Private tutoring is now more popular than ever,[1] perhaps partly due to widespread disruption in mainstream education during the Covid 19 pandemic. An increasing number of parents or carers are turning to private tutors to try to fill in gaps in their children’s knowledge, or to assist children who have special educational needs that are not being completely met in the classroom.
However, what so many parents do not realise is that there is no legal requirement for tutors to go through any of the background checks that would be mandatory in a school. There is no formal legal definition of what a tutor is, or what qualifications they must hold, or that they have no convictions for any offense (including child abuse). And, sadly, this loophole can be exploited by abusers. A recently reported BBC investigation discovering over 90 individuals who had convictions for sexual offenses involving children who had been working as private tutors over the past two decades.[2]
One such individual is Thomas Rodgers, who was convicted of indecent assault and indecency with a child (with the abuse having taken place in the 1990s). However, Rodgers was only convicted in December 2023. In the intervening years he had studied music at university and worked as a choirmaster and a private music tutor. When the crimes were committed the maximum sentence for indecency with a child being two years in prison and four years in prison for indecent assault, meaning Rodgers will serve a relatively short sentence for his crimes.[3]
One of several terrifying aspects of the case is that there is currently no law preventing Rodgers from working as a tutor or providing a DBS check or declaring his criminal record to parents. However, it would have been possible for the judge to impose a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) on Rodger. This can prohibit someone convicted of “an offense listed in either Schedule 3 or Schedule 5 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003” from undertaking a wide range of activities where the public would be exposed to risk, and can include prohibit certain types of employment including acting as a home tutor.[4] However, the judge presiding over the Thomas Rodgers case decided not to impose an SHPO.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the incredibly long length of time it took for Rodgers to be tried and convicted, with his abuse being reported to the police in 2011 but not followed up on. This highlights one of the key limitations relying on DBS checks, as someone has to have been convicted of an offense for it to be flagged on a background check and the conviction of an abuser can take years due to many factors (survivors being too traumatised to speak out until years after the event, institutions covering up events that would damage their reputations, mistakes made by law enforcement etc.)
Something I also note is that in nearly 15 years working as a private tutor, only a couple of families have ever asked to see a DBS or similar background check.
I would certainly welcome mandatory DBS checks for any private tutor (or for anyone who undertakes paid or voluntary work with a child or vulnerable adult). However, in the immediate future I would encourage tutors to voluntarily show their DBS documents [5]to any new family they start work with and to explain that tutors are not covered by the same regulations as teachers or other school employees in the hope this will increase the number of parents who realise the potential legal loopholes someone like Rodgers could exploit.
Similarly, I would encourage any parents hiring a tutor for their child (whether from an agency or someone freelance) to insist on seeing the tutor’s DBS and to refuse to hire anyone without this vital background
[1] https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Tutoring-The-New-Landscape.pdf
[2] https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9v87x2x3xwo.amp
[3] https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24070574.billericay-choirmaster-thomas-rodgers-jailed-child-abuse/
[4] https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/explanatory-material/magistrates-court/item/ancillary-orders/22-sexual-harm-prevention-orders/
[5] Hopefully it goes without saying that anyone attempting to work as a tutor should have a valid DBS – but I’m going to say it anyway.