Tutors: setting up weekly lessons for the school year
Regular students want the same hour every week from autumn to summer. How to plan your weekly slots term by term, around holidays and changing timetables.
6 min read
Weekly lessons for the school year work best when you plan them term by term. Build your weekly grid from the hours students can actually come, open those slots as repeating weekly slots until the start of the next holidays, and book your regular students into their usual hour yourself so it's never offered to someone else. Leave a few slots open for new students and occasional lessons, and review the grid at each new term, when school timetables and activities change.
Start from when students can come
A tutor's hours are set by the school day. Lessons fit after school, on the afternoon when some schools finish early, on Saturdays, and sometimes early evening. That's a small number of hours per week, and every family wants the same ones. Before opening anything, draw your real weekly grid: the hours you want to teach, the travel between students if you go to their homes, and the breaks you need.
| Time | Who it suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Straight after school | Younger students, homework help | Travel time from school, snack break |
| Early evening | Older students with longer days | Tiredness, family dinner |
| Free afternoon (if schools finish early) | All levels, longer sessions | Clubs and sport on the same afternoon |
| Saturday morning | Exam preparation, longer revision | Weekend activities, family trips |
| Online, evening | Students far away or with busy days | Screen fatigue after a school day |
Open slots term by term
On Book, each type of lesson is a service with its own price and optional description, and you open slots for each at the length it takes. When you create slots, you can repeat them every week on the weekdays you choose, until an end date. Use the start of the next school holidays as that end date. When the holidays are over, create the next series of repeating slots from the first day back until the following holidays.
Working term by term keeps holidays out of your page without any extra step, and it gives you a natural moment to adjust your grid: a student who stopped, a new level, a different day that suits you better.
Keep the regular hour for regular students
A student who comes every Tuesday at 17:00 expects that hour to stay theirs. On your public page, one booking covers one lesson, so you don't want a new family to take that Tuesday slot the week your regular student forgets to book. The simplest way is to book regular students yourself from your calendar, for the whole term, when you set up the term. Each lesson you book is removed from your page, and the family knows their dates.
Families who prefer to book themselves can still do it, week by week, from your page. That suits occasional lessons better than a weekly routine.
- At the start of term, agree each regular student's day and time with the family.
- Open your repeating slots for the term.
- Book each regular student into their slots from your calendar, up to the holidays.
- Leave the remaining slots open on your page for new students and one-off lessons.
When timetables change
School timetables, sports clubs and music lessons move during the year, and the Tuesday that worked in autumn may not work in spring. When a family needs a different time, reschedule the lesson from your bookings list, or cancel it and book the new slot yourself. Book doesn't email the family when you move or cancel a booking, so confirm the change in your usual chat or by message.
For a one-off absence, such as a school trip or illness, cancel that lesson from your bookings list and the slot becomes available again on your page. It's up to you whether to offer a catch-up lesson and at what time.
Leave room for the rest of the year
A grid filled entirely with regular students in September leaves no room for the requests that come later: a student who struggles after the first report, a family that moves to your area, revision before exams. Keep a few slots each week open to anyone. If they fill up, you'll know it's time to review your prices or your hours.
Say in your service descriptions how you work: weekly lessons for the term, how to cancel a lesson, and whether a first meeting is needed before starting. Parents read this before booking, which saves a few messages.