To make tutoring accessible and affordable to all Australians, enabling students to develop their learning confidence and realise their full academic potential.

As our Mission implies, we are primarily focused on developing the learning confidence and potential of Australian school students.

• While we are able to demonstrate results from our tutoring service, we do not support high–pressure, test-driven, or ‘rote’ tutoring.
• We practice a learning support philosophy where students are encouraged to perform to their full potential through an informal, non judgmental tutoring style.
• We make no spurious promises about improvement rates or percentages, as these will vary greatly among students.

• We acknowledge that online learning support is a relatively new medium in Australia and that we must set the highest possible standards of conduct that meet or exceed those of traditional tutoring services.
• We will support and develop learning innovation by harnessing the benefits of online technology to deliver ‘next generation’ study support to students.

We believe in working with the institutions who are experts in the delivery of education services to students – schools and libraries. Learning support should not occur in isolation from a student’s usual educational environment.

• We will not actively seek to recruit students directly to our service, but instead will work in partnership with schools and libraries.
• Our service will be integrated with the curriculum and learning support schools and libraries are delivering to students, ensuring that a seamless learning experience takes place.
• The online nature of our service will also enable learning to be integrated across the boundaries of home and school.

We will only recruit experienced, ethical, committed and high calibre tutors to our service.

• Our tutors must give evidence of ability to teach to a high level and to have tutored before.
• Our tutors must be subject matter experts in the areas they will be tutoring and either possess or be completing a minimum 3 or 4 year degree course at an accredited Australian university.
• All tutors must be Australian educated and located and able to demonstrate familiarity with National and State curricula.
• In addition, all tutors must be experts in online communication and tutoring in an online environment.
• All tutors are required to sit and pass an accreditation test, which includes specific teaching samples.
• Once recruited, tutors will be placed on probation for a reasonable period during which time all their sessions will be recorded and peer-reviewed by experienced Mentor Tutors.
• Tutors will be paid a fair and regular wage for their services.

Being online enables us to offer immediate, on-demand learning support to students when they need it. Whether at home, school or in their library, we can commit to a seamless, consistent service experience for our students:

• Our online service is available on demand at regularly scheduled hours that are available on our Web site. The service is available during term time and school holidays. Our opening times vary according to the institution (school, library) through which our service is being provided.
• We will seek to maintain wait times of five to ten minutes for students to connect with a tutor, though these wait times may be shorter or longer during periods of exceptionally high or low activity.
• Students will be matched to a tutor who is appropriate to their year level and the subject area they want help with.
• Tutoring sessions will last as long as may be required by a student – and until their question or problem has been satisfactorily resolved.
• Tutoring will be exclusively one-to-one. No more than one student will be helped at a time by each tutor.
• Tutors will not give answers during tutoring sessions. They will provide direction, guidance and support only.
• Tutors will set appropriate standards of grammar and communication online. This will include using formal punctuation and spelling and avoiding ‘SMS’ language.
• Technical support can be accessed at any time through our website.
• A customer service helpline will provide immediate support for any problems students are experiencing with the service.

We have a series of rules governing student/tutor interactions to ensure the safety of students is paramount:

• All tutors must have passed the relevant government “Working with Children” Check, the same as applies to the teaching profession.
• During online tutoring sessions, tutors will not provide any personal details to students, other than their first name in an opening greeting.
• Our system will capture and record each online tutoring session, word-for-word, for future reference and quality control purposes.
• There is a specific procedure for dealing with troubled students. Young people under academic or personal pressure could indicate depression or self-harm tendencies during a tutoring session. Tutors are briefed to immediately refer such students to the Kids Helpline and to contact a Mentor Tutor immediately. Where appropriate, we will also alert the student’s school of the problem.

The wellbeing of our tutors is essential to their provision of a positive and interactive experience for students. To ensure this wellbeing, we employ best practice in the coordination and control of our virtual team:

• All tutors are members of a dynamic online community that shares experience and knowledge. This community allows vital information to be disseminated rapidly and comprehensively to all tutors.
• We have a Tutor Management Team which is comprised of our most experienced tutors. All tutors will receive mentoring in the form of advice, quality control, peer reviews and performance feedback from experienced Mentor Tutors. The management team also facilitates communication in the online community.
• All tutors will receive regular refresher training to ensure they are up to date with current subject areas and curriculum requirements.
• There are career development opportunities within the service for high performing tutors. Tutors are encouraged to provide feedback and participate in the ongoing evolution of the service.
• We will provide the systems needed to maintain the tutor community. This includes a secure, informal online Tutor Forum.

As noted above, we do not promote our service direct to students or parents. We have specific standards governing our interactions with our institutional clients. These include:

• We will represent our service honestly and accurately to our clients.
• The specific service we provide to each client will be fully documented in a formal Master Services Agreement.
• All relevant pricing information will be represented in the Master Services Agreement.
• We will tailor our tutoring service to national, state or school curricula, at the client’s request.
• After sales satisfaction is important. We will appoint a Client Services Manager to look after the needs of each client organisation.
• We will provide comprehensive, face to face training for each client. Collateral and communications materials will be supplied to clients and can also be accessed as templates on our website.
• Full IT support for the service will be provided to each client.
• A special client helpline will be available to resolve client problems/questions.

We will provide regular service reporting to our clients (schools and libraries) while also collecting data on students’ perception of the service they received:

• Clients will receive a monthly report on the service which shows the usage of the service by students, the number of hours of tutoring used, and the comments made (anonymously) by students about their tutoring experiences.
• Students can provide confidential feedback on every tutoring session experienced.
• We will also commission independent surveys (qualitative and quantitative) to assess the impact of using the service on student performance.

We will adhere to all privacy legislation and have our own Privacy Policy, which may be accessed on our website.

Complaints

Complaints are treated seriously and respectfully.

• We will respond promptly to any student or client complaint and will provide a full response within 72 hours.