Best Side Hustles for Teachers in the UK
Teaching leaves very little slack during term time, so the honest starting point is that a side hustle has to survive weeks where you can give it almost nothing. The ideas that work are the ones you can build in the holidays and then run in short evening blocks, or pause without losing customers.
What teachers bring is unusually valuable. Explaining a difficult idea to someone who does not yet understand it is a genuinely scarce skill, and so is the planning discipline behind a scheme of work. Both translate directly into tutoring, resource creation, writing and editing — all of which pay for clarity.
There are boundaries worth respecting. Most schools ask staff to declare paid outside work, tutoring your own pupils is normally off limits, and anything you produced as part of your job may belong to the school rather than to you. Check your contract and your school's policy on private tuition and intellectual property before you sell anything.
None of these produce a fast replacement income. A realistic first year is a handful of regular clients or a small catalogue that sells steadily, with the figures depending on your subject, your rates and how visible you make yourself.
What helps and what gets in the way
What works in your favour
- Subject expertise that parents and adult learners will pay for
- Genuine skill at explaining, sequencing and assessing progress
- Long holiday blocks for the setup work most people never find time for
- Existing familiarity with safeguarding, DBS and working with young people
- Strong written communication, which underpins several online options
What gets in the way
- Term time leaves very few usable hours, especially during marking periods
- Tutoring demand collapses over the summer, exactly when you are most free
- Schools commonly require outside paid work to be declared
- Materials created for your job may not be yours to sell
- Evening energy after a full teaching day is limited and easily overestimated
7 side hustles worth considering
Costs and income figures are estimates for guidance only. Actual results depend on your location, experience, pricing, demand and execution.
Idea 1
Online tutoring
OnlineHome-based2–4 weeks- Startup cost
- £0–£150
- Typical income
- £200–£1,200 a month
- Time needed
- 4–10 hours a week
Read the full online tutoring guideWhy it fits
The most direct use of what you already do, minus the behaviour management and the marking. Parents pay a premium for a qualified teacher over a student tutor, and one-to-one sessions slot into a weekday evening or a Saturday morning without needing travel.
Time commitment
Two to six one-hour sessions a week, mostly weekday evenings during term.
Main advantage
The highest hourly rate on this list for a teacher, with almost no startup cost.
Main drawback
Demand drops sharply over the summer, so income is seasonal.
Best for
Teachers of exam subjects with clear demand — maths, sciences, English.
Idea 2
Selling digital products on Etsy
OnlineHome-based2–4 weeks- Startup cost
- £20–£400
- Typical income
- £50–£900 a month
- Time needed
- 4–15 hours a week
Read the full selling digital products on etsy guideWhy it fits
Resource creation is planning work you already do, sold rather than filed. Once a worksheet pack or revision resource is listed it can sell repeatedly with no further delivery time, which is the only realistic way to earn during a heavy term.
Time commitment
Concentrated creation in the holidays, then very little upkeep beyond occasional updates.
Main advantage
Sales continue during weeks when you cannot work at all.
Main drawback
The market is crowded, and early listings often sell very slowly.
Best for
Teachers who genuinely enjoy making resources and can build a catalogue.
Idea 3
Freelance proofreading and copyediting
OnlineHome-based1–3 months- Startup cost
- £0–£400
- Typical income
- £150–£900 a month
- Time needed
- 3–12 hours a week
Read the full freelance proofreading and copyediting guideWhy it fits
Marking has already trained you to read closely and spot errors quickly. Proofreading work arrives as discrete documents with agreed deadlines, so you can accept work in quiet weeks and decline it in busy ones without damaging the relationship.
Time commitment
Flexible blocks of one to three hours, entirely of your own choosing.
Main advantage
You control workload week by week, which suits the term-time cycle.
Main drawback
Building a client base takes months and early rates are often low.
Best for
English, humanities and languages teachers with a sharp eye for detail.
Idea 4
Freelance writing for businesses and publications
OnlineHome-based1–3 months- Startup cost
- £0–£150
- Typical income
- £200–£1,200 a month
- Time needed
- 4–15 hours a week
Read the full freelance writing for businesses and publications guideWhy it fits
Education publishers, tutoring platforms and parenting sites all commission writers who genuinely understand the curriculum. Your specialism is the differentiator — a general writer cannot credibly write about assessment or exam technique.
