A good tutor keeps a class full. A rushed hire, or a check nobody followed up, can cost you families.
This guide follows a hire from the role to the tutor’s first week, then the check that has to stay current after it.
Write the role
Say exactly what you need:
- The subjects and year levels.
- The days and times to cover.
- Which centre, if you run more than one.
- What a session involves: group size, homework, notes for families.
Ask for availability up front. A strong applicant who is free at the wrong times cannot take your classes.
Shortlist applicants
Read applications against the role, not against each other. Note why each one moves on or stops, so a second reader can follow.
A short sample lesson shows more than a CV. Ask the shortlist to explain one idea from their subject.
Verify their check
Check your state’s rules for who needs a Working With Children Check, and how to verify one.
Record the check number, the date you verified it, the outcome and the expiry date. Do this before their first class, not after it.
Send your contract
Use your own contract, reviewed by someone who knows employment law. It should cover pay, cancelled classes, cover and notice.
Sign it before they teach.
Plan their first week
- Show them the roll, and how to mark it on their phone.
- Put their first class beside an experienced tutor, if you can.
- Tell them who to call when they are sick.
- Check in with them at the end of the week.
Keep checks current
Checks expire. Look at expiry dates each month, and ask for the renewal well before the date.
Decide now what happens when a check lapses, and check your state’s rules for what they require.
Common mistakes
- Hiring for the subject only. Availability decides whether a tutor can take the classes you need.
- Checking once. A check recorded at hiring and never looked at again can lapse.
- A contract after the first class. Sign before they teach.
- No first-week plan. A new tutor left alone on a busy afternoon may not stay.
Hiring in Atrium
- Post a role for one centre or all of them, and choose which questions applicants answer.
- Show your careers list on your own website with a snippet.
- New applications arrive in one list, with your notes kept on each.
- Email the applicant a link to your own contract, and attach the signed copy when it comes back.
- Make them a tutor: their contact details carry across, and they are invited in.
- Record each Working With Children Check number and expiry on the tutor’s profile. Checks that have expired, or expire soon, are listed on your Today list.
- Moving a session to a tutor with no check recorded saves, with a warning.