Terms and Conditions
Introduction
By accessing the tutoring services, you agree to the following terms and conditions. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, you must not use the service.
About UPGRADE TUTORING
Rob Sanders is sole trader and founder of UPGRADE TUTORING. He is a qualified teacher in England and holds an enhanced DBS on the Update Service.
Fees and Payment
We offer a range of online services, principally English KS 2,3,4,5 and adult tutoring. We also offer creative writing tuition. Lessons are once per week, not fortnightly, monthly or on an ad hoc basis. If parents would like to book more than one lesson per week then this can be arranged by contacting the tutor.
- Group sessions cost £25 per student, per session, with a maximum of 6 students in the group.
- One-To-One sessions cost £45 per student, per session, with a maximum of 1 student in the session.
- A Level sessions cost £55 per student, per session, with a maximum of 1 student in the session.
- Creative Writing sessions cost £55 per student, per session, with a maximum of 1 student in the session.
Charges include lesson materials and 50 minutes of the tutor's direct time. The remaining 10 minutes of the hour are spent on technical and administrative tasks concerning the student(s). This might involve the arrangement of learning between online sessions. This adds up to 1 hour on tutor-student contact time per session.
Lesson fees are typically paid in bundles of 4 (monthly) or 6-8 (termly). Payment is always made in advance of the lessons. For example,
1 Group session per week (£25) x 6 weeks = £150
1 One-To-One session per week (£45) x 6 weeks = £270
1 A Level session per week (£55) x 6 weeks = £330
1 Creative Writing session per week (£55) x 6 weeks = £330
Parents will be invoiced for the arranged amount two weeks before the bundle of lessons being purchased will commence. Payment is then made by the parents through a bank transfer, using the UPGRADE TUTORING bank details. Fee amounts and bank account details can be located on the invoice.
Email reminders will be sent to assist parents who have forgotten to pay. If payment for a lesson has not been received an hour before the lesson is due to commence, then the Google Meet lesson link will not be issued to the student on that occasion. Parents will then be re-contacted to arrange student attendance for the next lesson. If a student misses three lessons in a row and parents have not responded to correspondence, then the tutor is at liberty to offer the space to a new student.
If a lesson is paid for and prepared by the tutor but not attended by the student then the fee or session will not be refunded. Do please contact the tutor regarded extenuating circumstances, however: for example, a medical emergency that required going to hospital instead of attending the tutoring session.
If lessons are paid for but attendance is sporadic - for example a student missing 3 of their 6 lessons but not in a row - then the tutor will contact the parent regarding the diminished effectiveness of the arrangement and future commitments. If the situation is unlikely to improve and lesson attendance continues to be sporadic then the tutor is at liberty to offer the space to a new student.
If a student is late to a lesson then the lesson is still charged at the same rate. There is no credit and no refunds. There are specific circumstances under which sessions will be rearranged that are detailed below.
Communication
Online sessions use the Google Meet video communication service (https://meet.google.com). Contact and communication will typically take place through parental email addresses and telephone numbers in the form of texts and telephone calls. Contact between the tutor and the student will only take place through contact methods supplied and approved by the parent (e.g. lesson reading materials sent by the tutor to the student email by ongoing arrangement with the parent).
The tutor can be contacted by the business email address and telephone number listed on the 'Contact Us' page found on the UPGRADE TUTORING website menu. Messages can be left on the telephone answering service outside of office hours and in the event of the tutor being engaged in an online session. The tutor will aim to respond to calls, messages and emails in a timely manner.
Booking Lessons
Session times are agreed between parent and tutor, with consideration of availability for both parties. Group sessions can contain up to a maximum of 6 students but as new groups are being organised they can run with fewer. If a parent has purchased group sessions but the group starts off with a single student, the parent will only be charged the group rate of £25 per session. New students may join the group at any time.
Cancelling Lessons
There is no refund if a parent contacts the tutor to cancel a lesson. One of the lessons in the bundle has simply been lost. Under some circumstances - for example, a medical emergency that required going to hospital - it is likely, although not obligatory, that the tutor would attempt to arrange a replacement session.
