Keeping private tutoring safe: a practical guide for parents

Inviting a new adult into your child’s week deserves care. Safety is less about suspicion than about routines that make problems unlikely and easy to spot.

What Teachly does on your behalf

• Every profile is checked by a person before it appears. A qualification badge means we have seen the certificate itself.
• Your request carries no way to contact you. It shows the subject, level, area and budget — never your name, number or your child’s.
• A teacher cannot message you out of the blue. Teachers reply to your request; you decide which one gets your number.
• Reviews have to be earned. Only a parent whose connection with a teacher was confirmed can write one.

The safety page explains each of these in full.

Habits worth keeping

1. 1Keep the notes box anonymousThe notes on your request are public on the jobs board. Leave out your name, address, number and your child’s name.
2. 2Stay close for the first classesFor lessons at home, be in the house and within earshot for the first few sessions. For online lessons, keep the device in a shared room.
3. 3Know what is being taughtAsk your child what they covered, glance at their notebook, and expect the teacher to tell you about progress.
4. 4Keep contact about lessonsArrangements between a tutor and a child should go through you. Private messaging with a younger child, or requests to keep things secret, are a clear warning sign.

If something feels wrong

Trust your instincts and your child’s. You do not need proof to stop classes. Every teacher profile, and every reply you receive, carries a way to flag it; tell us what happened and it goes into a queue a person works through. If you think a child is in danger, contact the police straight away.

When you no longer need a request, close it: that takes it off the public board at once, and one you leave alone drops off by itself after thirty days.