Tutor Code of Conduct

About This Code

This Code sets the standard of behaviour expected of every TutorMunk tutor. It forms part of the Tutor Engagement Agreement and is signed separately. A breach of this Code is a material breach of that agreement and may end the engagement immediately.

Read it properly. Most of it is common sense, but the parts about contact, privacy and boundaries are the ones that protect a child, and they protect you as well. Following them means there is never any ambiguity about what happened in a session.

Our Expectations

As a TutorMunk tutor you will:

• put the safety and wellbeing of the student ahead of everything else;
• treat every student, family member and colleague with courtesy and respect;
• arrive on time, prepared, and finish on time;
• teach to the NSW NESA syllabus for the student's stage and subject;
• write an honest, useful session note after every session and submit it on time;
• give feedback that is accurate and constructive, including when progress is slow;
• dress and present appropriately for a family home or a tutoring centre;
• keep your Working with Children Check, driver licence and Australian Business Number current, and tell us straight away if anything changes;
• raise any concern about a child, a family or another tutor promptly.

Child Safety

TutorMunk has zero tolerance for child abuse, neglect and exploitation. You commit to the safety, participation and wellbeing of every child you work with and to practise consistently with the NSW Child Safe Standards.

If you have a concern about a child's safety, report it to TutorMunk the same day at hello@tutormunk.com.au, and phone 1300 00MUNK (1300 006 865) if it is urgent. If a child is in immediate danger, call 000 first. If a child discloses something to you, listen, do not press for detail, never promise to keep it secret, write down what was said in their own words as soon as you can, and report it. Never investigate it yourself and never raise it with the family first.

Reporting a concern in good faith will never count against you.

Prohibited Conduct

You must not:

• contact a student outside a TutorMunk session, by phone, message, email, social media or in person;
• arrange or deliver private tutoring with a TutorMunk student or family, whether paid or unpaid;
• meet a student anywhere other than a scheduled TutorMunk session;
• transport a student in a vehicle, in any circumstances;
• be alone with a student behind a closed door, or in a bedroom, at any time;
• continue a session in a home where no responsible adult is present;
• give your personal phone number, social media details or home address to a student;
• accept or give gifts, money or loans to a student or their family;
• photograph, film or record a student, their work or their home without written parental consent;
• use profanity, or language that demeans, belittles, intimidates or sexualises a student;
• discuss sexual matters, partisan politics, or anything else not appropriate to the student's age;
• attend a session under the influence of alcohol or any impairing substance;
• smoke or vape in or near a family home or the centre;
• form or attempt to form a personal or romantic relationship with a student or a family member;
• use physical discipline, or any form of punishment, at any time;
• share anything about a student, a family or their home with anyone outside TutorMunk.

Professional Boundaries

You are in someone's home, and warmth is part of doing this job well. Boundaries are what keep that warmth safe.

• Be friendly with students without becoming their friend.
• Keep conversation on the work and on school. Do not share personal problems with a student.
• Do not offer advice outside your role, particularly on health, family or personal matters. Bring concerns to TutorMunk.
• If a family invites you to a social occasion, decline politely and tell TutorMunk.
• If a family asks you to tutor privately, decline and tell TutorMunk the same day. It is not a personal offence, and reporting it is expected.
• If a student develops an attachment or behaves inappropriately, do not handle it alone. Report it.

In the Home

The full requirements are in the TutorMunk In-Home and Centre Safety Policy. The essentials:

• Work at a table in an open area, never a bedroom, with the door open.
• A responsible adult must be in the home throughout.
• Do not move through the home beyond the working area, other than to use a bathroom, and ask first.
• Accept nothing beyond a glass of water or a cup of tea.
• Complete the session record and have the adult present sign it.

Privacy and Confidentiality

• Family addresses are strictly confidential. Do not share them, and do not keep them once an engagement ends.
• Do not keep student records on a personal device beyond what you need for the next session.
• Do not discuss one family with another, and do not discuss a student on social media in any form, including without names.
• Confidentiality continues after your engagement ends. The one exception is child safety, which is always reported.

Honesty in Teaching

• Do not do the student's work for them, and do not write their assessment tasks.
• Do not help a student cheat or plagiarise, and explain why if you are asked to.
• Do not promise a mark, a band, a rank or a placement. Tutoring supports learning, it does not guarantee an outcome.
• Report progress honestly, including when it is slower than the family hoped.

Reporting a Breach

If you see or suspect a breach of this Code by another tutor, report it to hello@tutormunk.com.au. You will be supported, and you will not be disadvantaged for raising it.

Consequences

A breach of this Code may result in additional training, a formal warning, being stood down while a matter is looked into, or immediate termination of your engagement. Conduct that puts a child at risk will result in immediate termination and referral to the appropriate authority.

Contact Us

Email: hello@tutormunk.com.au

Phone: 1300 00MUNK (1300 006 865)

Business address: Level 27, International Towers, 100 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney NSW 2000

Tutoring centre: TutorMunk Gregory Hills, The HUB, 31 Lasso Road, Gregory Hills NSW 2557

Website: tutormunk.com.au

Acknowledgement

I have read and understood the TutorMunk Tutor Code of Conduct. I agree to comply with it for the whole of my engagement. I understand that a breach may end my engagement immediately, and that conduct putting a child at risk will be reported to the appropriate authority.