These Terms and Conditions (“The Terms”) apply to Student Tutor UK and their tutors, clients and tutees. The Terms may be changed by Student Tutor UK at any time. Tutors, clients and tutees currently on Student Tutor’s books at the time of change will be notified by email.
A breach of these terms will result in immediate termination of this agreement and may entail account suspension or closure and subscription cancellation with forfeiture of any advance monies paid (including top-up or other billing agreements). In extreme cases we reserve the right to expel a member and prevent them from future use of this website.
1. Purpose
To enable school children to develop their potential through 1:1 private tuition in a variety of subjects up to and including A level or equivalent (Note: for musical instruments in particular, it’s not strictly A-levels but grades 1 to 8 ) without breaking the bank. We do this by using university undergraduates for 3 reasons:
- University undergraduates are deeply involved in their chosen subject. This means they study at the current cutting edge of their field and so may have more in-depth knowledge of the field than even many qualified professionals with years of experience;
- The price you pay for a university undergraduate as a tutor is a lot less than the cost of a fully qualified tutor.
- Children often respond better to someone nearer to their own age.
2. Definitions
Student Tutor UK is known as “the supplier” “the site” or “the service” or in The Terms simply as “we”. Tutors and tutees are known as “tutors” and “tutees” respectively with individuals known by the appropriate singular term. Parents, guardians, or others paying for tutor services are known as “clients” or “customers”. Tutors, tutees and clients are collectively known as “members”. In these Terms we may refer to members or visitors as “you” depending on your particular role.
If the client is also the tutees there must be a responsible adult to whom Student Tutor UK can refer for purposes of legal issues. This responsible adult is known as “the stand-in client”. The term “client” also covers stand-in clients.
3. Disclaimer
Student Tutor UK and its staff, owners and affiliates cannot take any responsibility for the results students get as a consequence of tuition from or with one or more tutors registered with this site. With regard to unethical behaviour it is the responsibility of the offended party to inform Student Tutor UK and the appropriate authorities at the earliest opportunity. These appropriate authorities may include the student tutor’s university, the NUS and the local students’ union, parents, guardians or other responsible adults and possibly the police.
Student Tutor UK is the service that provides a way for communication between client, student and tutor. Any contact outside of the website, including meeting in person or communication outside the website is not a responsibility for Student Tutor UK.
4. Limitation of Liability
All content on the Student Tutor UK website, including but not limited to tutor profiles, is provided ‘as is’ without warranty of any kind as to its truthfulness, accuracy, or suitability for any purpose. Reliance upon and/or use of any of the information provided is your own responsibility and except where gross negligence is proven, Student Tutor UK cannot accept any liability for losses incurred as a result of your actions. We appreciate any assistance with the reporting of inaccurate information and will take remedial action as soon as such issues are brought to our attention.
Using this service is a privilege, not a right. There may be various unforeseeable circumstances under which Student Tutor UK may become inaccessible. While we deeply apologise for any inconvenience such outages may cause, unfortunately we cannot accept any liability for losses incurred as a result of such an outage, save for the fact that we may decide to reimburse paying Subscribers if the outage continues for an unacceptable length of time. In any event Student Tutor UK’s maximum liability to an individual client will be the pro-rata amount paid by this client for the service.
5. Tutors
Tutors are university undergraduates with up to date current specialist knowledge of their subject. They are regarded as self employed because the service does not set working hours, or the place of work, or the rate of pay. Therefore they are responsible for their own financial records, income tax and other such matters.
5.1. Tutor Registration
Any student at a UK university may register as a tutor with Student Tutor UK, except that students visiting the UK on a study visa may need to observe certain restrictions as regards to working while studying (for example they may not be permitted to work in a self-employed capacity, and therefore would not be allowed to sign up as a private tutor at Student Tutor UK). Prospective tutors are advised to make their original qualification certificates in the subject(s) they wish to tutor available to potential clients.
Anyone found deliberately providing false information on their application form may have their account suspended without notice.
Prospective tutors are also advised to obtain their own Enhanced Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check or have one that is currently valid. Tutors with a recent Enhanced CRB certificate will logically be more likely to receive tuition requests.
Student Tutor UK requires university students wishing to register as a tutor to have a working university email ending with @…ac.uk.
Prospective tutors are also advised that clients may well want to see references. This is basic standard procedure when employing someone. Here is a short list of possible sources for references:
- Your current university tutor
- Head of last secondary school or college, last head of year or dept
- A personal reference from one of the following:
- Scout or Guide troop leader
- Voluntary service leader
- Sports team manager or coach
- Previous employer (within the last 12 months)
- OC cadets for Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force
References from relatives holding the above offices or as ex-office holders are not normally used for employment situations so may not be a good choice here.
