[ymapazagain]

I have just moved to london (from Australia) and I am beginning to set myself up as a piano teacher. At the moment I am travelling to my students which has proved to be very tiring, time consuming and not the best way to make money.

At the moment I am charging 20/hour however I have seen that many teachers charge 30 an hour, even up to 50. When I begin teaching from home I will be teaching in west london (probably chiswick, shephards bush). I have 8 years experience (in Australia) and all of my students have done extremely well in exams and eisteddfods so I would consider my teaching to be of a fairly high standard. I would love some advice on how much I could realistically charge.

Also, in Australia it is common place for a teacher to go into a primary school or a high school to give lessons to students during class time. Is this common practice in English schools? If so I would love some advice on the best way to approach schools, things to have prepared (such as police checks), once again how much to charge and finally which would be the best payment method. Is it practical to have students paying in cash each lesson or do parents prefer to pay for the term in advance?

All advice will be so much appreciated! I want to be able to maximise my income as much as possible so that I can start to enjoy London and the amazing things it has to offer rather than just staying at home because i'm so poor!

Thanks all

[Gill the Piano]

Well, first off I must say I'm NOT a teacher, but I have many teacher friends and clients, so my advice may not be 100% accurate. But on the other hand, it's better than nothing!
Schools do employ piano teachers, but they seem to vary in how they do it. Some leave it to the teachers to gather the fees, and charge then a little each term for use of the room. Others handle all the fees and expect a handsome rake-off for doing so. Some expect you to teach a class of four or five (I never said logic came into it!). Some also expect you to get the pianos tuned!! Private schools are essentially about money, so they charge more for the lessons, but the rakeoff is generally higher...private schools might be a lucrative avenue to explore as they seem to offer 'accomplishments' more readily than state schools. Most schools seem to operate a termly fees sort of thing. I'd make a firm cancellation policy - some people seem to think 2 hours' notice is adequate warning that Tarquin has a taxidermy exam that morning! Decide whether you are going to make up missed lessons or not...a few teachers I've heard of ask the parents to sign a sort of contract promising to make sproggo practise and to give 24 hours' notice of a missed lesson or forfeit the wonga! If YOU miss the lesson (illness, etc) then you're usually expected to make it up.
A police check is an excellent thing to have under your belt, as it will definitely be required - at least, in the state sector.
One thing you might explore is music centres; Buckinghamshire have a few, as does Berkshire, and they employ a lot of music teachers, and you'd be offered the chance (probably - remember I'm not a teacher!) to join the union which has proved to be worth its weight in gold for more than one teacher! I suppose London may have a few music centres, if Bliar (NOT a typo) hasn't starved them of money. (He wants everyone to do singing now - am I being cynical when I point out that the instrument is free, and most people already have one? And those who don't can't ask for government money to get one...)
Fees are a difficult one... you could consult the Incorporated Society of Musicians website to see what they recommend. You could go to a local music shop and see what they might suggest. London is more expensive than almost anywhere on the planet, so you'd need to take that into consideration. You could even ask a few teachers, or people whose sprogs already have lessons. Twenty quid seems ludicrously cheap, considering you go to them. I pay thirty five quid an hour to a top-notch teacher (ex examiner, FRAM, etc) so 25 seems the least you should charge . Hopefully one of the knowledgeable teachers who haunt the forum might be able to offer some more informed advice.
Good luck!

[Celestite]

I know it's a while since you posted your enquiry but if you're still looking to increase your teaching practice, there is a very good website for music teachers. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post it here, so if I've broken any rules, I humbly apologise, please don't shoot me down in flames Mr Moderator, I didn't mean it It's www.musicteachers.co.uk , worth a look!
As far as getting into schools is concerned, how about your LEA Music Services? They employ peripatetic teachers and match schools needs in their area with the musicians in their employ. It saves all the self employed paperwork, provides you with certain safeguards and useful backup when you get awkward customers. Ours auditions once a year, during the summer holidays. I've taken both routes into schools in the past and have definitely found the Music Services route better than the self employed one. Hope this helps!