Tutoring Agreement Template and Contract Sample

A sample tutoring contract

A complete example, made with this tool: a weekly GCSE maths tutor, blocks of ten lessons, agreed by email, so the 14-day right to cancel applies. Use it as a model, or fill in your own above.

Tutoring Agreement

Between Oliver Hughes (the tutor, "I") and Sarah Patel (the client, "you")

1. Who we are

Tutor: Oliver Hughes (12 Park Road, Leeds LS6 2AB, oliver@example.com).

Client: Sarah Patel (sarah@example.com).

Student: Maya. You are the student's parent or guardian and agree to these terms on the student's behalf.

2. The lessons

I teach Maya GCSE maths. The aim of the lessons: a grade 6 or above next summer.

Each lesson lasts 60 minutes, once a week, on Wednesdays.

Lessons take place online (on Teamlilit) or in person (place: the student's home), as we agree for each lesson.

3. Fees and payment

My fee is £35 per lesson.

Lessons are bought in blocks of 10, paid before the first lesson of each block. Each block is used within 16 weeks.

You pay by bank transfer.

If an invoice is still unpaid 7 days after its due date, I may add a late payment fee of £10.

I may change my fee with at least 4 weeks' written notice; lessons already paid for keep their price.

4. Cancellations and missed lessons

Please give at least 24 hours' notice if you need to cancel or reschedule a lesson. Cancellations made with less than 24 hours' notice may be charged at 50% of the lesson fee.

Missed lessons with no notice (no-shows) may be charged at the full lesson fee.

I understand that illness and genuine emergencies can happen, so these will be considered individually and handled fairly at my discretion.

If I need to cancel a lesson, I will offer a rescheduled session or refund the lesson fee, whichever you prefer.

Where a cancellation fee applies, it will be included on your next invoice.

5. Lateness

If Maya is late, the lesson still ends at the planned time and is charged in full. If I am late, I make up the missed time.

If Maya has not arrived 15 minutes after the start time, the lesson counts as missed.

6. Holidays

We agree holidays in advance. Lessons not given because of a holiday agreed in advance are not charged.

7. Communication

We send messages about lessons, changes and payments in writing, by message or email. I answer messages on weekdays between 9:00 and 18:00.

If you have a concern or a complaint, please tell me in writing, and we will try to settle it together promptly.

8. Progress updates

I give you an update on progress once a month. Please tell me about anything that may affect the lessons, such as exams, school reports or learning needs.

9. Work between lessons

I may set short tasks between lessons. Help outside lesson time, such as reading essays or answering questions, is agreed in advance, with any charge for it.

10. Supervision

For lessons at your home, you or another responsible adult are at home and within earshot.

For online lessons, you or another responsible adult are within reach.

Please make sure Maya is ready at the start time.

11. Online lessons

Online lessons take place on Teamlilit. Maya joins from a quiet place with a working camera and microphone. If a lesson cannot go ahead because of a problem on my side, I make up the time.

12. Safeguarding

I hold an enhanced DBS check and will show it to you on request.

I keep lessons in open, visible settings and contact Maya only through channels you know about. I cannot promise Maya to keep a secret that concerns their safety: I share any such concern with you, or with the authorities where the law requires it.

13. Personal information

I keep only the contact details, lesson notes and progress records I need to teach and to invoice. I do not share them with anyone else and keep them only as long as needed, except records the law requires me to keep, such as invoices. You may ask to see them or have them deleted at any time.

14. Materials

Materials used in lessons are included in my fee, unless we agree otherwise in advance. Any extra cost, such as a book to buy, is agreed before it is spent.

15. Results

I teach with care and keep you informed, but I cannot guarantee exam results or grades, which also depend on Maya's own work.

16. Respect

We treat each other with respect. If behaviour makes teaching impossible, I may end a lesson early and will tell you the same day.

17. Ending the agreement

Either of us may end this agreement by giving 2 weeks' notice in writing. Lessons and payments continue as normal during the notice period.

Lessons paid for in advance and not given are refunded. Either of us may end the agreement straight away if the other seriously breaks it, for example by leaving invoices unpaid after a reminder.

18. Right to cancel

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us (Oliver Hughes, 12 Park Road, Leeds LS6 2AB, oliver@example.com) of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

Effects of cancellation

If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us). We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract. We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.

If you requested to begin the performance of services during the cancellation period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you have communicated us your cancellation from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

19. Changes

Any change to this agreement is made in writing and accepted by both of us.

