On this page
- Is online tutoring safe for children?
- What checks should an online tutor have passed?
- Who else can see or hear the lesson?
- How should a tutor contact your child outside lessons?
- Where should online lessons take place?
- What questions should you ask before you book?
- What are the warning signs of an unsafe tutor or service?
- What should you do if something feels wrong?
- What to do next
Short answer
Online tutoring is safe when a few rules are in place. The tutor has passed identity, reference and, where possible, criminal record checks. Lessons run on a platform the service controls, at a desk in a shared room. Another adult can see or hear the class, through a parent nearby, a supervisor or a recording. And the tutor never contacts your child outside the lesson. Ask any tutor or service about each of these before the first class.
Key takeaways
- Ask how tutors are checked: identity, references and record checks such as DBS in England and Wales or a Working with Children Check in Australia.
- A safe online class can be seen or heard by another adult: a parent nearby, a supervisor or a recording.
- Tutors should contact you, the parent, and never message your child directly outside the lesson.
- Lessons should run on a platform the service controls, at a desk in a shared room, not in a bedroom.
- A trustworthy tutor or service welcomes safety questions and answers them clearly.
Where TaleemSquare fits
- Format
- Live one-to-one math lessons online
- Price
- From $85 a month for 2 classes a week (about $10.63 a class)
- Fees and contract
- No registration fee, no contract, cancel any month
- First step
- Free 45-minute assessment, then a 4-class money-back promise
How we wrote this
TaleemSquare is an online tutoring service, so we have a stake in this topic. The checklist below comes from UK government, NSPCC and Australian government guidance for parents, listed at the end, and applies to any tutor or service, including us.
Most parents worry about the same thing when they first book online lessons: who is on the other side of the screen with my child? It is a fair question, and a good tutor or service will be glad you asked it.
Online tutoring can be safer than a stranger in your home, because you can stay in the next room and lessons can be watched back. But that only holds if the right rules are in place. This guide sets out what to check, what to ask and which answers should worry you.
Is online tutoring safe for children?
It can be, but you cannot assume it. Private tutoring is lightly regulated in most places. The UK Department for Education says there is no single legal framework for clubs, tutors and coaches, and that their staff are not typically inspected by any regulator. Rules differ in the US, Canada and Australia, so ask what checks apply where the tutor lives, and expect to do much of the checking yourself.
The good news is that online lessons make a few strong safeguards easy. You can sit nearby without being in the way, a second adult can join the call, and lessons can be recorded. Before the first class, ask the tutor or service how each of the checks below is handled.
What checks should an online tutor have passed?
The NSPCC says the minimum is a criminal record check and full reference checks, and that a tutor should be able to show you current references and their certificate. If an agency or company employs the tutor, it should confirm those checks before the tutor starts.
- Identity. The service should confirm the tutor is who they say they are.
- References. Ask whether references were taken up and checked, not just collected.
- Criminal record checks. In England and Wales this is a DBS check, and GOV.UK says a self-employed tutor whose work counts as regulated activity can now apply for an enhanced check with barred lists. In Australia, ask about a Working with Children Check. In the US and Canada, ask what background check was run and in which country.
- Subject and teaching checks. A subject test and a sample lesson show the tutor can teach, which matters for your money as well as your child.
Many online tutors live in a different country from you, and national record checks do not always cross borders. If a service cannot show a criminal record check for a tutor, ask plainly what it does instead. We do not currently run criminal record checks, for example, so our tutors page explains the other checks we use and the rules we run in every class.
Who else can see or hear the lesson?
This is the single most useful question to ask. The NSPCC advises parents not to leave a child alone with a tutor and go out, and to make sure they or another adult are within earshot. GOV.UK suggests you may wish to supervise one-to-one sessions, and lists adults having unsupervised one-to-one contact with children, without the parent's consent, as a warning sign.
Online, there are three ways to make sure a lesson is never truly private:
- A parent nearby. Your child works in a shared room and you can drop in at any moment.
- A supervisor in the class. Some services have a second staff member join every lesson.
- Recordings. Every lesson is recorded, and you can ask to watch any of them.
The strongest setups combine all three. Ask whether you can join any lesson without warning, whether lessons are recorded, how long recordings are kept and who can see them.
How should a tutor contact your child outside lessons?