The “About Me” section allows you to elaborate on your abilities. Keep it succinct but long enough to show people who you are.
If at any time during the application process or during term of service with Student Tutor UK a tutor’s behaviour is found to be questionable the tutor will be suspended while further investigation is carried out.
5.2. Good Tuition Practice
Tutors may not offer tuition in subjects they are not registered for. Registration is solely within the terms and conditions of Student Tutor UK.
Tutors are advised to develop a teaching plan for the subject as a whole, and individual plans for each session. Following a teaching plan will make your sessions more efficient. Student Tutor UK does not provide teaching plans. Prospective tutors are advised to seek guidance in developing teaching plans from tutors experienced in training other tutors.
6. Tutees
Tutees may be from primary school age up to 6th Form though it is advised that very young primary school children may not be suitable candidates for private tuition.
Tutees are expected to have a reasonable level of motivation for their subject(s). While some fluctuation in motivation is normal our undergraduate tutors are not trained in developing motivation and can only do so by the enthusiasm they have for their subjects.
A continuing low level of tutees motivation can be expected to be reported by the tutor to the client and may result in the end of their tutor-tutee relationship. The low motivation may stem from a personality ‘clash’ in which case an alternative step could be the use of another tutor. There is a limit regarding the value of choosing another tutor; probably after the 3rd tutor, if motivation remains low, other means of resolving the issue(s) are necessary. This will be the responsibility of the client.
If the tutee is also the client, there must be a responsible adult to whom Student Tutor UK can refer for legal purposes. In this case it is the student’s responsibility to provide that responsible adult and keep them supplied with all relevant information.
7. Clients
Clients are parents, guardians, or others paying for individual tutoring services. Use by tutoring agencies, their employees, relatives or associated persons is not permitted, nor is the hiring of our tutors for commercial purposes. If a tutee is also the client, there must be a responsible adult to whom Student Tutor UK can refer for legal purposes. This responsible adult is known as “the stand-in client” and as the tutee’s supervisor bears the same responsibilities as other Clients.
Clients are responsible for seeing that the tutee(s) supply them with up to date and accurate feedback on their personal progress. Clients are encouraged to ask the tutor for a tutorial report at an agreed frequency and ensure their tutee(s) leave appropriate feedback for the tutor.
7.1. Payment
Basic membership of the site is free for clients, but certain features require that a paid subscription is entered.
Please note that payment for tuition lessons themselves is not included in site membership and is explained in point 8.2. below.
A choice of subscription packages of varying additional features and durations may be available to cater for different functional and budgetary requirements. The differences between available packages and general benefits of paying for a subscription are explained on the website and may be updated from time to time.
Payment is made according to the instructions on the payment page and will be due in accordance with the payment schedule that is agreed when selecting a package.
7.2. Free Trial
A free trial may be made available. Unless otherwise stated on the offer, such a trial will be limited to one per customer and previously subscribed clients will not normally qualify. The trial will run for the period stated and no payment will be taken until the moment the trial period ends.
Where the trial period is given in days, each day shall mean a period of exactly 24 hours. Therefore, if a 10 day trial is offered then a trial started at 4:17pm will convert to a full subscription at 4:17pm exactly 10 days later and the first regular payment charged at that time.
A week means 7 days and a month means a calendar month (e.g. 3rd April, 3rd May, 3rd June are subsequent monthly periods).
7.3. Identity Checks
As part of our commitment to the safety and security of all members, subscribers may be required to undergo an identity verification (as a counterpart to CRB checks for tutors).
Tutors who are being contacted by prospective clients will be informed of the client’s current ID verification status and may make their own decisions as to whether to deal with the client or not. They may also request for an ID verification to be carried out if this hasn’t already been done.
There may be additional fees to pay by the client depending on the type of ID check they prefer (independent or in-house). These fees are not refundable due to the nature of the verification service. If an independent verification is not possible with the basic information supplied during initial registration, then we may contact you for further details to allow you to pass the check.
We use a third party service to perform independent identity checks and for legal reasons all verification requests will be retained for a period of at least 6 years. We will not access your credit file or consider your financial circumstances in any way.
Failing the ID check or failing to provide proof of identification in a timely fashion when requested may result in suspension of your account until such time as satisfactory proof of ID is presented.
7.4. Package Changes
If there are material functional changes to packages (i.e. other than pricing or duration), new features aimed at a particular package will normally be made available free of charge and no notification of these changes shall be necessary.
If the changes result in a deterioration of the value of the package (i.e. features have been removed), then current subscribers will be notified and within a 30 day time frame will have the option to switch to a different package that better meets their needs without incurring cancellation fees that might otherwise arise.