If the tutor needs to cancel a booked / scheduled lesson, then they will attempt to inform the parents and student in good time. If the cancellation circumstances are similar to the examples outlined above - a medical emergency or attendance of a parents' evening, for example, then the tutor will contact the parent and offer an alternative time for the online session.
If either parent or tutor is going on holiday and will not be around for online lessons to take place, then the other party should indicate this upon invoicing. That way, the invoice can be adapted and the fees being charged can omit the missing week(s).
Efforts to contact and inform the other party of an upcoming holiday absence as soon as is possible would be appreciated by both sides.
Absence
A lesson that is forgotten or otherwise unattended by the student will still be charged and will still count as 1 of the lessons in the bundle. The tutor will contact the parent to alert them to the fact that the lesson wasn't attended and remind them for the next week.
In the unlikely occurence that the tutor makes a mistake and fails to attend a booked / scheduled lesson, then they will offer an alternative time for the online session.
Lateness
Parents will communicate to students the importance of joining the lessons on time. If a student joins a sessions late then both student and tutor will try their best to assimilate them into what might be an ongoing lesson. There are no refunds for minutes in the lesson lost through lateness and time will not be able to be made up.
If the student(s) have not arrived in the online lesson after ten minutes then an email reminder will be sent by the tutor - although the needs of the student(s) already within the online session will be prioritised. If there are no students in the online session after 25 minutes despite the email reminders then the session will be closed and the student(s) regarded as absent (see above).
If a tutor is late to an online session or a session is forced to end early (for example, due to an unforeseen transport problem or a technical issue) then they will contact the parent and student as soon as is practical.
Whether the issue is lateness, lack of attendance or cancelling a lesson - understanding by both parties should be the expectation and a fair resolution the objective.
Online Lessons
Parents need to ensure that students are ready and on time for their online tutoring sessions. This includes the following: provide a quiet place for the student to work, free from interruptions and with access to suitable equipment and internet connection; assist the student with any technical aspects of logging on and setting up (e.g. Google Meet) using the Student Guide as needed; ensure that the student is dressed appropriately for a lesson; provide some basic equipment like writing utensils and paper; help the student understand that distractions need to be kept to a minimum during the session (e.g. muting the student's mobile phone and shutting down extra tabs on the computer); encouraging the student to be respectful to the tutor and any other learners. UPGRADE TUTORING does not accept responsibility for what is said or shown on screen by remote participants, and we expect parents/carers to be vigilant at all times. The parent/carer agrees that the pupil shall be deemed to be in the care and under the control of the parent/carer during the engagement of tuition services, and the parent/carer shall be responsible for the conduct and welfare of the pupil throughout the course. If students needs to leave the device / room, then they should inform the tutor. Parents should not leave the student alone in the house during the online session and should always be reachable.
Feedback
Supplied email addresses allow for communication regarding issues in individual lessons or progress as a whole. The tutor will be in contact with the parents at regular intervals to allow for collaboration, the reporting of progress and the modification of learning approaches. This will be increasingly relevant on the run up to test, mock assessments and end-of-course examinations.
Feedback on written work can be supplied before the lesson but is often accomplished through the process of 'live marking', done with the student in the lesson. It is important for the student to understand how conclusions are reached and marks / grades calculated and so there is little point in this process taking place separate from the session. Just as in a regular school classroom, individual students in group sessions can benefit from the feedback issued to peers.
Privacy
Parents and /or students will not share links to online lesson with anyone else. Parents and / or students will not record sessions, take screen captures or photographs of sessions. Parents and / or students will not share with others online lesson materials used in Upgrade Tutoring sessions.
Safeguarding and Data Protection
All tutors have an Enhanced DBS as well as Public Liability Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance. For students, online sessions are best undertaken in a throughfare space like a kitchen, with doors and curtains open. Parents / carers are encouraged to be in the vicinity. Texts and resources employed in online lessons will be appropriate (e.g. could be used in a school lesson). The tutor’s background will be filtered on their camera. If the tutor has any safeguarding concerns then as per the Safeguarding policy, other agencies will be notified. Please see more detailed information on our Safeguarding page and Safeguarding policy.
