Should I choose an independent tutor or a tutoring company?

Both can work. An independent tutor may be flexible and cost less, but you handle scheduling, replacements and progress tracking yourself. A company usually adds support, structured assessment and a backup if the teacher is unavailable, often at a higher fee. Ask the same questions of either.

Is a trial or demo class worth it?

Yes. A demo class shows you how the teacher explains, whether your child is comfortable, and whether the technology works at home. Watch how much your child does during the class, not just how well the teacher talks.

How quickly should I see results from tuition?

You should see small signs within a few weeks, such as more confidence, fewer repeated mistakes or homework done with less help. Marks often take longer, especially if gaps from earlier years are being fixed. If nothing has changed after two or three months, talk to the tutor.

What are red flags when choosing a tutor?

Guarantees of specific marks, no interest in what your child already knows, no way to see progress, pressure to pay for long packages upfront before a trial, and a teacher who does the work while your child watches.

Choosing tutoring

How to choose an online tutor, questions to ask any provider

Before you pay for online tuition, ask these questions about teachers, assessment, progress tracking, scheduling, safety and fees. A checklist for parents.

By the Qlive team. 28 September 2026 . 5 min read.

There are more online tutors available today than ever, from independent teachers on social media to large platforms. That choice is useful, but it also makes it hard to tell good tutoring from a video call with a stranger. The difference usually shows up only after a few months, by which time you have spent money and your child has lost time. A few careful questions at the start can save a lot of trouble. This guide lists the questions worth asking any tutor or tutoring company, what good answers sound like, and the warning signs to watch for.

Start with your own goals

Before talking to anyone, be clear about what you want. Write it down in one or two sentences, for example:

“My Grade 6 son has lost confidence in maths and his marks are dropping.”
“My daughter needs help with Class 12 Chemistry for boards.”
“My child cannot read Arabic and is in Grade 3.”

This helps you judge whether a tutor’s answers fit your child, not a general sales pitch.

Questions about the teacher

Which syllabus and grade does this teacher teach regularly? A good Grade 10 IGCSE Physics teacher is not automatically right for CBSE Class 10.
How long have they been teaching this subject?
Can they explain in our home language if needed? For younger children or language subjects, this can matter a lot.
How do you choose the teacher for my child? Look for a real matching process, not “whoever is free”.
What happens if my child does not get along with the teacher? Changing should be simple and not cost extra.
What happens when the teacher is ill or on leave?

What a good answer sounds like

Specific. “This teacher has taught CBSE Class 9 and 10 maths for several years and is free at the times you mentioned” is better than “all our teachers are experts”.

Questions about how they start

Do you assess my child before classes begin? Good tutoring starts from where the child actually is. Our guide on what a diagnostic assessment tells you explains why.
Does the assessment check skills below my child’s grade? That is where gaps usually hide.
Will I see the results? You should get a clear picture of strengths and gaps, not just “your child needs help”.
Is there a demo or trial class?

Questions about the classes

Is it one-to-one or a group? How many students? See our comparison of one-to-one and group tuition.
How long is each class and how often?
How does my child write and show working? For maths and science, a way to write and show working that the teacher can check matters more than a webcam pointed at a notebook.
Is the class recorded? Recordings help with revision and give you a way to see what happens in class.
What does a typical class look like? Listen for a balance of explanation, your child practising, and correction, not an hour of lecture.

Questions about progress

How will I know whether it is working? Ask what they track and how often you hear about it.
Do you set homework or worksheets, and who marks them?
Are there regular tests or checkpoints?
Who do I talk to if I have a concern? A named person who replies is worth a lot.

Questions about scheduling and practicalities

Can classes be at a fixed time that fits our school day and time zone? This is important for families abroad.
What is the rescheduling and cancellation policy?
How are reminders sent?
What device and internet do we need? Our online classes setup guide has a checklist.

Questions about safety

How are teachers selected and checked?
Are classes on a platform you control, or on the teacher’s personal account?
Can a parent join or view a class at any time?
How do teachers contact my child outside class? Messages should go through channels a parent can see.

Questions about fees

How are fees worked out? By subject, grade, number of classes?
Do I pay for classes taken or for a package upfront?
What happens to missed classes?
Which payment methods are accepted? Families abroad may want to pay in their local currency.

Red flags

What you hear or see	Why it is a concern
“We guarantee 95 percent”	No one can guarantee marks. It suggests sales over teaching.
No assessment, straight into the current chapter	Gaps will stay hidden.
Pressure to pay for many months upfront before a trial	Hard to leave if it is not working.
No way to see progress	You will be guessing.
Teacher does the problems while your child watches	Your child is not learning to do it alone.
Frequent teacher changes without explanation	Hard for your child to build trust and continuity.
Vague answers about who the teacher is	You should know who is teaching your child.

Making the final choice

After a few conversations and perhaps a demo class, you will usually have two or three options. Some ways to decide between them:

Ask your child. Which teacher did they understand best? Who did they feel comfortable asking questions to? A child who likes the teacher works harder.
Compare the plans, not the promises. Which provider gave you a clear idea of where your child stands and what they would work on first?
Think about the whole year. Can you keep up the fees and the timings through exams, holidays and busy months?
Check how easy it is to leave. The best providers are confident enough not to lock you in.

Write down your reasons. It helps when you review the decision a few months later.

During the first month

Choosing is not the end of it. In the first few weeks:

Ask your child after each class: What did you do? Did you understand? Was the teacher easy to follow?
Watch part of a class if you can, especially early on.
Look at the homework. Is it at the right level? Is it marked?
Check in with the tutor after three or four weeks. Ask what they have noticed and what the plan is.

If something is not right, raise it early. Good providers want to know.

How Qlive answers these questions

Since we are a tutoring provider, here is how Qlive answers some of the questions above, so you can compare fairly. Every family starts with a free assessment, adaptive and guided live, with a report on strengths and gaps. We shortlist teachers by subject, curriculum, grade, your preferred times and language, and a 45-minute demo class is available if you want to try first. Classes are one-to-one, usually 60 minutes, on Google Meet with Qlive Space, Qlive’s AI-powered, activity-based learning platform, and they are recorded. Each family has a Student Success Partner, reachable in the Qlive Learn app, whose job is the child reaching the family’s goal, bringing in extra classes, a revised plan or a change of teacher when needed, and there are checkpoints every two to three weeks. Fees are shared after the assessment and billed for classes actually taken. You can read more on our how it works and for parents pages.