Sensible to tutor kids in your home?
October 28, 2010 10:45 AM Subscribe
Is it sensible to tutor adolescents of ages 14-18 in your home without other adults present?
Plus extra CRB/ISA stuff specific to the UK.
After finishing university I'm thinking of setting myself up as a tutor while I look around for the next career step. Because I don't have a car, I'd prefer to have the lessons at my flat (where I live on my own). I'm not clear on whether it's reasonable or sensible to do this, given the risk that you could be accused of an impropriety without an immediate defence. I suppose I'm not sure how much the atmosphere has changed. When I was at school (not too long ago!) I had lessons in a tutor's flat, and I never considered that it would be seen as innapropriate.
Secondly, for those in the UK who work with children, does anyone know what is going on with the Independent Safeguarding Authority? I can see that registration for the vetting scheme was temporarily halted by the coalition, but it's not clear on whether the whole thing is dead or just temporarily flailing. In the interim, are you being signed up?
After finishing university I'm thinking of setting myself up as a tutor while I look around for the next career step. Because I don't have a car, I'd prefer to have the lessons at my flat (where I live on my own). I'm not clear on whether it's reasonable or sensible to do this, given the risk that you could be accused of an impropriety without an immediate defence. I suppose I'm not sure how much the atmosphere has changed. When I was at school (not too long ago!) I had lessons in a tutor's flat, and I never considered that it would be seen as innapropriate.
Secondly, for those in the UK who work with children, does anyone know what is going on with the Independent Safeguarding Authority? I can see that registration for the vetting scheme was temporarily halted by the coalition, but it's not clear on whether the whole thing is dead or just temporarily flailing. In the interim, are you being signed up?
i would never put myself in that situation. some kids are little shits and will make stuff up if it suits them. some parents are crazy and will believe that everyone out there is just trying to rape their child. your only defense is "i didn't do it".
is there a place within walking distance you could host the sessions at? a library? a quiet cafe?
posted by nadawi at 10:48 AM on October 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
is there a place within walking distance you could host the sessions at? a library? a quiet cafe?
posted by nadawi at 10:48 AM on October 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
In my town, the tutors use the local library--it is free, conveniently located, and avoids going to a student's home or having them come to yours. The library accepts this since it has to do with education.
posted by Postroad at 10:50 AM on October 28, 2010
posted by Postroad at 10:50 AM on October 28, 2010
I wouldn't do this. Libraries and (quiet) cafes and so forth, sure. A private residence? Too much risk. My church is putting in out-to-in peepholes and has requiring team teachers for all Sunday School classes, and these are groups of kids and everyone knows everyone.
posted by SMPA at 10:55 AM on October 28, 2010
posted by SMPA at 10:55 AM on October 28, 2010
Sure, just put up a video camera and record all the sessions.
posted by Grither at 10:57 AM on October 28, 2010
posted by Grither at 10:57 AM on October 28, 2010
I'm really not sure that in paedo-panicky Britain you'd want to become known as that person who videotapes teenagers.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:58 AM on October 28, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:58 AM on October 28, 2010 [3 favorites]
Best answer: In their own home? Maybe. In your home? No. Definitely not. Not even in the United States, which are less, uh, ZOMG PEDOS than the United Kingdom.
One of the incidents leading to me giving up the business was this. At a certain point, you realize that, should something go south, nothing you could do after that could possibly save you. In a legal sense, it's terrifying.
It's kind of a shame. I was good at it.
posted by adipocere at 11:04 AM on October 28, 2010
One of the incidents leading to me giving up the business was this. At a certain point, you realize that, should something go south, nothing you could do after that could possibly save you. In a legal sense, it's terrifying.
It's kind of a shame. I was good at it.
posted by adipocere at 11:04 AM on October 28, 2010
Best answer: Marlinspike, are you aware of this government initiative?
posted by genesta at 11:35 AM on October 28, 2010
posted by genesta at 11:35 AM on October 28, 2010
Some things to think about:
How are you going to find your students?
If not through friends, then I would advise at least contacting the CRB people.
Education has tended to be administed from the local level, have a look at this advice on home tutoring from the DfE and this very useful page on local contacts
Your local council should have an education/child protection team, who would be able to advise.
For example the advice from one council to parents:
East Sussex
In terms of getting CRB clearance.
When I've done it (3 times for different roles now), took about 4 weeks.
It will probably cost around £40 to have done.
For your own protection you might also want to consider joining a union,
the NUT seem to have some advice for professional long-term home tutors
NUT advice
Or the ATL (which is seen by Teachers as not as good)
ATL advice
Disclaimer: I'm a member of both.