Through you. The NSPCC says the tutor should contact the parent, not the child, and should never have direct contact with your child outside a session. Agree how you will communicate before lessons start, by text, phone or email, and make sure every message about scheduling or homework comes to you.
The Australian Government's National Office for Child Safety suggests asking a simple question: do you use a platform to contact parents or children, and can children be contacted directly? For a tutor, the safest answer is that children are never contacted directly. Be wary of a tutor who messages your child, asks to move lessons to a personal app or social media, or suggests keeping anything from you. Those are reasons to stop lessons and raise it with the service straight away.
Where should online lessons take place?
NSPCC guidance for tutors says both tutor and child should sit at a desk or table, with a neutral background, and that it is best practice never to teach in a bedroom. If a bedroom cannot be avoided, it suggests extra steps such as blurring the background so the room cannot be seen.
A few practical rules help at home:
- Set up at a kitchen table or in a shared room, with the screen facing into the room.
- Use the platform the service provides, in a private room with a password, rather than a personal video call account.
- Keep the door open, and check in during the first few lessons.
- Ask the service how recordings are stored and who can watch them; the NSPCC says safeguards need to be in place before any session is recorded.
What questions should you ask before you book?
GOV.UK says a well-run, trustworthy provider will welcome questions. These are the ones worth asking any tutor or tutoring company:
| Question | What a good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| How are your tutors checked? | A clear list, such as identity, references, record checks where available, a subject test and a sample lesson |
| Can another adult see or hear every lesson? | Yes, through a supervisor, a recording or an open invitation for you to join |
| Are lessons recorded, and can I watch them? | Yes, with a clear rule on how long recordings are kept and who can see them |
| Will the tutor ever contact my child directly? | No, all contact goes through the parent |
| Who leads on safeguarding, and what training have they had? | A named person with recent child protection training |
| How do I raise a concern? | A written complaints and child protection policy you can read before you start |
What are the warning signs of an unsafe tutor or service?
GOV.UK lists warning signs for parents choosing a tutor or club. The ones that matter most online are:
- No clear way to report a concern, and no named person responsible for safeguarding.
- Unsupervised one-to-one contact with your child that you did not agree to.
- Staff who have not completed relevant checks or training.
- No complaints process, and no online safety policy.
Add your own common sense. A tutor or company that gets defensive about safety questions, will not put answers in writing, or pushes you to pay before you have seen a lesson is not one to trust with your child.
What should you do if something feels wrong?
Stop the lessons first and ask questions later. Raise the concern with the tutoring service, and ask for the recording of any lesson you are worried about. In the UK, you can also call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or contact your local authority designated officer, and the police on 999 if a child is in immediate danger. Elsewhere, contact your local police or child protection service.
Talk to your child calmly, too. Ask them regularly how lessons are going, which the NSPCC recommends, so that they are used to telling you about their classes.
What to do next
- Copy the questions in the table above and ask them before you book any tutor, including us.
- Read how we run our own classes on our child safety page: a female supervisor joins every math and reading class live, every lesson is recorded, you can join any class without notice, and tutors never contact a child outside the lesson.
- See a lesson for yourself first. Book a free 45-minute math assessment, or look at our online reading tutoring, and sit in on the whole session.
- If you are still deciding between online and home lessons, read our guide to online vs in-person tutoring.
Sources
- 1.GOV.UK, Department for Education, Using after-school clubs, tuition and community activities Guidance for parents in England on choosing a tutor or club: questions to ask, DBS checks and warning signs. Updated 6 February 2026.
- 2.NSPCC, Finding a tutor for your child Criminal record and reference checks as a minimum, agreeing boundaries, and tutors contacting the parent rather than the child. Checked Oct 2026.
- 3.NSPCC Learning, Safeguarding and child protection for tutors Advice for tutors on DBS checks, online lessons, bedrooms, recordings and keeping a parent nearby. Updated 2 April 2026.
- 4.Australian Government National Office for Child Safety, Having conversations with organisations Questions parents can ask about Working with Children Checks, recordings and whether children can be contacted directly. Checked Oct 2026.
Written and fact-checked by the TaleemSquare Editorial Team
We research every figure against the provider's own pages or independent sources, list them above, and update posts when prices or policies change. See our editorial process and teaching method.
