Tutor Code of Conduct

Contents:

Acting Honestly and in the Best Interest of Up Your Grade
Child Protection Procedures
Child Protection Incidents
Appropriate Communication with Parents and Up Your Grade
Continuing Professional Development
Professional Conduct
Complaints
Observing the Up Your Grade Code

Summary

This Code of Practice outlines the expected standards for Up Your Grade tutors, covering face-to-face, online, one-to-one, and group tutoring sessions. The core focus is on safeguarding, professionalism, and student welfare. Tutors must use their judgement in adapting this Code to the needs of each student while adhering to it at all times. Compliance with this Code assumes familiarity with TutorCruncher, where key documents and session records are maintained.

1. Acting Honestly and in the Best Interests of Students

A. Professionalism and Conduct

Be honest in all communications with students, parents, and Up Your Grade.
Maintain a professional, not personal, relationship with students and their families, ensuring a clear duty of care.
Behave and communicate in a professional manner at all times, including outside of tutoring sessions and on social media.
Provide a caring, positive, and stimulating learning environment for students.
Respect students’ personal dignity and promote their overall well-being.

B. Supporting Independent Learning

Encourage students to achieve their unique potential as independent learners through personalised attention and encouragement.
Avoid and discourage any form of plagiarism, promoting academic integrity.
Provide constructive and accurate feedback on students’ strengths, weaknesses, and progress.
Avoid creating unhealthy dependencies and focus on developing students’ independent learning skills.

C. Adaptability and Flexibility in Tutoring

Adapt tutoring approach to each student’s individual attributes, needs, and circumstances.
Help students overcome learning challenges and barriers by providing appropriate assistance.
Use suitable materials for each session to align with the student’s learning goals.
Be flexible in your approach, assisting students in discovering effective learning strategies to achieve their educational goals.

D. Confidentiality, Security, and Punctuality

Ensure online tutoring sessions are secure, conducted in a private, quiet space with a strong internet connection.
Be punctual and provide reasonable notice if a session cannot go ahead as planned.
Keep all student information confidential, unless disclosure is necessary to prevent harm or injury.

2. Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures

A. Your DBS Certification and Safeguarding Commitment

Hold an Enhanced DBS certificate and are signed up to the DBS Update Service, or hold a DBS less than one year old, agreeing to renew it annually.
Commit to safeguarding children and young people, prioritising their welfare, including children you do not tutor directly.
Keep safeguarding training up to date and upload certificates to the TutorCruncher dashboard.
If lacking documented school safeguarding training, complete our safeguarding quiz annually to ensure current knowledge.

B. Reporting Safeguarding Concerns

Ensure students are tutored in a safe environment and value each student’s contributions regardless of age, culture, or identity.
Log any safeguarding concerns using the logging a concern form on TutorCruncher and share with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Andrew Gardner.
Respect students’ cultural backgrounds but prioritise their safety. Report any issues that threaten a child’s wellbeing.
Report any information or observations of potential harm to a child or young person to the Child Protection Contact.
Record all child protection incidents in writing and submit these to the Safeguarding Lead, focusing only on facts.

C. Protecting Students and Maintaining Boundaries

Take all reasonable steps to protect students from harm, discrimination, and demeaning treatment, respecting their rights, wishes, and feelings.
Do not contact students under 18 on social media or engage in conversations via text or social media without explicit, prior consent from the parent/guardian, and all such communications should include the parent/guardian.
Avoid using your personal mobile phone or camera during tutoring sessions, except for aiding student learning or in emergencies. If tutoring a family with whom you have a pre-existing social media connection, disclose this to the agency. Social contact should not start solely because a student has turned 18.
It is highly recommended that a parent or guardian is within earshot during tutorials, especially for unrecorded sessions, both online and in-person. If the parent/guardian leaves, the tutor may decide whether to end the tutorial.

D. Whistle Blowing

Do not enter into a sexual relationship with any student under 18, even if they are over the age of consent. Starting a personal relationship before 18 and transitioning into a romantic one after 18 could be viewed as grooming.
If you have concerns about another tutor, report them to Andrew Gardner immediately, following our whistleblowing policy – [see here??].