All data will be held on password protected computers and any data on physical papers will be kept in locked cabinets or boxes. No data relating to the student or student’s family will be shared outside of UPGRADE TUTORING. Please see more detailed information in our Privacy and GDPR Policy, which can be accessed on the website menu.
Intellectual Property Rights and Computer Misuse
The basic principle of UK copyright law is that copyright protection is automatic and that there is no need to register a work in order to copyright it. Therefore, the teaching materials would be copyright protected once they were expressed in a material form (in digital/printed format). The '©' symbol, with the name of the copyright owner and the month and year of its creation/publication, appears on UPGRADE TUTORING materials and serves as a note to others regarding the year in which the term of protection began and would indicate to them the person to be approached in case they needed permission to use the work.
You agree that you will not infringe Upgrade Tutoring's intellectual property (including its trademarks and copyright) and will not reproduce, screenshot, photograph, modify, copy, adapt, sell, publish, distribute, circulate or communicate any part of the online lessons or materials, including images of staff.
You must not misuse our website by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our site, the server on which our site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our site. You must not attack our site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack. By breaching the above provisions, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act (1990). We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with these authorities by disclosing your identity to them.
We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a distributed denial-of-service attack, viruses or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our site or to your downloading of any material posted on it or any website linked to it.
Conduct
UPGRADE TUTORING staff aim to conduct themselves professionally - during online tutor sessions and in communication outside of online sessions - in the same fashion as the student's school teachers.
Students and parents/carers are to refrain from using aggressive, inappropriate or disrespectful language (verbally or in written communication) and/or behaviour before, during and after the entire length of services undertaken. Any behaviour conducted by the student, parents or individuals connected to them that is deemed inappropriate will result in the immediate termination of services.
Under no circumstances, prior to, during or after accessing any of our services, will the student, parent or individuals connected to them harm, discredit or negatively impact the reputation, business or character of UPGRADE TUTORING, or Rob and Tracy Sanders personally, in anyway, via any means, including but not limited to: negatively commenting or posting about us on any social media platform; leaving false reviews on any platform; making false allegations.
Satisfaction
It is important that students and their parents/ carers are happy with the service that UPGRADE TUTORING provides. In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with the service provided to you, you are asked to make contact via email or phone to discuss the issue so we can attempt to resolve it.
Outcomes
Just like parents, tutors try their best with young people. An excellent coach or trainer might do their best with a competitor and still that competitor might be defeated by the circumstances of the day. There are so many factors at play in a child's life that it is difficult to know where the influence of one person or situation begins and another ends. Consider the following far from exhaustive list in terms of factors that can be positive or negative in terms of a student's academic performance: student's maturity irrespective of their age; effectiveness of the school in managing the student day-to-day; experience of bullying; effectiveness of the school teacher in delivering content; relationship with teaching and pastoral staff; home life happiness and stability; family relationships; friendship groups; the impact of adolescent hormones; romantic relationships; mental health issues - currently known and unknown; special educational needs - currently known and unknown; cultural background; self-esteem status; role models in both the family and wider society; genetics; past trauma - currently known and unknown; clear life goals; substance abuse; addiction to patterns of behaviour (video games!); the emotional effect of past poor performance; lost opportunities to make progress in the past - and a thousand more.
It becomes clear, therefore, that the engagement of a tutor is not a 'fix all' solution to all of the impediments that a student might be experiencing. A tutor cannot absolutely guarantee the achievement of an academic outcome - like a target grade - any more than a parent or the student themself can. Target grades don't even work that way: the target grade a student in school is simply in the middle of a range of grades that it is calculated they might fairly achieve. A student predicted a Level 6 might legitimately achieve a Level 8 or a Level 4, depending upon the positive and negative interplay of some of the factors listed above. Consider a student who works hard in class and has tuition also. They ace their mock examinations and are predicted to exceed their target grade because they are doing so well. Then, on the day of the examination, the pressure and weight of expectation gets to them and they shut down. They sit there and don't write anything. Despite the parent, tutor and student working very effectively together, the grade still did not materialise.
A further significant consideration are external factors like the examination boards changing the pass mark for different grades each year - which is a common practice. Imagine two siblings one year apart receiving exactly the same tutoring, writing exactly the same in their exam and getting exactly the same pass mark. It is entirely possible that they will receive two different grades on their certificates, since examination boards set the grade boundaries after the students have completed their course and crucially their exams. All teachers and tutors are therefore working with information like pass marks that are at least one year out of date. No tutor can make absolute guarantees with such factors in play.
If nothing is guaranteed, then why engage a tutor? Tutors are a powerful factor that help to level the playing field. The intervention of a tutor makes it more likely that the positives shine through, giving those positives a better chance of negating what might be some significant negatives. Tutoring is like an insurance policy or a life jacket. Neither absolutely ensure desired outcomes but you are glad you have the benefit of them in challenging circumstances. Students are indeed facing the challenge of life-changing examinations. When they walk into that examination hall, they too are glad that they have had the benefit of extra tutoring. It might just be enough to tip the balance, to the relief and celebration of all involved. So, there are no guaranteed outcomes, only improved chances - and common sense dictates that the engagement of a tutor, with the improvements in student knowledge, skill and effort that extra tuition fosters, does just that. It improves the chances of a desired outcome but it does not ensure it.
Given the above, Upgrade Tutoring does not guarantee student progress or achievement by the student of a specific desired academic outcome. Parents agree to this reality and acknowledge the range of factors beyond the provided tuition that might affect an outcome. Parents agree and acknowledge that the student's ability may not improve or may not improve in the manner that they anticipate. UPGRADE TUTORING makes no promises or warranties with regard to the student's performance as a result of any tutoring provided. Parents agree to release Upgrade Tutoring and its founders from all liability (including liability for negligence) for any loss or damages (including direct, indirect, special or consequential loss) arising out of or connected with the student's enrolment and use of the tuition services. To the extent permitted by law, UPGRADE TUTORING's liability to parents arising under or in connection with the provision of the tuition services are limited to the supply of the tuition services again or the payment of the cost of having the previous services supplied again. The parent/carer agrees to indemnify UPGRADE TUTORING against any liabilities or losses, which can include loss of profit, which may arise from any act or omission of the parent, carer or child.
Breaks in Tuition
Many parents wish to continue sessions through holiday times as research does show that taking extended breaks results in a regression of the student's skill set. This is certainly possible but parents will need to contact the tutor in regards to this arrangement, since different students living in different areas have different term times and holidays. Parents and students who wish to take time off during the breaks between terms can, of course, do so - again keeping the tutor informed.
If a family has an annual holiday coming up then a short break can be arranged with the tutor. Breaks for reasons other than family holidays and term breaks cannot be arranged, however. The erratic nature of such an expectation makes it impossible to plan ahead - financially or academically - and so would negate the purpose of the tuition.
Termination
Both tutor and parent have the right to terminate sessions at any time. No specific reason is required to terminate sessions. Open communication is encouraged, however, since termination is likely to be disruptive to both parties and a helpful resolution might be reached.
A tutor's termination of sessions is a rare occurence but it can happen. For example, a student in a One-To-One session acting inappropriately or a group member in a group session making it difficult for the other students to learn would warrant the termination of sessions. This would likely be after communication with parents and opportunities to fix the problem have failed to resolve the issue. Again, this would likely have run up to the end of a lesson bundle but if termination occurred before the completion of the bundle then there would be no refund for the remaining sessions.
A natural time for both parties to agree to terminate sessions might be after the conclusion of the final examination on a student's course. Parents and students may wish, however, to continue the benefits of the tutoring sessions into a new key stage or relevant course.
Amendment
UPGRADE TUTORING may amend these terms and conditions, including tuition fees, at any time. The latest version of our Terms and Conditions will be published on our website.
Approval
Acceptance of the services will be taken to represent agreement to these Terms and Conditions.
Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us at
rsanders@upgrade-tutoring.co.uk
Reviewed and updated: September 2025