7.5. Cancellation
In line with the Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs) Subscribers have an unconditional right to cancel their subscription within a ‘cooling off’ period of 14 days and receive a full refund for any money paid, provided only that they have not yet accessed or used any of the features associated with their subscription. Please also take note of our 14 Days Money Back Guarantee which grants additional rights.
Where a free trial is offered, please note that your cooling off period becomes the length of the trial. You may cancel your trial at any moment up until the time it is due to convert to a full subscription, and you will not be charged if you do so, although we would recommend cancelling at least 24 hours prior.
Please follow these steps if you would like to cancel:
Trials and regular subscriptions may be cancelled at any time by following the instructions on the Subscriber’s ‘My Account’ page. On cancellation your subscription will cease after expiry of any term you have pre-paid for. Please note that outside the cooling off period unfortunately Student Tutor UK cannot offer any refunds for pre-paid subscription periods. To avoid being charged again, Subscribers should cancel their subscription at least 24 hours before the next scheduled payment is due.
If you didn’t join a trial and have cancelled your subscription within the cooling off period without accessing any of the subscription features, please contact us directly so that we can refund your initial fee.
We reserve the right to cancel your subscription and/or membership without notice at any moment if there has been a breach of these terms or another policy, if there are outstanding payable amounts, or if we believe that it would not be in the interest of other members to allow your subscription or membership to continue, whether for reasons of security or otherwise. Cancellation due to a breach will entail forfeiture of any advance moneys paid under a subscription, topup or other billing agreement.
8. Tuition
8.1. Frequency and level of contact
Initial contact is made through Student Tutor UK. Prospective clients and tutees are provided with a list of tutors in specific subjects from which choices are made.
Tutorials are mainly taken place in person 1 to 1, however may take place by phone (not recommended), Skype or email. The mode, frequency and length of contact are a matter of mutual agreement between client, tutee and tutor.
8.2. Payment
Tutors set their own fees for the tutoring services they provide. We provide all Tutors with suggested pricing levels, but they are not required to follow these strictly.
Payment for tuition lessons is a matter between Tutors, Tutees and Clients, including the payment method and whether payment shall be made before or after a lesson takes place. Under ordinary circumstances Tutors are obliged to charge the same fee as stated in their profile, however, in exceptional cases negotiation is an option in the presence of unusual client requirements.
8.3. Unavailability
We all have occasions when plans have to be changed. Clients should not be charged for sessions where the date or time has needed to be changed or cancelled.
Common courtesy requires these be kept to a minimum. Remember, what goes around, comes around. Frequent short notice changes by students may lead to tutors being unwilling to accept certain students and vice versa.
8.4. Feedback
Feedback helps tutors to improve, helps clients to know which tutor might be suitable for their situation, and helps tutees to feel that what they say matters.
It is a condition of the service that tutees leave feedback for tutors after the session ending. A speedy response enables tutors to look at the effectiveness of the teaching. Simple feedback is probably best, what worked for the student, what didn’t work, how it could have been done otherwise.
Tutors are responsible for encouraging their tutee to leave feedback as a way of improving their relationship and helping to raise overall standards and quality.
While all members may read feedback, paid subscribers gain access to the feedback form on a tutor’s profile. They must have been in contact with the tutor for this option to appear. The feedback form allows a rating of 0-5 stars to be given. Please consider adding comments as your relationship progresses to allow the tutor in question to continue to improve their work, as well as helping others choose their tutor.
9. Confidentiality
There are two aspects of confidentiality 1 – client/tutee/tutor details and 2 – discussion topics and content.
It is a condition of the service that the client and tutee details remain confidential at all times, and that any information not shown in the Tutor’s profile page remains confidential. This includes, but is not limited to: Personal contact details
Discussion topics and content are confidential between tutee and tutor as agreed with the client. Student Tutor UK accepts no responsibility for these discussions, their topics or content. Messages between the client, tutee and tutor will be kept confidential; however they may be reviewed if there is reason to believe the rules of these Terms and Conditions may have been broken.
Feedback left through the feedback facility is publicly visible and therefore subject to the same rules. Revealing personal details or ‘flaming’ is strictly prohibited in either messaging or feedback and constitutes a direct breach of these Terms.
All tutors, tutees and clients are advised that their personal details will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and its amendments. They will only be used to inform about important account updates, including for example confirmation of requests made directly through the website but never for unwanted marketing emails. No details are shared with any third party organisation.
Our Privacy Policy is hereby included by reference.
10. Security
We make all efforts to keep your data secure. Please do likewise by ensuring that you select a password of sufficient complexity and do not reveal your password to anyone else. You are responsible for any use of your account, even if somebody else is accessing it without your permission.
11. Jurisdiction
These terms, our policies and any arising disputes shall be governed by the laws of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
12. Other essential policies
The following policies form an essential part of this agreement and are hereby included by reference:
