What is Disintermediation?
Disintermediation is an action taken by a tutor to take communication with a parent or student off our platform. It also includes transferring money for delivering lessons off our platform by using alternative video communication tools.
The most common examples of disintermediation are:
Sharing personal information (email, phone number etc) with parents & students
Sharing social media links, or alternative platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc
Why is it important not to disintermediate?
Online risks are posed more by behaviours than by the technology itself. Sharing personal information breaches our Code of Conduct and goes against KCSIE (Keeping Children Safe In Education) guidelines. Communicating outside of the platform isn’t monitored so this can also become a safeguarding concern.
What should I do if a parent asks me for my contact details?
We know that it can be difficult if a parent puts you on the spot and asks you for personal information.
So we’ve drafted a short message that you can use if you ever find yourself in this situation.
Hi [parent name],
I understand that you’d like to have my [phone number/email address] to make communicating and booking lessons easier. I can’t share these details with you, as it goes against MyTutor’s Code of Conduct (which I agreed to when I joined).
Their code is in place to make sure all lessons are safe & secure for both students & tutors.
If you’re having issues with receiving messages or notifications on your account, please get in touch with MyTutor support directly by emailing support@mytutor.co.uk or you can catch them on live chat for a quick response. They’ll be able to help you.
If you are still concerned that the parent hasn’t quite understood the issues with sharing their personal details just get in touch with us and we’ll happily discuss this further with them.
What if my student/parent wants to share their exam results with me after our lessons have finished?
Parents still have access to their MyTutor account even if they don’t have any lessons booked with you, so they can send you a message with their child’s results. Likewise, you can ask them to write a review on your profile to help improve your stats.
What do I do if we have tech issues in lessons and the parent requests continuing lessons on a different platform?
We get that tech issues can be a real headache. Our recommended quick fixes can solve the most common issues, and our Tech FAQs have more info to help resolve any audio or connection issues.
But if at any point you want to speak to an expert from our Tech Support team about persistent tech issues, we're more than happy for you to book a Tech Support Session with us. Telling us about the issues, and how often you face them, will help us to get them fixed ASAP.
Why can't I give my personal details/social media accounts to my students if they are a university student as we are technically peers?
When using MyTutor you agree to our Code of Conduct (which includes a clause that all communication needs to take place on our platform).
Any communication taken off the platform isn’t monitored, so instantly becomes a safeguarding concern - regardless of the age of your student.