Safeguarding & Child Protection
Last updated: 11 June 2026
Sessioned connects students with independent tutors for online tutoring. Many of our students are children and young people, and their safety is central to how we run the platform. This policy explains how we approach safeguarding — for the reassurance of parents and guardians, and as a clear standard for our tutors.
How we vet tutors
Every tutor application is individually reviewed before the tutor can appear on Sessioned. We check the information and qualifications a tutor provides. Tutors who work with under-18s are expected to hold a valid DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check; where a tutor provides a DBS certificate number we seek to verify it against the certificate, and every profile shows that tutor’s actual DBS position — verified by us where the check is complete, on file where a number has been given but not yet checked, or not provided. Where a tutor lives outside the UK and holds a criminal record check from their own country instead, the profile says that separately and describes it as what it is. We show where a tutor genuinely stands rather than claiming a check we have not carried out at a glance.
Tutors who live outside the UK
The DBS is a UK service. A tutor resident abroad generally cannot apply for an Enhanced DBS at all — that is a fact about who the DBS will check, not a judgement about the tutor. Private tutors are not required by law to hold a DBS in any case.
Where a tutor in that position gives us a criminal record check issued in the country they live in, we record which country issued it, the date on the document and what kind of document it is, and we show those on their profile. Nothing appears there until someone at Sessioned has looked at the document itself; a tutor telling us they hold one is not enough to put anything on the page.
We do not describe an overseas check as equivalent to an Enhanced DBS, and we do not say we have confirmed it with the authority that issued it, because we have not. There is no overseas equivalent of the UK Update Service for us to re-check it against. What we can tell you is which country, which date, which document, and that we have seen it. If you want more detail than the profile gives, ask us or ask the tutor.
Sessions happen on-platform
Tutoring takes place through Sessioned's built-in video classroom, and messaging between students and tutors is kept on the platform. Where a parent or guardian holds the account, they can see every message their child exchanges with a tutor. Where a young person has their own account, a parent can ask us to link it to theirs so they have the same visibility — email us and we will arrange it. Accounts are not linked automatically.
Personal contact details — phone numbers, personal email addresses or messaging-app handles — cannot be exchanged in messages with a student under 18, or with any student whose age we have not confirmed. Messages containing them are withheld automatically and flagged for review, and this applies however long a tutor and student have been working together. Tutors are asked never to move contact or payment off the platform.
What we expect of tutors
Tutors are expected to conduct every session professionally and appropriately, to maintain suitable boundaries with students at all times, and to treat every student with respect. Tutors must never request a student's banking or personal financial details, and must never ask a student to communicate or pay outside Sessioned. Any tutor who breaches these standards may have their account suspended or removed.
Reporting a concern
Sessioned's Designated Safeguarding Lead is Archie Perkins, the founder. Safeguarding concerns come directly to him and are not handled by anyone else.
If you have any safeguarding concern about a tutor, a session, or anything you have seen on Sessioned, contact hello@sessioned.co.uk with "Safeguarding" in the subject line. We aim to acknowledge safeguarding reports within one working day, and to act on urgent concerns as soon as we see them. Where a concern is serious we will escalate it to the appropriate authorities, and we can suspend a tutor's account immediately while we look into it.
You can also report any individual message from inside your Sessioned account, using the "Report this conversation" link at the top of any chat. Reports made this way alert us straight away.
If a child is in immediate danger, always contact the emergency services on 999 first. You can also contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or the CEOP Safety Centre at ceop.police.uk.
Keeping this policy current
We review our safeguarding approach periodically and as the platform grows, and will update this policy to reflect changes in our practice or in our legal obligations.