6 February 2026 · Updated 8 August 2026 · Hugo Cheyne
Choosing the right online tutor can feel like a gamble. These 9 questions will help you identify qualified, effective tutors, and avoid the ones who aren't.
Finding the right tutor for your child can feel like a genuine gamble. Tutoring is an unregulated market. Anyone can call themselves a tutor, set any rate, and make any claim about how well it works. Parents are left assessing strangers with very little information and a lot riding on it.
These nine questions cut through that. They're built around what the evidence says actually matters, and Tugo's own answer to each one is written out so you can hold us to the same standard.
The 9 Questions At a Glance
- Are you DBS checked?
- What are your teaching qualifications?
- What is your teaching methodology?
- How do you track progress?
- What do your reviews say?
- What happens in the first session?
- What is your cancellation and refund policy?
- How do you handle a student who is struggling or disengaged?
- Can I see a sample session or lesson plan?
If you only ask one, ask number three. It's the question most parents skip and the one that separates a tutor with a method from a tutor who improvises.
This one isn't negotiable. A Disclosure and Barring Service check confirms a tutor has no criminal convictions or barring orders that would stop them working with children.
Ask for an Enhanced DBS certificate specifically. Enhanced checks include the children's barred list, which the basic and standard levels don't. Any tutor who hesitates to confirm their status, or any platform that doesn't verify it, should not be working with your child.
Tugo's answer: All Tugo tutors are DBS verified before their first session. It's confirmed on every tutor profile.
Knowing a subject and being able to teach it are different skills. A PGCE or Qualified Teacher Status means someone trained in how to teach, not just what to teach.
That training shows up in a specific way: a trained teacher can usually work out why a student made an error, not just that they made one. Ask directly what the tutor's background is, and don't accept a vague answer. A maths teacher with year's of classroom experience has seen hundreds of children and can identify a misconception as it's happening.
Tugo's answer: Tugo tutors are PGCE-qualified teachers with experience teaching in the classroom.
This is the question most parents never think to ask, and it's the most revealing one on the list. "I cover the syllabus" isn't a methodology. A tutor who can't explain how they teach, or why their approach works, almost certainly isn't using one on purpose.
Strong answers name specific techniques: retrieval practice, spaced repetition, Socratic questioning, formative assessment, deliberate practice. Vague answers like "I explain things clearly and check understanding" describe what every tutor believes they do.
Tugo's answer: Every Tugo session is built on three techniques drawn from cognitive science research: spaced repetition, interleaving and retrieval practice. Separately, the Education Endowment Foundation puts small group tuition at four additional months of progress a year, and in maths it comes out ahead of one-to-one. We set out what that evidence does and doesn't show in group tutoring versus 1:1.
A tutor who doesn't track progress can't tell you whether the sessions are working. "They seem to be doing better" isn't tracking.
Good tracking covers three things: which topics have been taught, whether the student actually understood them, and what gaps are left. You should hear about all three without having to chase.
Tugo's answer: Tugo lessons have live analytics to log topic coverage and flag student errors as they happen, so tutors can tell you what your child has and hasn't learned.
Independently verified reviews beat testimonials on a tutor's own website. Look on Trustpilot, Google, or independent review platforms.
Three things to weigh: specificity, because vague praise tells you nothing; recency, because a good tutor in 2023 may be overstretched now; and whether any negative reviews exist and how they were handled.
Tugo's answer: Every review on our Trustpilot profile is five stars. Check it yourself rather than taking our word for it.
A good first session works out what the student already knows before teaching anything new. How a tutor diagnoses gaps tells you a lot about how they'll teach.
If the answer is "we start at the beginning of the topic," that's a red flag. It means the tutor is teaching a syllabus rather than a student.
Tugo's answer: The first session includes a short diagnostic exercise, so the tutor knows where each student's gaps are before teaching starts.
Flexible, clearly written policies signal confidence in the service. Long upfront commitments and vague refund terms move the financial risk onto you.
A first-session satisfaction guarantee is the standard worth holding out for.
Tugo's answer: If the first session isn't the right fit, you get another with a different tutor, free. No long-term commitment, and sessions book on a rolling basis.
This question reveals whether a tutor thinks pastorally. Students who are struggling often look disengaged, difficult, or lazy. A good tutor reads that as a confidence problem rather than a motivation problem, and has something specific to do about it.
A weak answer puts the responsibility on the student.
Tugo's answer: Tutors are trained to spot confidence barriers specifically. The group format helps here too, because students are often more willing to attempt something in front of peers who are stuck on the same thing. We explain why we cap groups at 6 to 8 students separately.
Transparency here is a good sign. A tutor with a consistent method should be able to show you what a typical session looks like.
"Every session is different because I tailor to the student" can be true. But there should still be a structure underneath it that you're allowed to see.
Tugo's answer: The Tugo Method is documented in full, including the research behind each technique and how every session is structured.
If you're about to have a call with a tutor, here's the cheat sheet during the conversation.
| Question | A good answer sounds like | Walk away if you hear |
|---|---|---|
| DBS | "Enhanced DBS, here's the certificate number" | "I've been doing this for years, it's fine" |
| Qualifications | "PGCE in maths, five years in a secondary school" | "I got an A* in it myself" |
| Methodology | Names specific techniques and why they work | "I cover the syllabus" |
| Progress | Topic-level records and regular updates to you | "You'll see it in their grades" |
| Reviews | Points you to an independent platform | Screenshots of praise with no source |
| First session | Diagnostic first, teaching second | "We start at chapter one" |
| Cancellation | Written policy, short notice period | Term paid upfront, no refunds |
| Disengagement | Treats it as a confidence problem | Blames the student's attitude |
| Sample session | Shows you a real structure | "Every session is completely different" |
Yes. Any tutor working with under-18s should hold an Enhanced DBS check, which includes the children's barred list. This is a safeguarding baseline, not an optional extra. Confirm it before any tutor works with your child, online or in person.
Online tutoring through a verified platform with DBS-checked tutors is safe. Reputable platforms have clear safeguarding protocols and a named safeguarding lead. Tugo sessions run through a secure, monitored platform and every tutor is verified before their first session.
Private one-to-one GCSE tutors typically charge £25 to £80 an hour, with qualified teachers at the top of that range. Online group tutoring costs less per session. We break down what each option actually costs over a year in our guide to GCSE tutor costs.
Expect a term before you can judge it fairly. Confidence usually shifts first, then accuracy on familiar question types, then grades. If a tutor promises a grade jump within weeks, treat that as a sales claim rather than a forecast.
For many students, yes. The Education Endowment Foundation puts small group tuition at four additional months of progress a year against five for one-to-one, and in maths small groups come out ahead. What matters more than headcount is whether the tutor can give quick, specific feedback. We cover the evidence in group tutoring versus 1:1.
Sit in on a lesson led by one of our expert PGCE qualified teachers.