Safeguarding Policy

1. Purpose

PrepSkul is committed to reducing risk for everyone on our platform—learners, parents, and tutors. This Safeguarding Policy sets out expectations for onsite and online sessions and how we respond when something goes wrong. We do not claim to eliminate all risk; we reduce it through verification, clear rules, reporting, and evidence-based decisions.

2. For Learners (especially minors)

• Parent or guardian presence: For learners under 18, a parent or guardian should be present at home or immediately reachable during onsite sessions.
• Sessions in visible areas: Onsite sessions should take place in visible areas of the home, not behind closed doors.
• No closed-door one-on-one: A tutor must not be alone in a locked or closed room with a minor.
• No inappropriate physical contact: Physical contact must be limited to what is acceptable in a professional teaching context.

3. Reporting

If anything feels wrong during or after a session, anyone involved can report it. In the PrepSkul app, use "Something wrong? Report issue" (e.g. "Felt unsafe," "Tutor no-show," "Location issue"). That creates a safety incident and notifies our team.

We investigate using the evidence we have (session timeline, check-in, location, feedback) and may warn, suspend, or bar accounts. We support the affected party and do not force tutors back into households where they felt unsafe.

4. Zero Tolerance for Abuse

Abuse by anyone—tutor or parent—is not tolerated. This includes:

• By tutors: No-show, harassment, misconduct, or any behavior that puts a learner at risk.
• By parents or learners: Harassment of a tutor, false claims that a session did not happen to avoid payment, threatening behavior, or any abuse of the reporting or dispute system.

We will warn, suspend, or bar accounts as appropriate and support the affected party. We use documented evidence (sessions, check-in, incidents, feedback) to make decisions.

5. Escalation and Blacklist Protocol

When we receive a safeguarding report or detect serious risk signals, we follow an escalation process. We do not promise a specific outcome in every case, but we act on the evidence we have.

• 1. Receive and triage: We log the report or incident, review the session timeline, check-in, and any prior incidents, and assign a severity level.
• 2. Protect first: For serious concerns, we may immediately pause sessions or bookings between the parties involved while we review, so no one is forced back into a situation that feels unsafe.
• 3. Investigate: We use available evidence (session data, messages, feedback, and reports from each side) to understand what happened.
• 4. Decide and act: Depending on severity and patterns, we may warn, temporarily suspend, or permanently bar (blacklist) tutors or households from using PrepSkul.
• 5. Cooperate where required: In serious cases, and where the law requires or permits, we may cooperate with authorities and share relevant records.

Blacklisting means that an account, and in some cases a person or household, is not allowed to use PrepSkul in the future. We use this in line with our evidence and local law, focusing on safety for learners, tutors, and families.

6. Contact

For safeguarding concerns or questions, contact us at info@prepskul.com. We take all reports seriously and respond in line with this policy.