3. Child Protection Incidents

A. Overview of Child Protection Incidents

A Child Protection incident involves scenarios where a child may be at risk of serious physical or psychological harm. This list is not exhaustive but highlights common situations.

B. Typical Child Protection Scenarios

A tutor receives information from a child or another source indicating potential serious harm to the child, either physically or psychologically.
A tutor observes a situation in the child’s environment that poses a risk of serious physical or psychological harm.
A company, agency, or parent receives information about a tutor from a child or another source that suggests the tutor may cause serious harm to the child, either physically or psychologically.

4. Making and Maintaining Appropriate Communication with Parents and Up Your Grade

A. Initial Contact with Parents

Contact parents within 24 hours of receiving their details from Up Your Grade.
Arrange a phone call to introduce yourself and confirm details, setting up the first meeting/session.

B. Setting Objectives

Ensure clear understanding of educational goals from the student or parents before starting tutoring.
Verify that objectives are appropriate for the child, avoiding goals that are too high or too low.
Establish a plan to regularly review and assess these objectives.

C. Feedback and Reporting

Agree on a feedback procedure with parents before starting the tutoring role, whether verbal or written, such as reports via TutorCruncher.
Maintain open, clear, and regular communication with Up Your Grade, raising any issues as needed.
Report any social, emotional, or behavioural difficulties beyond your competencies to Up Your Grade, unless reporting could endanger the child’s safety.

D. Record Keeping and Referrals

Keep accurate records of tutoring sessions and student progress, which can be reviewed by Up Your Grade upon request via TutorCruncher.
Disclose any personal or material interest with a family when making referrals.
Do not provide additional independent educational services to Up Your Grade’s students without prior written consent from the agency.

5. Continuing Professional Development

A. Staying Updated on Tutoring Practices

Keep up to date with advances in tutoring pedagogy and best practices.
Maintain your competence as a tutor by continually updating your professional knowledge and skills.

B. Knowledge of Syllabuses and Exam Specifications

Know where to find updates on relevant syllabuses and how the subjects you tutor are examined.
Stay current with your students’ national curriculum and exam specifications to effectively help them achieve their educational goals.

C. Ongoing Professional Development

Regularly undertake relevant Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as appropriate to your tutoring role.
Stay informed about and follow the legislation, regulations, and guidance governing tutoring and your professional responsibilities.

6. Professional Conduct

A. Conduct and Reputation

Conduct yourself and your business in a way that reflects positively on the tutoring profession and Up Your Grade.
Avoid actions or communications that could bring the tutoring profession or Up Your Grade into disrepute, including inappropriate public comments or behaviour, both verbally and on social media.

B. Unacceptable Behaviours

Avoid bullying, threats of vexatious legal action, and actions that might harm the sector’s reputation.
Do not take any actions that deliberately harm the business, reputation, or interests of other tutors or member organisations, except as part of fair competition.

C. Honesty and Confidentiality

Act honestly in all professional dealings with clients, tutors, and employees.
Do not knowingly spread false or misleading information.
Respect the confidentiality of business information unless legally required to disclose it.

D. Compliance and Legal Obligations

Follow all relevant laws in the country where you operate.
Adhere to this Code of Conduct, including any updates or expansions as communicated by Up Your Grade.

7. Complaints

A. Cooperation with Investigations

Cooperate fully with Up Your Grade in the event of a complaint made against you.
Provide full, accurate explanations, information, and documents promptly when requested.

B. Justifying Actions

Be able to justify your decisions and actions to show compliance with Up Your Grade’s code of conduct.

C. Reporting Concerns

Promptly inform Up Your Grade of any facts or matters that you reasonably believe should be investigated to determine if a breach of the Code has occurred.

D. Notification of Criminal Charges

Notify Up Your Grade promptly if you are subject to any criminal charge, conviction, or caution, including matters under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

8. Observing Up Your Grade’s Code

A. Compliance with the Code

Ensure full compliance with Up Your Grade’s Code of Practice and any supplementary guidance or updates issued by the organisation.

B. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually, or sooner if there are major organisational changes or updates to relevant legislation.
The most recent review was on 1st December 2024, with the next review due no later than annually from this date.

Andrew Gardner
Tutor Director
Up Your Grade Ltd.