Online GCSE Tutoring in Muswell Hill
One-to-one lessons for Year 10, Year 11 and resit students, £30 per lesson
Online GCSE tutoring in Muswell Hill across every subject we teach. Most families in N10 find a tutor through a recommendation or a noticeboard, and then let a stranger spend an hour a week with their fifteen year old without asking a single question about who that person is. This page is about the questions.
Private tutoring is largely unregulated. There is no licence, no register, and no inspector. That is not a reason for alarm, but it does mean the checking is yours to do, and the rules around DBS checks changed in a way this year that most parents have not heard about.
The first session is free and it is a real lesson. You are welcome to sit in on it, and to ask us every question on this page before it starts.
What Muswell Hill parents ask
- Whether a private tutor has to be DBS checked.
- What the different levels of check show.
- What changed for self-employed tutors this year.
- Whether a parent can sit in on lessons.
- What else to ask beyond the certificate.
Does anyone check a private tutor?
Not automatically. When a family hires a tutor directly there is no body standing between them, which is why the checking falls to the family.
Schools operate under statutory safeguarding duties and check the adults who work in them. A family engaging a tutor privately is not a school, and there is no general law requiring that tutor to hold a criminal record check before teaching a child in their own home or over a video call.
Agencies and companies set their own standards, and those vary widely. Some check every tutor at the enhanced level. Some ask for nothing beyond a CV. The word "vetted" on a website does not describe any particular process, so it is worth asking what it means in each case.
None of this is a reason to assume the worst about anybody. The overwhelming majority of tutors are exactly who they say they are. It is a reason to ask, politely and routinely, the same way you would check a builder’s insurance, and a good tutor will expect it.
Who checks what
| Setting | Who is responsible for checks |
|---|---|
| A teacher at school | The school, by law |
| A tutor supplied by a company | The company, to its own standard |
| A tutor hired directly | Nobody, unless you ask |
| A tutor visiting through the school | The school |
What does a DBS check actually show?
It depends on the level, and the levels are very different documents that often get described with the same three letters.
A basic check shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. Anyone can apply for one about themselves, and the government sets out how to request a basic check directly.
An enhanced check goes further. It includes spent as well as unspent matters subject to filtering rules, and can include relevant information held by local police. With a barred list check added, it shows whether the person is on the list of people barred from working with children. For anyone teaching a child regularly, that is the level worth asking about.
Until this year there was a practical obstacle. A self-employed tutor could only obtain a basic check on their own; an enhanced check needed an organisation to apply for them. From 21 January 2026 that changed, and the guidance on DBS checks for self-employed people now lets eligible self-employed workers apply for an enhanced check, with barred list information where eligible, through a registered umbrella body.
Which removes the old excuse. A self-employed tutor who teaches children regularly and has only a basic check is now making a choice rather than facing a barrier.
The three levels
| Level | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Basic | Unspent convictions and conditional cautions |
| Enhanced | Wider record, plus relevant police information |
| Enhanced with barred list | As above, plus the children’s barred list |
For a regular tutor working with children, the last row is the one to ask for.
What should you ask beyond the certificate?
A check tells you about the past. It says nothing about how lessons will be run, which is where most of the practical safeguards actually sit.
Ask how recent the certificate is. It records what was known on the date it was issued, and a check from five years ago is a check from five years ago. Some tutors subscribe to the update service, which keeps a certificate current; it is a reasonable thing to ask about.
Ask how lessons are delivered. Online lessons have a structural advantage here: they happen in a room of your choosing, the door can stay open, and you can sit in whenever you like. Ask whether that is welcome. The only acceptable answer is yes.
Ask about contact outside lessons. Communication about scheduling and progress should go to a parent, or at least copy one in. A tutor who wants to message a student privately on a personal account is breaching the most basic professional norm, however innocent the reason.
And ask about the teaching itself, because safety and quality are both part of the decision. Our Harlesden page describes what a proper first session should contain.
Seven questions before booking
- What level of DBS check do you hold, and when was it issued?
- Are you on the update service?
- Can a parent sit in on any lesson?
- Will messages about lessons come to me?
- Which exam boards do you teach?
- What is your subject background?
- What happens if the match does not work?
Which GCSE subjects can your child get help with?
