It is very important that our tutors are as happy as possible when they’re teaching, and this requires them to feel safe and secure when travelling to, and during a lesson.
Each of our clients must supply a postal address, and a telephone number, and if we identify anything that we consider to be inappropriate or misleading in a client’s request then we will not search for a tutor for them. Unfortunately we are restricted in how far we can look into someone’s background, and we’re not allowed to perform a background check on a client. However, we have never had an incident where a tutor has been endangered by a student, and private tutoring is generally very safe.
Steps you can take to ensure your safety
1. Investigate a student’s location before agreeing to tutor them.
If you won’t feel happy travelling to a student’s home then don’t do it. You’re not required to teach anyone in a location where you will be
uncomfortable. You should think about this before accepting the student, and also about how you’ll feel in winter when it’s likely to be dark
while you’re travelling.
2. Arrange your first meeting at a neutral venue.
It’s not unusual to meet with a student and/or a parent for the first time in a coffee shop, or somewhere similar. If you’re concerned about
visiting someone’s home before ever meeting them, then arrange a neutral, unpaid meeting first.
3. Arrange a phone call to confirm that you’re happy.
If you do travel to someone’s home before meeting them, it’s perfectly reasonable to explain that you have to make a phone call to a friend, to
explain that you’re safe and happy. Leave your phone on, and call your friend five minutes into the lesson to confirm that there are no problems.
4. Speak to us.
If you have any concerns at all about your safety then please let us know as soon as possible. We love that our tutors honour commitments to their
students, but you shouldn’t do this at the expense of your security. If you are worried about anything at all then just let us know.