Giving them a call can't do you any harm.
Anyway can you have the parent/guardian around during the lesson? Preferably within earshot, keep the door open etc. That wont completely protect you but it may be a big help.
Video taping you would need the parents permission, and well consult a lawyer about how you are meant to store it. Advantage of somewhere public is that they do all that for you.
IANAL etc.
posted by 92_elements at 11:35 AM on October 28, 2010
How are you going to find your students?
If not through friends, then I would advise at least contacting the CRB people.
Education has tended to be administed from the local level, have a look at this advice on home tutoring from the DfE and this very useful page on local contacts
Your local council should have an education/child protection team, who would be able to advise.
For example the advice from one council to parents:
East Sussex
In terms of getting CRB clearance.
When I've done it (3 times for different roles now), took about 4 weeks.
It will probably cost around £40 to have done.
For your own protection you might also want to consider joining a union,
the NUT seem to have some advice for professional long-term home tutors
NUT advice
Or the ATL (which is seen by Teachers as not as good)
ATL advice
Disclaimer: I'm a member of both.
Giving them a call can't do you any harm.
Anyway can you have the parent/guardian around during the lesson? Preferably within earshot, keep the door open etc. That wont completely protect you but it may be a big help.
Video taping you would need the parents permission, and well consult a lawyer about how you are meant to store it. Advantage of somewhere public is that they do all that for you.
IANAL etc.
posted by 92_elements at 11:35 AM on October 28, 2010
As a male, I will never put myself in a situation where I am alone with a minor for any amount of time. I've seen lives ruined.
posted by Brian Puccio at 11:55 AM on October 28, 2010
posted by Brian Puccio at 11:55 AM on October 28, 2010
As a male, I will never put myself in a situation where I am alone with a minor, with a drunk female aside from my SO, with a stranger who is a female regardless of mental state, anyone mentally disabled, etc. for any amount of time. I've seen lives ruined.
posted by Brian Puccio at 11:56 AM on October 28, 2010
posted by Brian Puccio at 11:56 AM on October 28, 2010
Best answer: Disclosure: I work in education, my wife is a teacher. My initial thought was 'hell no'. In a world where two police officers were investigated by ofsted for breaking the law by not being registered childminders - for babysitting for each others children for more than two hours a day, it doesn't seem a good idea.
I make damn sure I'm never alone in my office with a student with the door shut. Ever. As a male in education, it's just too damn easy for your life (and definitely your career) to be ruined by the slightest suspicion of something inappropriate.
I would talk to your local council education team, as suggested. There may well be a local agency or two handling tutors in your area they can point you towards. Such an agency would put you on their books, assist you in getting the CRB check done, and help put you in touch with parents/guardian of students looking for private tuition.
Generally, they will have guidelines on where to teach the child. At the child's home, with parent/guardian present seems to be common. In a recognised public place, that is set up for such tutoring - i.e. a library that has an area set aside for such, or a school that allows the use of its premises after hours - is another possibility.
But setting up at for study in your home alone, even with CRB check in hand and union membership? You'd have to be nuts, I think.
That all said, there are still plenty of tutors in my area that do offer tutoring in their own home, or indeed online, so everybody hasn't been scared off in the current climate at all.
With regards the ISA,
"In its recent document 'The Coalition: Our programme for government', the Government set out its aim to 'review the criminal records and vetting and barring regime and scale it back to common sense levels'.
The Home Secretary has announced, in a statement to parliament, the scope and the terms of reference of the review.
The review will be:
Considering the fundamental principles and objectives behind the vetting & barring regime, including;
Evaluating the scope of the scheme's coverage;
The most appropriate function, role and structures of any safeguarding bodies and appropriate governance arrangements;
Recommending what, if any, scheme is needed now; taking into account how to raise awareness and understanding of risk and responsibility for safeguarding in society more generally."
With the current quango burning going on, I think the ISA's days are numbered (though it's not on the list of quangos for the immediate chop). Certainly the vetting and barring scheme is going to be toast in its current form.
posted by ArkhanJG at 12:35 PM on October 28, 2010
I make damn sure I'm never alone in my office with a student with the door shut. Ever. As a male in education, it's just too damn easy for your life (and definitely your career) to be ruined by the slightest suspicion of something inappropriate.
I would talk to your local council education team, as suggested. There may well be a local agency or two handling tutors in your area they can point you towards. Such an agency would put you on their books, assist you in getting the CRB check done, and help put you in touch with parents/guardian of students looking for private tuition.
