Private tutors in the UK are not legally obliged to undergo background checks or hold qualifications, according to a BBC investigation. The organisation has discovered a tutor, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, currently facing charges of sexual assault, had advertised his services offering one-to-one online sessions in maths and science. Another teacher, banned following a disciplinary hearing, was also found to be advertising their services as a private tutor. The report highlights the lack of industry regulation currently applicable in the UK.
Charities have called for increased regulation following the revelations, describing the situation as a “massive hole in safeguarding”. The inquiry found that anyone wishing to work with children is required to undergo a DBS, or Data and Barring Service check, which examines criminal records and databases of individuals banned from any such work. However, under current guidelines, private tutors are not subject to the same obligations. An enhanced DBS check had previously revealed the results of the disciplinary hearing regarding the banned teacher.
Superprof, which describes itself as the leading platform for private tutoring in the UK and expects its tutors to possess a DBS check, had been the advertising platform of the teacher charged with sexual assault. The company urged its tutors to ensure their DBS certifications were up-to-date. Meanwhile, tutors also expressed their desire for the ability to acquire an enhanced DBS check, a requirement currently only available to employers or government-approved organisations.
The investigation comes after the discovery that more than 90 private tutors had been convicted of child sex crimes in the UK over the preceding two decades. Following this, in September, the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, called for universal DBS checks for all private tutors. The Tutors’ Association, a voluntary membership group with 50,000 tutor members, already requires such checks
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