We welcome a guest blogger to Beanbag today - Ian Phillips. Along with Barry Clark, he is co-author of 'Vetting and Barring: A practical guide to the new CRB / ISA scheme'. Ian has helpfully summarised the impact of ISA registration on private tutoring.
Well, it’s nearly here. The much-trailed and, it seems, much-feared Vetting and
Barring Scheme is moving into view.
July 26th is the key date, when its public-facing functions
kick-off.
For tutors, the impact is fairly clear. Under the law, if you are hired by a
family direct, it’s a private arrangement and there is no legal need to
register. If you work through an
agency, so that the deal is done between that agency and the family, then you
will need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority. The owner of your agency will commit a
crime, as will you, if you don’t do this.
And you’ll need to have a meaningful conversation with the agency as to
who picks up the bill (around £80).
Even if you only tutor direct with families then you will
still need to consider whether to register voluntarily. From the commercial perspective, if
your competition is agency-led, then many families will inevitably be drawn
towards those ads that carry the magic legend ‘ISA registered’.
It’s a new world, brave or otherwise. Make sure in plenty of time that you’ve decided what you want to do.
Thanks Ian! For Beanbag tutors, you will be relieved to know that we are not an Agency - so there is no need for you to get ISA registered. Be aware however that parents will increasingly look for ISA registration as a safety 'kite mark', so it may be worth getting registered in any case.



