Become a tutor

Who we take on

We are selective about who teaches here: we look for tutors at top universities, we interview everybody ourselves, and nobody is listed without a criminal record check on file. Six things have to be true before a profile exists at all.

1. Where they are studying, or studied. We look for tutors at top universities: Oxford, Cambridge and the Russell Group in the UK, and their equivalents elsewhere. It is what we look for rather than a rule we apply blindly, so a reviewer can say yes to somebody outstanding from a university not on our list, and can say no to somebody who is at one of them.
2. A university email address we verify ourselves. We send a code to it and they have to enter it, which is the quickest honest answer to "are you actually there", checked by software rather than taken on trust. It is a convenience rather than a requirement: somebody who has graduated, or whose university does not issue one, makes their case in writing instead and a person reads it.
3. Their degree, their school grades and a CV. Real grades in the subjects they want to teach, in writing, reviewed by a person. Not "strong A-levels": which ones, what they got, and when.
4. An interview with us, in this platform. On the same video system lessons run on, so we have met them and seen them teach something rather than talk about teaching.
5. Proof they are who they say they are. A photo of a passport or driving licence and a photo of their face, through Stripe. Stripe tells us the outcome and those photographs never reach us. A right-to-work check is separate, and a copy of the document from that check is kept on record, as the law requires.
6. An Enhanced DBS check, before the profile exists. Not before the first lesson: before anybody can see them at all. Outside the UK, their own country’s equivalent, read and decided on by a person. The software refuses to publish a profile without one.

What you earn, and when

• You set your own hourly rate, at least £30 an hour, and it is on your profile.
• We take 20% of each lesson and you keep the rest. There are no membership fees.
• Earnings become payable 24 hours after a lesson and are sent weekly to a Stripe account you connect.

What you get as a tutor

• Set questions, flashcards, past papers or notes, and see each topic’s score as cookie marks them
• Before a lesson, get a draft plan from their weakest topics and your reports; only you see it
• Plans use credits from your cookie account

If you have tutored before, hours and past-student reviews you can show us are real may be added to your profile.

Questions tutors ask

How are tutors vetted, and do they have DBS checks?

We are selective, and six things have to be true before a tutor has a profile. We look for tutors at top universities (Oxford, Cambridge and the Russell Group in the UK, and their equivalents elsewhere), and applicants tell us what they studied, where and with what grades; a university email address, where they have one, is the quickest way to confirm it, and we send a code to it. We interview everyone ourselves on this platform, everyone completes an identity check, and a criminal record check has to be on file before a profile is listed at all, not just before the first lesson. Anyone can apply: where somebody studied is something we weigh rather than a rule, and it is a fact about them, not an endorsement by any university. Every listed UK tutor has an Enhanced DBS check on file. A tutor based outside the UK gives us their own country’s equivalent (the check for working with children where there is one, and national police clearance where there is not), and a person reads each one and decides; we never call those a DBS, because they are not. Either way the code will not let a profile be marked verified without a check on file. Most countries have nothing like the DBS Update Service, so we ask overseas tutors for a fresh certificate every 12 months.

Can I have lessons if I am outside the UK?

Yes. Cookie Tutoring is UK-run, a tutor can teach a student anywhere, and every time is shown in your own timezone. As well as UK qualifications we cover the IB, AP, IGCSE, SAT and national school-leaving exams. Lessons are priced in pounds, so your bank may add a conversion fee. In the EEA the age at which you can agree to this yourself varies by country, and if you are under it a parent or guardian needs to do the booking.

How do I become a tutor?

Create an account, tell us what you studied and what you would teach, and complete an application with your grades, a university email address if you have one, an identity check and an interview with us. We take on a minority of applicants, and anyone can apply wherever they studied; you do not need a teaching qualification. If you pass, we guide you through getting an Enhanced DBS check, or your own country’s equivalent outside the UK. You set your own rate above the minimum and your own hours, and earnings become payable 24 hours after a lesson and are sent weekly to a Stripe account you connect.