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Following are guidelines for how tuition sessions are conducted. Please read through and reply to mike.smith@physics.org with any further questions.
Note:
- Customer here refers to a parent, a guardian, other adult with responsibility for the student, or the person paying for tuition. This applies when the student is under 18 year of age or is not paying for the tuition. If the student is 18 or over and paying for tuition, then customer and student are the same person.
- Zoom is the only video conferencing facilities used at time of writing.
Security & Safeguarding:
- all sessions can be terminated by either party at any point;
- all sessions involving anyone under the age of 18 years must be supervised by the customer;
- all sessions for tutoring or other meeting associated with Michael A Smith Tutoring will be recorded;
- Offensive and inappropriate materials will be reported the relevant authorities;
- See terms & conditions for further details;
- See privacy statement for further details.
Before the Session:
- Tuition is generally available from nine thirty in the morning until nine at night Monday to Sunday. Sessions outside of these hours are on a case-by-case basis. There's limited availability on Mondays and Saturday obviously due to Bank Holidays and for meetings. Days become fully booked once at least 4 students have booked that day.
- Please ensure all textbooks, pdf’s (Adobe Reader pdf viewer downloader) and other electronic documents are available to both parties. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure the tutor knows which textbooks you propose to use. If the customer or student has material which we will be working from (prep, worksheets, classroom notes) then these must be shared before the session starts. The tutor will similarly share relevant materials.
- All electronic materials can be sent via email or WhatsApp. Paperwork can be scanned in using a scanner, via Office Lens (see below) or clear photographs and then shared via email or WhatsApp.
Starting the Session:
- Customer or student can call up to five minutes before the nominal start time.
- Once the call is established the caller should start recording the session (See How do I record my skype calls?). The tutor will start recording if not started by the caller and record the entire session. This will aid understanding by enabling the student to review the session again. Recordings may also be used by tutors for security and training purposes.
- Please ensure you call within twenty minutes after the nominal start time otherwise the session will be cancelled and a cancelation fees may apply.
During the Session:
Most of the session will be conducted via a collabrative whiteboard. When, for any reason, a collaborative whiteboard are not available then the tutor will work from OpenBoard. It is recommended that the student have access to a touch screen device or a graphics tablet. Further documents will be shared via email, WhatsApp or other messaging service within the session copying in the customer where possible.
Ending the Session:
Please ensure any follow-on sessions are confirmed along with any prep to be completed.
After the Session:
The tutor will update the student page to reflect the work done, any prep and revision including the whiteboard and video recordings. Any payment will be invoiced at the end of the calendar month via email with bank details unless arranged otherwise.
Last updated Friday, 10th July 2025. These guidelines are updated ad hoc & without notice.