Each of these, taught by a tutor you can ask about.
Maths
Foundation and Higher, taught to your child’s board. See GCSE Maths tutoring.
English Language and Literature
Both GCSEs, with the school’s own set texts. See GCSE English tutoring.
Combined and Triple Science
A specialist for each of the three strands. See GCSE Science tutoring.
Computer Science
Programming and the written papers. See GCSE Computer Science tutoring.
Business Studies
Calculations, case studies and evaluation. See GCSE Business Studies tutoring.
Humanities
History, Geography and Religious Studies, when a specialist has room.
Do the same checks matter for an older student?
For anyone under 18, yes, and resit students are often 16 or 17 and studying partly at home.
A student resitting maths or English alongside a college course is still a child in safeguarding terms until their eighteenth birthday, and the questions on this page apply unchanged.
Under the 16 to 19 maths and English condition of funding, updated in July 2026, a student who finishes Year 11 short of grade 4 carries that subject into their next course. Grade 3 means working towards a GCSE; grade 2 or below makes Functional Skills level 2 an option.
For adults returning to a GCSE, the checks are a matter of personal preference rather than safeguarding, though the teaching questions matter just as much.
Resit timing
- November covers Maths and English Language.
- Around ten weeks after August results.
- Other subjects wait for the summer series.
- The college controls the entry.
See GCSE resit tutoring and the exam dates page.
How does an online lesson run?
A video call, a shared whiteboard, and a parent welcome to sit in.
Ask your questions first
Checks, background, boards. Before anything is booked.
Free one-to-one session
A real lesson, and you can watch it.
Lessons in a room you choose
Door open, if you like.
Scheduling messages to a parent
Not to a student’s private account.
Reviewed at six weeks
Against marked work.
The full process is on how it works. Haringey’s school term dates cover its community schools; academies and voluntary aided schools in N10 publish their own.
What does a GCSE tutor in Muswell Hill cost?
One to one for £30, with the tutor’s checks explained before the first lesson.
Nothing is sold in blocks, so a family who is not comfortable after the first session owes nothing further.
Before comparing, find out what length of lesson each quote pays for. Our guide to GCSE tutoring costs covers the market.
What £30 covers
- A full one-to-one lesson with a subject specialist.
- Straight answers about checks and background.
- Lessons a parent can observe at any time.
- Planning against your child’s exam board.
- A tutor change if the match is wrong.
Send us your questions before anything else
Including the awkward ones. We reply during the day.
- Year group and subject.
- Anything you want to know about how tutors are checked.
- Whether you would like to sit in on lessons.
- Current grade and target grade.
- Days and times that work at home.
Prefer to talk it through? WhatsApp us, or use the contact page.
Send an enquiry
Frequently asked questions
Does a private tutor need a DBS check?
There is no general legal requirement for a private tutor hired directly by a family to hold one. That is exactly why it is worth asking, because the absence of a rule means nobody else has checked on your behalf.
What changed with DBS checks in 2026?
From 21 January 2026, self-employed people became able to apply for an enhanced DBS check, including a barred list check where eligible, through a registered umbrella body. Before that, a self-employed tutor could only obtain a basic check on their own.
What is the difference between a basic and an enhanced check?
A basic check shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. An enhanced check goes further and can include relevant police information, and with a barred list check it shows whether the person is barred from working with children.
Is a DBS certificate enough on its own?
No. It is a snapshot of the date it was issued and says nothing about teaching ability. Ask how recent it is, what level it is, and treat it as one check among several rather than the whole answer.
What else should we ask a tutor before booking?
Their subject background, whether they know your child’s exam board, how lessons are delivered, whether you can sit in, and what happens if the match does not work. A good tutor answers all of those without hesitation.
Which GCSE subjects do you cover?
Maths, both Englishes, science as Combined or Triple, Computer Science and Business Studies, plus humanities when a checked specialist is free.
What does it cost?
£30 a lesson, one to one, from tutors whose checks you are welcome to ask about.
Do you have a tuition centre in Muswell Hill?
No. Lessons are online, the company is registered in Feltham, and there is no N10 address.
Book a free GCSE session for your child in Muswell Hill
One free one-to-one session, no card details and no obligation. Ask every question on this page first, then sit in and watch the lesson if you would like to.