Cluey Learning Review Summary

Cluey Learning provides online 1v1 and small group tutoring to children. You must be a student or graduate in Australia or New Zealand, where pay is $25-35 and $22-30 respectively, with qualified teachers earning more. However only 6% of applicants are successful and you must commit to 10 hours a week.

Cluey Learning Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Students are allocated to tutors
• 5-minutes feedback time factored in for pay
• Learning resources provided
• Both 1v1 and scheduled small group classes

Cons:

• Only 5-6% of applicants are successful
• Must commit to availability of 10+ hours a week, months in advance
• Pay is for the students you teach (who may cancel), not the hours you’re available
• Back-to-back 60-minute sessions can mean lengthy teaching without a break

What Is Cluey Learning and Is It Legit?

Cluey Learning is a legitimate online tutoring company that was founded in 2017 and is located in Australia and New Zealand. It has delivered over 1 million sessions to more than 33,000 children using 2,500+ tutors. Its legitimacy is reinforced by partnering with the University of New South Wales, being a NSW Department of Education approved provider, and having won the EdTech Award at the 2021 Technology Scale-up Awards. It has also featured in many national media outlets, such as The Daily Telegraph and The Courier Mail.

Below is a video introduction to the company:

How Does Cluey Learning Work?

Cluey Learning offers live one-on-one sessions in English, Mathematics and Science for children in Years 2-12, as well as fixed-schedule weekly classes in English and Mathematics for small groups of up to 5 Year 3-10 students.

One-on-one sessions are structured as follows:

1. Establishing the session theme, why are we here? (5 minutes)
   • Discuss student’s areas of focus (if first session)
   • Review previous session’s assigned practice (if subsequent session)
   • Set session learning goals
2. During the session (45 minutes)
   • Work through exercises based on the topics and concepts for each learning goal
   • Tutor demonstrates, guides and explains concepts
   • Work through any challenges
   • Students are encouraged to explain their thinking to clarify their comprehension
3. Reflection and looking ahead (5 minutes)
   • Reflect on what has been achieved in the session
   • Set practice questions
4. Tutor written feedback (5 minutes)
   • Tutor provides personalised written feedback about the session to help track progress

Cluey online learning content is mapped to the Australian National Curriculum and preloaded into their bespoke browser-based platform, the functionality of which is demonstrated in this video:

These sessions are recorded for review by the student and by the Cluey Education Team to help them ‘coach and develop’ their tutors.

Training on Cluey’s content and platform is provided during onboarding.

How Much Does Cluey Learning Pay Tutors?

The Cluey Learning tutor pay rate is AUD$30-$35 or NZD$30 for a Qualified Teacher and AUD$25 or NZD$22 for a Non-Qualified Tutor/Student (plus superannuation).

Cluey Learning Hours and Schedule

Cluey Learning opening hours are 7am-10pm, 7 days a week, though tutors are required to make themselves available for a minimum of 10 hours a week during the after-school peak times of 3-8pm and over weekends.

While you must schedule your hours months in advance, there is no guarantee these will be filled and students you are assigned can chop and change, meaning you should regularly check your timetable on the day for any last-minute updates.

The times for weekly group classes are fixed and listed on the Cluey website.

All sessions last 60 minutes, including 5 minutes for written feedback at the end. This does result in long periods of teaching with no breaks when you are given back-to-back students.

Cluey Learning Requirements

The Cluey Learning online tutor requirements are:

• Be a recent graduate or working towards a university qualification in education or field related to Maths, English, Chemistry, Physics or Biology, with a minimum ATAR of 90 (you must provide a copy of your latest academic transcripts).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to be engaging online and articulate a concept clearly.
• Ability to work with students in a 1-to-1 or small group context.
• Friendly and approachable personality.
• Minimum of 10 hours per week availability during peak tutoring hours of 3 pm – 8 pm and weekends.
• Full working rights in Australia or New Zealand (depending on location).
• Possession of a Working with Children check or willingness to obtain one.
• A passion to inspire students.
• Tech savvy, with access to a computer, strong internet connection, headset and microphone.

To receive the higher Cluey Learning hourly rate, you must additionally be:

• A qualified schoolteacher.
• Possess prior experience in teaching Maths or English at a primary or secondary level, or Chemistry, Physics or Biology at a secondary level.
• Experienced in teaching the Australian curriculum or have an understanding of the New Zealand education system (depending on location).
• Strong, proven subject knowledge.
• Understanding of how to adapt teaching style to serve the needs of each student.
• Have experience communicating with and providing meaningful feedback to parents/caregivers.

Cluey Learning Application Process

Cluey Learning tutoring jobs are advertised in several different places; to apply to become a tutor, simply submit your name, email address and resume to one of the vacancies listed on the following sites:

• Cluey Learning careers page
• Cluey Learning Seek jobs
• Cluey Learning Indeed page
• For New Zealand apply through Cluey Learning NZ

If you are interested in several subjects and years, only apply for one and discuss the others during the Cluey Learning hiring process.

Be aware that the company does warn that only 5-6% of applicants are successful.

Cluey Learning Tutor Interview Process

Those whose resume’s pass screening will be invited to a one-way Cluey Learning video interview. Here you will record answers to pre-set questions, which takes around 20 minutes. You will have 30 seconds to prepare your answer and may re-record your attempt before submitting.

These are the Cluey Learning interview questions that are currently asked:

1. Introduce yourself and your past teaching experience.
2. What subjects and year levels would you like to tutor?
3. Show us an approach to teaching an English/Maths/Science concept.
4. What is a time technology has stressed you out and how did you deal with this?
5. How would you approach a first session with a student?
6. How would you approach a student who is not confident in a particular concept?

Following a successful interview, you will have to undergo a number of checks – identity, reference, credentials, children and police – before you can start tutoring with Cluey.

Cluey Learning Reviews – Is Cluey Learning Good to Work For?

The Cluey Learning Glassdoor page gives the company an overall score of 4 out of 5, with 87% willing to recommend them (at the time of publication). Below is a summary of these Cluey Learning job reviews, which praise the flexibility, support from leadership, and student allocation, though there are complaints regarding the financial impact of cancellations and small proportion tutors are paid from the overall fees:

The Cluey Learning Indeed page currently offers a lower score of 3.4 out of 5, though from fewer reviews. Below are the most recent examples left by those working for Cluey Learning, which provide more mixed opinions of the support and management, with communication sometimes feeling ‘depersonalised’ causing problems when there are sudden cancellations. While training is considered ‘good’, there is a lot of complaint about the lack of pay rises and the company mark-up once more:

Further perspectives can be sourced through Cluey Learning Reddit threads, which concur about the difficulties of contact in case of emergency, while adding that having to set availability months in advance, having your timetable change on the day and with no breaks sometimes, can be inconvenient:

Conclusion – Is Cluey Learning Worth It?

The Cluey Learning base pay rate is slightly less than local competitors such as Alchemy Tuition and Learnmate (though the latter deducts a commission), on account of its tutoring being entirely online. While this provides more fully-remote opportunities and greater location flexibility, it is counter-balanced by less freedom in time due to having to set 10 hours of weekly availability months in advance (compared to 3 for Learnmate and 4 for Alchemy). However, you have a better chance of being allocated students here or through Alchemy Tuition than on a teacher marketplace like Learnmate where you are expected to attract bookings simply by having a standout profile.

You may apply through the Cluey Learning jobs page.

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here.