Time commitment
One to three commissions a month, written in evening or weekend blocks.
Main advantage
Your teaching background is a real credential rather than a nice extra.
Main drawback
Pitching is unfamiliar work and takes persistence before it pays.
Best for
Teachers who write comfortably and want work that is not more teaching.
Idea 5
Print-on-demand products
OnlineHome-based1–3 months- Startup cost
- £0–£500
- Typical income
- £50–£700 a month
- Time needed
- 4–12 hours a week
Read the full print-on-demand products guideWhy it fits
Classroom-adjacent designs — staffroom humour, subject prints, end-of-term gifts — sell to a market you understand from the inside. Because the printer handles production and postage, there is nothing to do on a school night.
Time commitment
Design work in bursts, then occasional listing and promotion.
Main advantage
No stock to hold, no packing, no postage runs.
Main drawback
Margins per item are thin, so volume matters.
Best for
Teachers with a creative streak and a feel for what colleagues would buy.
Idea 6
Virtual assistant services
OnlineHome-based2–4 weeks- Startup cost
- £0–£120
- Typical income
- £300–£1,400 a month
- Time needed
- 5–12 hours a week
Read the full virtual assistant services guideWhy it fits
Teachers are organised out of necessity, and small businesses pay for exactly that. Retainer work with one or two clients gives more predictable monthly income than tutoring, and much of it can be done asynchronously rather than at fixed hours.
Time commitment
Five to ten hours a week, scheduled largely to suit you.
Main advantage
Monthly retainers make income steadier than hourly tutoring.
Main drawback
Some clients expect responsiveness during the working day.
Best for
Those who want steady income and a complete break from education.
Idea 7
Local social-media management
OnlineHome-based1–3 months- Startup cost
- £0–£150
- Typical income
- £300–£1,500 a month
- Time needed
- 6–14 hours a week
Read the full local social-media management guideWhy it fits
Planning a content calendar is not far from planning a term. Local businesses want someone reliable who can write clearly and keep to a schedule, and the work can be batched — a month of posts produced in one holiday afternoon.
Time commitment
Three to eight hours a week per client, batchable in advance.
Main advantage
Batching means term-time weeks can require very little live work.
Main drawback
Clients sometimes expect quick replies to comments and messages.
Best for
Teachers comfortable with social platforms who want recurring monthly fees.
Which of these would actually survive your term time?
These ideas are based on a typical teaching profile, but your strongest match will depend on your subject, budget, available time and preferred type of work.
Common questions
- Are teachers allowed to have a side hustle in the UK?
- In most cases yes, but school contracts commonly require you to declare paid outside work, and some require written approval. The usual concerns are conflict of interest, use of school time or resources, and whether the work affects your performance. Read your contract and your school's policy before starting.
- Can I tutor pupils from my own school?
- Almost always no. Tutoring pupils you teach, or who attend your school, creates an obvious conflict of interest and most schools prohibit it outright. Tutoring pupils from elsewhere is normally fine, subject to declaring the work.
- Do I own the resources I have made for my classes?
- Not necessarily. Material created in the course of your employment often belongs to the school rather than to you. If you intend to sell resources, create them in your own time using your own materials, and check your contract's intellectual property clause first.
- What can I realistically do during term time?
- Work that is either short and bookable, or already built. A couple of tutoring sessions a week is manageable for most teachers; launching something new usually is not. Digital products and batched content work are the ideas most likely to survive a difficult half term.
- Do I need a DBS check to tutor privately?
- There is no blanket legal requirement for private tutors, but many parents and platforms expect one, and it is a reasonable reassurance to offer. A DBS you hold through your school will not usually transfer, so you may need your own via the update service or an umbrella body.
- How much can a teacher realistically earn tutoring?
- That depends entirely on your subject, area and rate. A realistic early target is a small number of weekly sessions rather than a full diary, and demand falls away in the summer. Treat any figure you see quoted as an indicative range, not a forecast.
Related guides
Best side hustles for parents
Options that fit school hours, nap times and evenings, without paying for extra childcare.
Best side hustles for working from home
No travel, no premises and no equipment beyond a laptop and a desk.
Best side hustles for under £100
Skill-based ideas that need little more than what you already own.
This is general guidance rather than legal, tax or insurance advice. Requirements may vary, so check current official guidance or speak to a suitable professional.