Safety Policy

Status: draft for legal review. Not yet in force.

Last updated: [[LAST_UPDATED_DATE]]

This policy gives practical guidance. Following it reduces risk. It does not eliminate risk, and SkillSplore does not guarantee anyone's safety. You are responsible for your own decisions about who you meet and what you arrange.

Before you arrange anything Read the whole profile, not just the headline. Check what any verification badge actually says it checked. A badge is not a police check unless it says so. Ask about qualifications, registrations and insurance where they matter, and ask to see evidence for anything regulated. Keep the conversation on the platform until you are comfortable.

Online sessions Use a platform you already trust for video. You do not have to turn your camera on. Do not install software someone asks you to install to "join" a lesson. Do not share your screen if it shows anything private. If a session involves a child, an adult should be present or nearby, and the session should happen in a shared area of the house.

In-person sessions Meet somewhere public for the first session where that is practical — a library, a café, a community centre. Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. Arrange your own transport. Trust your instincts. You can end a session at any time, and you do not owe anyone an explanation for leaving.

Sessions involving children The adult arranges everything and holds the account. Be present, or nearby with the door open. Do not leave a child alone with someone you have just met. Do not give out the child's school, timetable, address or contact details. Any private contact between a provider and a child outside the arrangement you made is a red flag. Report it.

Qualifications

Ask directly. Ask for a registration number where one exists, and check it against the public register yourself — most regulators publish one.

SkillSplore reviews profiles before they are published. That review does not verify identity, does not verify qualifications unless a badge expressly says so, and is not a criminal background check.

Payment Agree the price and what it includes before the first session. Be very cautious about large upfront payments for a block of sessions with someone you have not met. Be suspicious of anyone who pressures you to pay quickly, pay by an unusual method, or move payment off-platform urgently. SkillSplore does not process lesson payments and cannot recover money for you. There is no escrow and no buyer protection.

Boundaries

A teaching relationship is a professional one. Nobody should be asking you for personal photographs, your home address when the session is online, your financial details, a personal relationship, or contact through channels you did not agree to.

Reporting and emergencies Immediate danger: contact your local emergency services first. Concern about a child: contact your local police or child protection authority, then tell us at admin@skillsplore.org. Anything else: use the report button, or email admin@skillsplore.org.

We aim to review reports involving a risk to a child ahead of everything else.