The survey was conducted by an independent statistician and was open from 16 September 2021 to 17 December 2021. In total there were 545 respondents that answered enough questions to be included in the results.

One hundred and eighty-five respondents had worked in schools as a self-employed visiting teacher since September 2021, 34% of the total number of people completing the survey, slightly up on last year.

Compared to employed teachers, the sample of self-employed is spread evenly between state and private schools, 40% reported that they had worked in state-funded schools with a further 40% reporting activity in independent schools; note that some of the 185 respondents in this category will have worked in more than one type of establishment. Just 3% of the sample worked in a music hub and the same amount at specialist music schools. The ‘Frequency’ figures in the below table include responses where individuals worked in more than one category.

School type for self-employed music teachers

Most self-employed teachers quoted their hourly rate which ranged from £16 to £60 with an average of £36, an increase of about 3.5% from 2020/21 with the median rate rising by £2 again, from £34 to £36 (from £32 in 2019/20).

Hourly rates paid by establishment

Increase in rates since September 2020

Just over 35% of self-employed teachers reported an increase in rates up from 21% last year but still short of the pre-pandemic figure. Where given, pay uplifts were modest, at £1 per hour median increase. Four respondents reported a decrease in rates and 34% expect rates to increase in the next academic year. However, approximately half of those who expect to see a rate increase are those who also received an increase this year, with about two thirds of those whose pay stalled this year not expecting it to increase by September 2022 either.

Room hire and administration fees

Very few respondents reported paying for room hire or admin fees – just 28 and five respectively. Because of the size of the response, it appears few people are expected to pay such fee. The results don’t offer a pattern for the rate of fees.

Number of children taught

As with employed teachers, respondents were asked how many children they were teaching on a self-employed basis, with numbers ranging from one to 350 at an average of 26, up from 23 last year although the median number is 18. The bottom 20% taught nine and the top 20% taught 37.

Comparing employed with self-employed

Similarly to the previous years, hourly teaching rates are higher for self-employed contracts than employed. There is still a statistically significant difference between average hourly rates of £37 for self-employed teachers compared to £35 for employees, although this gap has narrowed slightly.

For our full survey results, see: The ISM’s annual survey of teaching, examining and accompanying rates: Conducted September - December 2021.