Tutor Code of Conduct and Ethics | Suited Tutor Knowledge Base

Code of Conduct

Purpose

This code outlines the conduct, behaviours and ethics that are expected to be exhibited by our tutors at Suited Tutor. It aims to help us safeguard and protect our ambitious students, along with their caring parents and reduce the possibility of any unforeseen or unprecedented allegations being raised against our tutors.

As a tutor at Suited Tutor, you are acting in a position of authority and have a duty of care and safeguarding towards the students, (along with their parents) - that we work and liaise with. You are likely to be perceived as a role model and thus, expected to act appropriately.

Proceeding forward, as a verified tutor at the Suited Tutor platform, you consent and agreed to comply with the following code of conduct and ethics:

Always behave in a professional manner, when interacting with students, parents, guardians, other tutors, our personnel or other fellow platform members
Exhibit amicable behaviours, in accordance with the professional code of conduct
To be on time for each scheduled session, and preferably ready and waiting for the student(s) to arrive, before the classes commence
Use appropriate language and tone in all plausible interactions with parents, guardians, students or the platform's personnel. We are a vivid and ambitious organisation, thereby, we expect our exceptional tutors to be friendly, approachable and willing to go the extra mile, to exceed expectations. (As we believe in you).
To prepare fun, engaging and interactive sessions that are tailored to the student's expectations
To ensure, prior to the beginning of the classes that the internet is functional/working, and the ability to familiarise yourself with our in-built teaching platform, for instance, to be familiar with screen sharing, and use of a whiteboard)
To be proactive and communicate any unforeseen situations or unprecedented circumstances to other fellow students, with whom you may have scheduled any classes or a fellow Suited Tutor member, so as to raise awareness
To have a professional and non-distracting setup, whilst tutoring, for instance, no excess noise, or having other fellow members entering the room )
To ensure an open and sincere line of communication, between yourself and the Suited Tutor Community
To take the time to write and share constructive feedback at the end of the sessions, understanding that the parent would be interested in finding out about their bright kids' learning progress. Such a course of action will help foster and forge a strong and positive relationship
To be responsive to messages, derived from fellow users of the Suited Tutor platform and reply in a timely manner
To seek out assistance from a fellow platform member or Suited Tutor personnel, should you require any further guidance
Keep your availability up-to-date, depending on your availability from Monday to Sunday and be courteous should you deliver any classes to students who live outside the UK or other students from different timezones
Prioritise the welfare and safety of students, by following Suited Tutor's safeguarding policy, by pointing out or flagging up issues to the designated or assigned Safeguarding Officer or point of contact

Tutoring Guidelines

The following are guidelines and recommendations for maintaining professionalism and high standards as a tutor at Suited Tutor:

Be courteous and empathetic, should a student or parent wishes to share their bright future aspirations
Should any conflicts emerge during the learning session, please make sure to contact the parents or preferably a fellow member from Suited Tutor, as we exhibit and incorporated 0% tolerance against any potential bullying, harassment or malicious activity against our aspiring students
Feel free to employ humour to connect with students or parents, but please ensure that your language, tone and conduct are age-appropriate
Should any tutoring arrangements change for any personal or professional reason, contact your student or parent as soon as possible. (Preferably and at least 24 hours in advance, to prevent any unforeseen ramifications).
If you wish to set any boundaries in your sessions, make sure to provide clear directions and guidance to your student(s)
To ensure a fair and respectful learning environment, you may embrace the three strikes approach, (denoting that you provide two warnings and if your student is not cooperating or not adhering to your expectations), then you may end the session
Should you experience any issues, which may have caused discomfort or made you feel uncomfortable, then you are kindly encouraged to reach out to us or a fellow member from Suited Tutor, to effectively handle it

The tutor/teacher reserves the right to decline a student/ family member's request to tutor them, if there are any worries about the suitability or compatibility or if the tutors are feeling uncomfortable resuming any forthcoming interactions with those associated parents or students.