Generally, they will have guidelines on where to teach the child. At the child's home, with parent/guardian present seems to be common. In a recognised public place, that is set up for such tutoring - i.e. a library that has an area set aside for such, or a school that allows the use of its premises after hours - is another possibility.
But setting up at for study in your home alone, even with CRB check in hand and union membership? You'd have to be nuts, I think.
That all said, there are still plenty of tutors in my area that do offer tutoring in their own home, or indeed online, so everybody hasn't been scared off in the current climate at all.
With regards the ISA,
"In its recent document 'The Coalition: Our programme for government', the Government set out its aim to 'review the criminal records and vetting and barring regime and scale it back to common sense levels'.
The Home Secretary has announced, in a statement to parliament, the scope and the terms of reference of the review.
The review will be:
Considering the fundamental principles and objectives behind the vetting & barring regime, including;
Evaluating the scope of the scheme's coverage;
The most appropriate function, role and structures of any safeguarding bodies and appropriate governance arrangements;
Recommending what, if any, scheme is needed now; taking into account how to raise awareness and understanding of risk and responsibility for safeguarding in society more generally."
With the current quango burning going on, I think the ISA's days are numbered (though it's not on the list of quangos for the immediate chop). Certainly the vetting and barring scheme is going to be toast in its current form.
posted by ArkhanJG at 12:35 PM on October 28, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the answers, they've all been useful.
I guess I see it in the 'risks you might take' category, but the scale has definitely shifted to being much more wary. The temptation remains to make a unilateral declaration against the reality of the situation, more in line with how things should be. A further question, if anyone is inclined to answer, is whether you would distinguish between 14-15 year olds and 16-17 year olds, or indeed university students.
There is an excellent library nearby, but it's quite small, and they don't have obvious study space. I'll go down and ask tomorrow.
genesta: Thanks for the link. I'll follow it up, although I suspect I'm not qualified, not having a PGCE. I might be able to piggyback on their tuition locations, perhaps.
92_elements: Excellent idea about the union, I hadn't thought of that. On CRB: I am currently trying to find an 'umbrella organization' to run the check on me.
ArkhanJG: I'm reluctant to join an agency, because the examples I've seen do not present well (random SEO-heavy websites) and take a cut higher than my entire fee. It seems a shame that the ISA is dying in a way, it looks like a better idea for tutors than CRB: portable between employers, constantly updated etc. Hopefully they will just scale it back to a more reasonable list of professions, and to cover fewer individuals (preferably less than a fifth of the population).
posted by Marlinspike at 2:21 PM on October 28, 2010
I guess I see it in the 'risks you might take' category, but the scale has definitely shifted to being much more wary. The temptation remains to make a unilateral declaration against the reality of the situation, more in line with how things should be. A further question, if anyone is inclined to answer, is whether you would distinguish between 14-15 year olds and 16-17 year olds, or indeed university students.
There is an excellent library nearby, but it's quite small, and they don't have obvious study space. I'll go down and ask tomorrow.
genesta: Thanks for the link. I'll follow it up, although I suspect I'm not qualified, not having a PGCE. I might be able to piggyback on their tuition locations, perhaps.
92_elements: Excellent idea about the union, I hadn't thought of that. On CRB: I am currently trying to find an 'umbrella organization' to run the check on me.
ArkhanJG: I'm reluctant to join an agency, because the examples I've seen do not present well (random SEO-heavy websites) and take a cut higher than my entire fee. It seems a shame that the ISA is dying in a way, it looks like a better idea for tutors than CRB: portable between employers, constantly updated etc. Hopefully they will just scale it back to a more reasonable list of professions, and to cover fewer individuals (preferably less than a fifth of the population).
posted by Marlinspike at 2:21 PM on October 28, 2010
I've done tutoring 13-19 year olds on and off for about three years. I also know many others who tutor. The generally accepted standard is to teach in the tutee's home. I'm usually much more comfortable with doing this than using my own home.
If you are getting leads through an agency, they will often require a CRB check. If it's done privately, the check might not be necessary but certainly won't hurt. Perhaps I'm reckless, but after the first few lessons, parents often left me alone with my tutees and neither of us thought twice about this.
posted by turkeyphant at 5:26 PM on October 28, 2010
If you are getting leads through an agency, they will often require a CRB check. If it's done privately, the check might not be necessary but certainly won't hurt. Perhaps I'm reckless, but after the first few lessons, parents often left me alone with my tutees and neither of us thought twice about this.
posted by turkeyphant at 5:26 PM on October 28, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Marlinspike at 10:47 AM on October 28, 2010