Articles
For the people who run tutoring centres.
Practical answers on child safety, the front desk, money and billing, and teaching, written for Australian centres.
Topics
Start with a topic.
Running the front deskEnrolments, timetables, families' messages and moving systems: the front desk of an Australian tutoring centre, with guides and the tools that help.
Child safetyWorking with Children Checks, the people who may contact a child, home visits and keeping children's information private, for Australian tutoring centres.
Money and billingPricing lessons, charging families, late cancellations, payments and paying tutors: the money side of running an Australian tutoring centre.
Teaching and tutorsRunning online lessons, onboarding tutors and planning the year around school terms, with the teaching tools tutoring centres use every day.
Running the front desk
6 min readWhat to ask on a tutoring enrolment formA checklist for a tutoring centre's enrolment form: the child, parents, emergency contacts, learning needs, consents and the privacy notice.
6 min readParent communication that keeps families enrolledHow tutoring centres keep families enrolled: a note after each lesson, progress each term, quick replies, one channel and plain warnings about change.
6 min readEmailing and texting families: the Spam ActThe Spam Act for tutoring centres: consent, naming your centre, an unsubscribe that works, and why a lesson cancellation is not a marketing message.
5 min readReducing no-shows and late cancellationsPractical ways for a tutoring centre to cut no-shows and late cancellations: reminders, a clear policy, easy makeups and spotting patterns early.
6 min readMoving your centre off Teachworks: a checklistA step-by-step checklist for moving a tutoring centre off Teachworks: export your records, bring people across, run both, then switch invoicing.
7 min readChoosing tutoring centre software: a checklistA buyer's checklist for tutoring centre software: scheduling, billing, the parent app, security, child safety, importing, pricing and the trial.
6 min readRunning a tutoring centre across several campusesHow to run a tutoring centre across several campuses: shared prices and policies, campus admins, rooms, timetables, moving tutors and reports.
6 min readRunning Teachworks and XTutio side by sideHow to run Teachworks and XTutio together for a term: lessons read only in the portal, a family charging start date, and who does what where.
6 min readStaff roles and permissions in a tutoring centreGive each person in a tutoring centre the access their job needs and no more: roles, permissions in plain words, campus limits and two-step sign-in.
6 min readWelcoming families to a new parent portalHow to bring existing families onto a new parent portal without confusion: when to tell them, one plain message, what they do, and the first fortnight.
6 min readFloor plans, seating and wall screens for a centreHow a tutoring centre stops the 4 pm scramble: rooms drawn once, every student given a desk, and a wall screen that tells everyone where to sit.
6 min readWhat families see in your centre's parent appThe questions parents ask the front desk every week, and how a parent app in your centre's own name answers them before anyone picks up the phone.
6 min readAn owner's week at a glanceHow a tutoring centre owner can see what needs a decision, how many families are learning and what is owed, without building a spreadsheet on Monday.
5 min readLetting families book their own extra lessonsHow a tutoring centre can let parents book an extra lesson at 9 pm, inside rules the centre sets, with the price and cancellation terms shown first.
Child safety
6 min readWorking with Children Checks for NSW tutoring centresWho in a NSW tutoring centre needs a Working with Children Check, what it costs, and how to verify, record and act on a bar.
6 min readThe NSW Child Safe Standards: a centre checklistThe ten NSW Child Safe Standards turned into practical steps for a tutoring centre, and what the OCG says about who must follow them.
6 min readHome tutoring safety: a lone worker checklistA practical lone worker checklist for tutoring centres that send tutors into family homes, based on SafeWork NSW guidance on isolated work.
7 min readPrivacy for tutoring centres: what the law asksHow the Privacy Act, the small business exemption, data breach notification and the coming children's code apply to an Australian tutoring centre.
6 min readUsing AI in a tutoring centre, safelyHow a tutoring centre can use AI tools without exposing children's personal information, following the OAIC's guidance on AI products.
6 min readHome visit check-ins and address privacyHow a tutoring centre runs the day of a home lesson: On my way, check-in and out, the lone worker timer, the help button and who sees the address.
Money and billing
6 min readWriting a fair late cancellation policyHow to write a late cancellation policy for a tutoring centre that is clear, fair to families and sits well with Australia's unfair contract terms law.
6 min readHow to price tutoring lessons in AustraliaCost a tutoring lesson from the ground up: tutor pay and on-costs, rent per room-hour, software, group sizes, term pricing, discounts and price rises.
7 min readPaying casual tutors: award, super and payrollWhich award covers tutors of school students, the casual loading, minimum shifts, super on payday, pay slips and records, from Fair Work and the ATO.
6 min readDoes a tutoring centre charge GST?Tutoring centres register for GST at $75,000 of GST turnover a year; lessons to families are then taxable. What changes, and what invoices need.
6 min readInvoicing by the term, by the pack or afterTerm invoices, lesson packs or billing after the lesson: the cash flow, refund and fairness trade-offs for a tutoring centre, and how to chase politely.
7 min readEngaging tutors as contractors: what to checkEmployee or contractor? The Fair Work and ATO tests, sham contracting, ABNs and invoices, and super for contractor tutors at a tutoring centre.
6 min readFour ways to fund tutoring lessonsPay after, pay by the term, lesson packs or a prepaid account: which suits your families and your cash flow, and how to switch without upsetting anyone.
6 min readCancellation terms families accept as fairHow to word and run a tutoring centre's cancellation terms so parents see them as fair: clear bands, held fees, a yearly allowance, the figure first.
6 min readRunning weekly group classes without the paperworkGroup classes let a tutoring centre teach more students per tutor hour. Here is how to run the seats, waitlist and weekly bookings without a spreadsheet.
Teaching and tutors
6 min readRunning online tutoring lessons that workHow to run online tutoring lessons well: equipment, a shared whiteboard, a waiting room, camera checks, parents in the room and child safety.
7 min readOnboarding a new tutor: the first two weeksA two-week plan for onboarding a new tutor: the NSW Working with Children Check, child safety training, shadowing, subject clearance and feedback.
6 min readPlanning a tutoring year around NSW school termsPlan your tutoring centre's year around NSW school terms, holidays, the HSC, NAPLAN and the selective and OC tests, with the published dates.
5 min readKnowing when every student's school exams areHow a tutoring centre can collect school exam and assessment dates from families, so tutors plan lessons backwards from each one in time.
6 min readLesson wrap-ups and parent updates in five minutesThe five minutes after a tutoring lesson: notes for the centre, an update the parent reads, homework due next lesson, and every figure checked.
7 min readTeaching in your centre's own online classroomOnline lessons in your centre's own classroom: who can join and when, the waiting room, the shared board, parents taking part and the tutor's controls.
6 min readSpelling and reading practice that sticksWhy weekly spelling lists are forgotten by Monday, and how a tutoring centre can give children practice that explains every mistake between lessons.
6 min readMaths tools that help tutors explain it onceHow tutors can show a maths idea clearly, hand the same set-up to the student, and put it on the lesson board: graphs, hands-on models and worked steps.
5 min readTeaching children to type, from the home row upWhy hunt-and-peck holds children back, and how a tutoring centre can teach proper typing that puts accuracy first and shows parents real progress.
5 min readLearning streaks that never punish a childWhy streaks that break on a busy weekend backfire with children, and how a learning goal and a pet can reward practice without guilt or shame.
6 min readA training academy for your tutorsHow a tutoring centre can train every new tutor the same way, check they know their subject before they teach it, and keep a record of who did what.
In short
Articles
Practical articles for people who run Australian tutoring centres, grouped by topic: running the front desk, child safety, money and billing and teaching. The step-by-step guides cover XTutio itself.