[ ] I ask for lessons to start before the 14-day cancellation period ends. I understand that if I then cancel, I pay for the lessons given until I tell the tutor, and that I lose the right to cancel once all the lessons in this agreement have been given.

Made with the free tutoring agreement template at teamlilit.com. A template, not legal advice: check the rules that apply where you teach.

What goes in a tutoring agreement

Every clause the tool can add, and why tutors use it. Switch off the ones you do not need.

Lateness

Late arrivals still end on time; a no-show after a set wait counts as missed.

Holidays

Holidays agreed in advance are not charged, so nobody argues in August.

Communication

Changes in writing, your hours for messages, and how concerns are raised.

Progress updates

How often you report back; parents want to know it is working.

Work between lessons

Help outside lessons is agreed in advance, so evenings stay yours.

Supervision

An adult within earshot at home, and within reach online.

Online lessons

The platform, a quiet place, and what happens if your connection fails.

Recording

Off, or only with written consent, with how long recordings are kept.

Safeguarding

Open settings, known channels, and no promise to keep a secret that concerns safety.

Personal information

What you keep, why, and that the family can ask to see or delete it.

Materials

What the fee includes, and that extra costs are agreed first.

Results

You teach with care but cannot guarantee grades.

Respect

Respect both ways, and what happens if a lesson cannot go on.

The right to cancel: where the agreement is made matters

Families who agree to lessons online or at home often have a legal right to change their mind. The tool asks where the agreement is made and adds the official notice only where it applies.

United Kingdom: 14 days to cancel

Agreed online, by email or phone, or at the family's home, the family can cancel within 14 days without giving a reason, and you must give them the cancellation information and model form in writing. Lessons can start sooner if they ask; if they then cancel, they pay for the lessons given. An agreement made at your own business premises has no such right.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013: Regulations 27 to 36 (the right to cancel and an early start), Schedule 3 (model instructions and model cancellation form)
Citizens Advice: cancelling a service you've arranged: When the 14-day cooling-off period applies

United States: three business days at the family's home

Under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, a family who signs at their own home for $25 or more can cancel until midnight of the third business day. Give them the statement, two copies of the notice of cancellation, and tell them about the right. Your state may add its own rules.

FTC Cooling-Off Rule, 16 CFR Part 429: § 429.0 (sales at the buyer's home, $25 or more, courses of instruction included) and § 429.1 (the statement and the Notice of Cancellation)

Keep your terms fair

Keep cancellation charges in line with what you lose: a lesson you cannot refill at short notice, not the rest of a term.

Refund lessons paid in advance and not given. A non-refundable block is the term most likely to be found unfair.

Give the same fairness both ways: say what happens when you cancel a lesson.

Keep the notice to end lessons short, a few weeks, and do not tie a family in for a year.

This page explains the rules in general terms, with their official sources. It is not legal advice; for your situation, ask a solicitor or Citizens Advice.

Questions about tutoring agreements

Who the tutor, family and student are; the lessons (subject, length, how often, where); the fee and when it is paid; cancellations and missed lessons; how either side ends the agreement; and signatures. Many tutors add communication, progress updates, safeguarding, personal information and a note that results cannot be guaranteed.

No law requires one for private tutoring, but written terms are how you show what was agreed when a lesson is cancelled late or an invoice goes unpaid. Where the family has a legal right to cancel, you must also give them that information in writing.

An agreement both sides accept and sign is a contract. A term that is unfair to a consumer, such as keeping a whole prepaid term after the family stops, may not bind them. This is a template, not legal advice.

In the UK, if the agreement is made online, by phone or at the family's home, they can cancel within 14 days; in the US, a family who signs at home for $25 or more has three business days. The tool asks where you sign and adds the official notice and form when it applies.

24 hours is the most common, as on Tutorful and MyTutor; some tutors ask 48. Late cancellations are usually charged at 50% or the full fee. Keep the charge in line with the lesson you lose.

Many tutors sell blocks, often of ten lessons, paid before the first one. Set how long a block lasts, and refund lessons paid for and not given if the family stops: a non-refundable block is the term most likely to be unfair.

A parent or guardian signs on the student's behalf and is the client. The tool adds a supervision clause and sends progress updates to them.

Yes. Choose online lessons and the agreement adds the platform, what happens if your connection fails, and a recording clause: off, or only with written consent and deleted after the days you set.