Moving from the schools to the private side of MyTutor

Here’s everything you need to know about making the transition over to the private side of MyTutor.

1. How does MyTutor decide who moves over?
2. Can I speak to parents and students directly?
3. Can I cancel my lessons?
4. How do refunds work?
5. How does payment work?
6. How do price bands work?
7. How do I get matched to students?

 

How does MyTutor decide who moves over?

At the moment we only recruit tutors to the schools programme, because this is where we have most demand. We’re always carefully monitoring demand on the private side of MyTutor though, so if we notice lots of parents requesting a specific subject and level, we invite the school tutors qualified in those areas to move over (starting with those who signed-up earliest).

 

Can I speak to parents and students directly?

A key difference you’ll notice when you move over to the private side of MyTutor is corresponding with parents - you have full control over booking, rescheduling and (where relevant) refunding your lessons.

We understand that you won’t always be on-hand to respond to every message you get, but we recommend you try your best to respond to messages within 24 hours. If you’re going to be unable to respond for some time (for example if you’re going on holiday), it’s important to let parents know in advance.

 

Can I cancel my lessons?

We understand plans can change, however it’s really important to keep parents in loop as soon as you can. If you’re unable to make a lesson, let the parent know and send a reschedule request using the ‘edit’ button on the booking.

If the lesson is over 24 hours away, simply cancel it - the parent will automatically be refunded if the lesson has already been paid for.

This also means that if a parent would like to cancel a recurring slot booking, it is both yours and the parents responsibility to make sure the full slot is cancelled so they won’t be charged again.

Remember, you can manage bookings and refunds from your Bookings page

 

How do refunds work?

If you miss a lesson or you’re unable to attend for any reason, then the session must be refunded to the parent. We recommend that you refund them as soon as possible after the end of the lesson time.

If a parent or student cancels within 24 hours, it’s at your discretion whether or not to grant them a refund. Lots of tutors have their own refund policy that they share with parents at the start of their correspondence, which helps with managing expectations.

To refund a lesson, head over to your previous bookings and click  'edit' and 'refund' next to the tutorial you’d like to refund. Remember, you can only refund a lesson after the lesson time, and only for the 48 hour period afterwards. If the lesson was over 48 hours ago please do let us know and we’d be happy to help.

 

How does payment work?

On the private side of MyTutor, you’ll still be paid twice a month for the lessons that you completed in the 2-week period. The transaction will come through separately to that of your school lessons, and you can see more about this on your Income page.

You’ll also notice some different terminology around payment. Here’s what the different statuses mean:

Confirmed - This is a lesson which has been accepted by both the tutor and the parent, and has been paid for. Only confirmed lessons will be able to launch. 

Payment Scheduled - These are upcoming lessons which have been accepted by both the tutor and the parent, but have not yet been paid for. Payments for lessons should be taken 24 hours before the lesson is due to start, so it’s important to keep an eye on them during this time. 

Awaiting payment - This is when the booking has been accepted by both the parent and the tutor, but the parent hasn’t added their payment details yet. 

If there’s less than 24 hours to go, and your booking isn’t confirmed this indicates there’s been an issue with payment. Please reach out to the parent to let them know, or you can get in touch with us and we’d be happy to help!

 

How do price bands work?

On the private side of MyTutor, you set your own price band. It’s entirely up to you what prices you charge, and you're free to change this at any time.

We expect that tutors on our highest bands will be our most experienced on the platform, with a high number of lessons under their belt, tons of great reviews and lots of happy students.

If you’re thinking about increasing your prices, you might want to take a look at what other tutors with your level of experience are charging.

As with any pricing increase, any current students you’re already working with will automatically be protected from the change, and you’ll be able to see this protection on your Prices page, under ‘Creating exceptions for existing students’. 

If you do decide to increase your prices for these students, you'll need to cancel and rebook any upcoming sessions with them. We recommend letting them know in advance so that they’re in the loop and not taken by surprise.

You can see the full breakdown of different bands, and change yours, on your Prices page.

 

How do I get matched to students?

Normally, a parent will reach out to you directly using the messaging function if they like the look of your profile and are interested in having you as a tutor.

You may also receive a matching team or tutor request in the request tab in your account:

A matching team request is a free meeting that’s requested on behalf of a parent by the MyTutor team. These parents are brand new to MyTutor so might need extra guidance on how things work.

A tutor request is when a parent posts a request for a subject and level, rather than messaging a specific tutor. You can see if there are any requests for your subjects by checking the tutor request section of your account.

Sometimes a member of our sales team may phone you to get details of your availability. From there, they'll get in touch with the parent or student and help set up their first lesson with you.