Conexus Tuition Franchise | The Educator-Led Business Built for Teachers

From the Classroom to Your Own Business

For many teachers, the desire to stay connected to education never fades, but the pressures of the modern classroom can make it difficult to sustain. The Conexus Tuition Franchise was built specifically to solve that problem. Founded by former secondary school teacher Sharon Cawley in 2012, the business grew from a single-teacher operation around her kitchen table to a thriving tuition network with hundreds of weekly students. In September 2019, with over 200 students receiving tuition every week, Conexus launched as a franchise, giving other qualified educators the chance to follow the same path.

Today, the Conexus Tuition Franchise is a BFA-registered, award-winning franchise network described by multiple franchisees as life-changing. It is the only teacher-led tuition franchise in the country that requires all franchisees to be former or current qualified teachers or teaching assistants, which means the quality of provision is consistent across the network and the ethos of genuine educational impact is at the core of every franchise territory.

How the Model Works

The Conexus Tuition Franchise operates on a flexible, territory-based model. Franchisees deliver small-group and one-to-one tuition for students from Reception through to A-Level, covering a wide range of subjects and exam preparation needs. Sessions can take place in local venues, schools or online, giving franchisees the freedom to build a business that fits around their lifestyle.

Small-group teacher-led tuition in action - Conexus franchisees deliver Reception-to-A-Level sessions in local venues, in schools or online

Who Conexus Works With

• ✓ Parents seeking personalised tuition for children across all key stages
• ✓ Schools commissioning tuition support programmes
• ✓ Local authorities contracting for specialist educational provision
• ✓ Students preparing for GCSEs, A-Levels and 11-plus entrance exams

This multi-revenue model means franchisees are not reliant on a single income stream. The addition of school and local authority contracts in particular can accelerate revenue growth significantly. Conexus also holds approved Tuition Partner status under the National Tutoring Programme, which has enabled franchisees to access additional contracts and funding routes.

A Franchise for Educators, by Educators

What sets the Conexus Tuition Franchise apart from other education franchise models is the depth of its peer network. Every franchisee in the network is a trained teacher. That means the support, advice and collaboration you receive comes from people who truly understand both the educational landscape and the experience of building a tuition business from scratch.

Victoria Bremner, franchisee in Grantham, credits the network with giving her the freedom to build her business exactly as she wants it, within a clear framework of legal and regulatory compliance.

Training, Support and Technology

New franchisees receive a structured onboarding programme designed to get them operational quickly and confidently. The support package includes:

• ✓ CPD-certified initial training covering business, operations and educational delivery
• ✓ A 12 to 16 week group mentoring programme with fortnightly calls for new franchisees
• ✓ Access to the Conexus Knowledge Base and Help Desk, manned by the Head Office team
• ✓ Bespoke training for franchisees taking on school or national account contracts
• ✓ An annual franchisee conference with workshops, keynote speakers and networking
• ✓ AI-driven tools and CRM technology to support business management

Training is CPD-certified through the CPD Certification Service, an independent standards body, which adds credibility to the Conexus model and provides franchisees with a recognised qualification framework for their business activities.

The Opportunity and Investment

The Conexus Tuition Franchise is one of the most accessible entry points into business ownership in the education sector. The franchise fee is low relative to most franchise opportunities, and the ongoing operating costs are modest given the home-based and venue-based nature of the model. There is no need for dedicated commercial premises to get started.

Conexus is targeting growth to 50 franchisees by October 2025 and 75 by March 2027, which means there are territories available across the country right now.

According to gov.uk data on the National Tutoring Programme, demand for quality, structured tuition has continued to grow since the pandemic, with schools and local authorities actively seeking trusted partners. Conexus is well positioned to meet that demand.

UK Tuition Market in 2026

The case for a quality tuition business has rarely been stronger. Sutton Trust research published in 2026 found that 29% of secondary pupils in England and Wales have now had private tutoring at some point, up from 18% two decades ago. In London the figure rises to 45%, with Year 11 the single most tutored cohort as families invest in GCSE outcomes. At the same time the centrally funded National Tutoring Programme has wound down, leaving a clear gap that schools, parents and local authorities are filling with trusted private providers. Conexus Tuition sits squarely in that gap: an established, BFA-registered network of qualified teachers who can plug into school improvement plans, run small-group provision for parents, and bid for council contracts. For more on the market backdrop, see the Sutton Trust 2026 Private Tutoring research.

Territory and Coverage

Each Conexus franchisee is granted an exclusive territory based around a defined catchment of school-age children, giving you a protected patch in which to build local presence, school relationships and parent referrals. Territories cover towns, suburbs and city districts across England, with active franchises already running in locations such as Grantham, Canary Wharf and Warrington. The Head Office team mapped the network around population density and school numbers rather than postcode area, so you get a commercially sensible footprint rather than an arbitrary one.

Onboarding and Safeguarding

New franchisees attend a residential induction at Rutherford House, the Conexus head office in Warrington, with accommodation and dinner included. The two to three day programme covers business setup, brand standards, parent acquisition, school engagement and the operational rhythm of a tuition week. You leave with a written launch plan rather than a folder of theory.

Before you can take on a single paying student, the Head Office team ensures you are properly accredited and protected. Safeguarding is non-negotiable in any business that works with children, and Conexus builds it into onboarding from day one.

• ✓ Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Level 3 training
• ✓ First Aid certification
• ✓ Enhanced DBS check
• ✓ Internal safeguarding and safer recruitment training for hiring tutors

A Day in the Life

A typical Conexus week is structured around the school day rather than against it. Mornings are often spent on business admin, parent enquiries, school liaison calls and CPD, while afternoons and early evenings are reserved for live tuition sessions in a church hall, community centre, school site or via the Conexus online classroom. Saturday mornings frequently host 11-plus and GCSE booster groups. The model is genuinely flexible: some franchisees treat it as a four-day-a-week portfolio business alongside other commitments, while others scale rapidly by hiring a team of associate tutors under the Conexus brand and quality framework.

Who This Franchise Suits

Conexus is built for qualified teachers and teaching assistants who want to stay close to education without staying inside the state system. If you are confident in front of children, comfortable talking to parents, and willing to learn the business side with structured support, the model gives you a credible brand, a tested launch plan and a peer network of people walking the same path. It is not a passive investment, and it is not open to non-educators, but for the right teacher it is one of the lowest-friction routes from classroom to self-employment in the UK education sector.

Interested in exploring more opportunities in this sector? Take a look at other education franchise opportunities available on Franchise Hunt.