Code of Ethics

Our ambitious tutors will need to adhere to the following code of ethics that aligns with The Tutors' Association and The National Tutoring Association conduct:

As a tutor, I:

Will conduct myself in accordance with the Tutors' Association and The National Tutoring Association code of ethics
Will refrain from unlawful discrimination during the delivery of the learning sessions, including protected characteristics, such as age, race, gender, religion, national orientation or disability
Will share verbal and written statements that are true and accurate
Will maintain, store, and dispose of any records, including any electronic files or interactions, created during my engagement with the parents from the Suited Tutor platform, in a manner that promotes confidentiality, security and privacy
Will seek to be extra cautious of any prospective conflicts or potential conflicts of interest, and openly disclose any such conflict(s) with a designated point of contact with the Suited Tutor platform, to resolve it/them
Will honour and meet mutually agreed sessions, between myself and the parents(s)/student(s)
Will be held responsible for being aware of any culturally sensitive boundaries that govern verbal or written interactions
Will respect the parent's/student's decision, should they decide to terminate any future learning arrangements
Will maintain the strictest levels of confidentially with all of the platform's customers, alluding to parents, students or Suited Tutor personnel

Commit to the guidelines outlined above, pertaining to the code of ethics and conduct, and thus, I will act with:

Respect for other others' rights and dignity: Tutors will need to respect the customers' privacy, confidentiality and self-determination
Integrity: Tutors will practise and promote accuracy, honesty and truthfulness
Best Interest: Tutors will act in the best interest of tutees, alluding to students, as specified by the educational organisation
Fairness: Tutors may need to exercise reasonable judgement to ensure that their potential biases, boundaries of their competence and limitation of their expertise do not lead to condoning unjust practices
Commitment: Tutors will need to meet and fulfil commitments made with the learners
Responsibility: Tutors will take responsibility for their course of action or behaviour, and aspire to resolve any conflicts that may arise between themselves and their clients/customers
Excellence: Tutors will strive to maintain excellence, by iteratively continuing to forge and bolster their skills and class engagement in a professional code of conduct
Respect individual differences: Tutors will respect cultural, individual, language or political differences, including those based on the protected characteristics, such as gender, race, nationality, religion or disability
Professionalism: Tutors will not engage in any inappropriate relations with the tutees
Confidentiality: Tutors will maintain the highest privacy standards, in terms of safeguarding their customers' or organisation's case-sensitive or personal details.

Professional Dress Code

Suited Tutor encourages its tutors to select a semi-smart or smart dress/attire; when classes are conducted either in-person or online. As semi-professional or professional attires can foster trust and be perceived with a positive impression.

Tutors are highly encouraged to adhere to the following best practices:

promote a professional image
promote a vivid and positive image
are compliant with the business professional dress code
are not considered to be discriminatory
are not to be perceived as offensive or wear distracting jewellery

Failing to comply with the aforementioned, as seen above dress code guidelines, it may result in imminent dismissal from the Suited Tutor platform.

Unacceptable Behaviour

As a tutor, you may be perceived as a role model, thereby, you must not:

allow fictitious concerns or malicious allegations to go unreported
arrange to meet a student or parent online or face-to-face, outside of the scheduled classes
accept bribery or other financial benefits from parents/guardians/students, encouraging you to deliver classes outside the Suited Tutor platform. (If in doubt, you are highly encouraged to speak with a member of the Suited Tutor company, who would be happy to help you)
smoke or consume alcohol or use illegal substances
make inappropriate promises to students
liaise with the customer or platform members in a hostile and inappropriate manner
engage in behaviour that is in any way abusive, along with having any form of physical intimacy with a student
share your contact details or social media details, to deliver classes outside the Suited Tutor platform
patronise or make students or parents feels belittled
make sarcastic, derogatory or offensive in any manner comments or gestures to or in front of students, parents, guardians, including other fellow tutors or platform members
advertise any unsolicited marketing services or materials that Suited Tutor may deem to be a spam

Disclaimer

Suited Tutor will take no responsibility for any of the tutors' exhibited misconduct or inappropriate behaviour towards the parents, students, guardians or other associated platform users.

Suited Tutor reserves the right to accept no responsibility for those tutors, who may tarnish the firm's reputation or act in an unlawful manner.

If you - as a tutor has acted in an inappropriate manner, depending on the severity of the situation, you may be asked to leave the Suited Tutor platform. We may also make a report to the statutory agencies, such as the policy and/or local authority child protection services, to ensure the student's integrity is safeguarded.