition mid-course due to unforeseeable circumstances, Fleet Tutors will endeavour to find a replacement Tutor. If a replacement cannot be found of the level and subject required by the Client, then Fleet Tutors will refund the balance of the course fees paid by the client representing the number of pre-paid sessions for which the client does not receive tuition.

Fees

A registration fee is paid prior to registration with Fleet Tutors. This is quoted to you verbally by telephone and confirmed to you subsequently in writing. You are required to pay the registration fee to Fleet Tutors prior to Fleet Tutors taking a detailed brief of your requirements and beginning the search for a Tutor. This is an administrative charge which pays for the consideration of several of Fleet Tutors’ most appropriate Tutors before selecting the one the consultant feels best meets the client’s needs. The first session of up to a maximum of one hour with the selected Tutor is provided at no charge.

The Registration fee is only refundable after a month if no Tutors are available who teach the subject and level required by the Client, or if the Client notifies Fleet Tutors of the cancellation of the contract within 8 working days of your acceptance or deemed acceptance of these Terms of Business. However if you instruct Fleet Tutors or the Tutor that you want the tuition sessions to commence before the end of the Cancellation Period, you will not be entitled to receive a refund of the Registration Fee in the event that such a tuition session has already been arranged.

If you are booking more than one Tutor, the introductory session with the second and subsequent Tutor(s) is charged at the standard hourly rate

Fees are agreed verbally by Fleet Tutors on behalf of the Tutor, and with the client prior to commencement of the tuition. They are normally at a standard rate appropriate to the level of tuition provided and are confirmed in writing as soon as possible. A reasonable charge for travel may be required by a Tutor. This should be discussed with you prior to commencement of a contract.

If the client is choosing the repayment plan, the current rate and prepayment discount is confirmed verbally with a Fleet Tutors consultant and then in writing. In the event a Tutor requires travel expenses, there is no discount on travel in the prepayment agreement. This charge is added to the total as a separate item with all prepayments.

Our standard service includes receiving invoices and statements via e-mail. If you require paper invoices and statements then this will incur a yearly administration charge.

Contractual Relationship

Fleet Tutors acts as agent of the Tutor by providing introductions of Tutors to clients and vice versa. It also collects fees from the client on behalf of the Tutor together with its own fee in respect of its administration commission, which is included within the hourly rate quoted for a particular Tutor and which is payable solely by the client. VAT is applied where appropriate.

These Guidelines form a part of the client’s contract with Fleet Tutors and with the Tutor. For further contractual details please see Terms and Conditions of Business (Clients) below.

Data Protection Act

Fleet Tutors is registered under the Data Protection Act to hold and use client data for the purposes of the services that it provides. Clients providing personal data to Fleet Tutors are consenting to the use of that data by Fleet Tutors for the purpose of effecting introductions to Tutors, for billing and fee collecting purposes and to enable Fleet Tutors to contact the client and/or student from time to time. Where required for legitimate purposes in connection with Fleet Tutors’ business and subject to suitable safeguards that data may be transferred to others.

Policies

Any opinion expressed by a Tutor is not necessarily an expression of the opinion of Fleet Tutors.

Terms and Conditions of Business (Clients)

  • These terms and conditions of business (“Terms of Business”) are between Fleet Tutors (acting for itself and as agent on behalf of the Tutor supplied by Fleet Tutors (“the Tutor”)) and the client and are deemed to be accepted by the client when the client completes and returns the prepayment form, arranges payment by telephone or arranges a session of tuition by the Tutor introduced to them by Fleet Tutors or completes and returns the acknowledgement form, whichever occurs first.
  • A Tutor will be deemed to have been introduced by the client by Fleet Tutors in the event that either the name of the Tutor is provided by the client by Fleet Tutors following the request for a Tutor by the client, or Fleet Tutors arranges for a Tutor to contact the client following such request for a Tutor provided by the client to Fleet Tutors.
  • The client is entitled to cancel the contract for the introduction of a Tutor with Fleet Tutors and the Tutor within 8 working days of your acceptance or deemed acceptance of these Terms of Business (“Cancellation Period”). However, if you instruct Fleet Tutors or the Tutor introduced to you that you want the tuition sessions to commence before the end of this Cancellation Period, you will not be entitled to receive a refund of the Registration Fee in the event that such a tuition session has already been arranged prior to your cancellation.
  • The Tutor is responsible for co-ordinating the tuition and will request the necessary background information from the Client and/or student nominated by the Client (“the Student”) from time to time. Provision of exercise and textbooks is the responsibility of, and will as required be supplied by the Client. Tuition is normally held at the Student’s home.
  • The Tutor is engaged by the Client only to provide tuition and is not responsible for the safety, welfare, well being and care of minor Students or for the protection of any person’s property. In the case of Students under the age of 18 years, a responsible adult (other than the Tutor) must be present at the premises at all times during which the Tutor attends for tuition.
  • As agent contracting on behalf of the Tutor, Fleet Tutors will not be liable to the Client or any third party for any act, omission or error (whether wilful, negligent or otherwise) of the Tutor.
  • Clients are not permitted to make private arrangements for tuition with Tutors introduced by Fleet Tutors which includes payment of fees for such sessions otherwise than to Fleet Tutors in accordance with its Terms of Business. In the event that the Tutor pursuant to such a private arrangement provides such tuition or the client introduces the Tutor to other people who then make such arrangements bypassing Fleet Tutors, the Client will be responsible to pay the commission that Fleet Tutors has thus lost.
  • Fees will be agreed with the Client in advance by Fleet Tutors and will conclude the commission and registration fee that the Client agrees to pay Fleet Tutors in respect of Fleet Tutors’ services.
  • The Client will choose one of two payment options, the discounted prepayment plan or monthly payment plan, described below.
  • Monthly Payment Plan
    • If the client chooses the Monthly Payment Plan, the client will normally be invoiced at the beginning of each month in respect of tuition received during the preceding month. Each invoice will show the total of the Tutor’s fees and Fleet Tutor’s commission. VAT will be included within fees as appropriate.
    • Invoices are due and payable no later than 14 days from the date of the invoice. Fleet Tutors may charge interest on the outstanding at a rate of 8% per annum above the base-lending rate set by the bank of England from time to time from the due date to the date that the outstanding sum is paid, and whether or not a Court order for payment has been obtained.
    • If any sums remain unpaid for 14 days, Fleet Tutors will initially send the Client reminder letters until such sums (including interest thereon and other reasonable costs) are paid. A charge of £15 per letter will be made (which sum will be added to the overdue sum and interest charged thereon) to cover Fleet Tutors’ administration costs. (This is to avoid the costs of collection increasing tuition costs generally and affecting all Clients. )
    • If the client wishes to terminate the tuition mid-course, the Client must give at least one week’s notice (Termination Notice) to the Tutor and to Fleet Tutors.
  • Prepayment Plan
    • If the client chooses to purchase and prepay a course of tuition, an agreement shall subsist (on behalf of itself and on behalf of the Tutor) and the client from the date of payment until such time as the pre-paid course of sessions is completed (the Prepayment Agreement. ) The Prepayment Agreement represents a commitment by the client to pay for a multiple session course of tuition, such sessions to be used by a date stated on the payment form. The total number of pre-paid sessions in a multiple session course is indicated on the payment form where the client selects the prepayment option.
    • Once tuition has started, no refunds will be given to the client if the client does not use or complete all of the sessions of the course of tuition by the last date for such sessions stated on the payment form once the first tuition session has been arranged with the Tutor. If, however the Tutor is unable to complete the course of tuition, or the client requests a replacement Tutor because they are not satisfied with the original Tutor assigned to them, Fleet Tutors will endeavour to find a suitable replacement with regard to the level and subject for which tuition is required. If Fleet   Tutors is unable to find such a suitable replacement Tutor within a reasonable time to complete the remaining sessions of the course, Fleet Tutors will refund a portion of the fees pre-paid by the client representing the number of sessions that the Tutor or any replacement Tutor has been unable to complete.
    • The prepayment agreement represents a commitment to an agreed number of sessions. If the Client wishes to terminate tuition at the end of the course of prepaid sessions and not renew, the Client must give at least one week’s notice in writing (Termination Notice) to Fleet Tutors.
    • If a client is not satisfied with a particular Tutor or if a Tutor must stop tuition mid-course due to unforeseeable circumstances, Fleet Tutors will endeavour to find a replacement. Provided the replacement Tutor meets Fleet Tutors criteria for suitability for the job in terms of subject and level knowledge and is available at the same  time or another time convenient for the client, then Fleet Tutors has fulfilled its obligations and no refunds can be granted if the client wishes to terminate prior to the end of the course.
    • Tuition automatically carries on at the agreed weekly time(s) after the final pre-paid session unless Termination Notice is received by Fleet Tutors. Further tuition will be paid for by the client at the normal monthly rate and not the discounted prepayment rate. If the client wishes to pay for a further multiple session course in advance at the discounted prepayment plan rate, the client must contact Fleet Tutors before the final pre-paid session of the multiple session course and pre-pay for another course of sessions. If the client does not contact Fleet Tutors, the client’saccount will default to the monthly payment plan rate for all sessions following the last pre-paid session. This means that Fleet Tutors will send a monthly invoice to the client at the start of the month for all sessions to be paid for at the monthly payment rate in the previous month.
    • The client will choose one of  two options to receive invoices. Our standard service includes receiving invoices and statements via e-mail. If the client chooses to receive paper invoices and statements then this will incur an administration charge.
    • Both the Client and the Tutor agree to notify the other in advance of any holiday commitments they may have; and any changes to the tuition timetable necessary because of illness. The Client and the Tutor will try to arrange an alternative date for cancelled tuition. If the Client fails to notify the Tutor and the Tutor makes her/himself available for tuition or the Client fails to give at least 24 hours’ notice of cancellation to the Tutor, the Minimum Fee will be charged. The Minimum Fee is the contractual hourly rate of charge.
    • If the Client wishes to terminate the tuition mid-course, the Client must give at least one week’s notice to the Tutor and to Fleet Tutors. If the client has prepaid for a course of tuition and must terminate tuition mid-course, no refunds can be granted for the balance of the pre-paid sessions.
    • The Tutor is self-employed and engaged by the Client to provide tuition to the Student. The Tutor does not have power to bind Fleet Tutors in any way.

We hope these Guidelines help to clarify how private tuition operates with Fleet Tutors.

If you have any further queries or comments please contact us by phone or e-mail so that you are provided with the highest possible level of service.

Fleet Education Services Ltd
251/253 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4PU UK
Registered Number: 04904364
Tel: 01252 371731
Email: accounts@fleet-tutors.co.uk