Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction

1.1 The SMC Teach Website has been setup to provide students with free educational support. All of these terms and conditions apply to Students and Tutors, unless they specifically state otherwise, or are marked with a “T”, when they only apply to Tutors. Clause 5 only applies to Tutors. These terms and conditions replace any previous versions of them.

1.2 The SMC Teach Website is owned and operated by SMC Worldwide Ltd, trading as SMC Teach. SMC Worldwide Ltd is a limited liability company registered in England and Wales under company number 11112821. SMC Teach’s registered office is at Keltan House, 115 Mare St, Hackney, London E8 4RU. SMC Teach’s other contact details are set out on the Website, which is at https://smcteach.com.

1.3 A User may register on the Website as a Student. A User may use the Website without registering, but if a User does register, certain information will be stored, making future visits to the Website easier.

1.4 By registering on or using our Website, the User agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are legally binding – every User should read them fully before agreeing to them. (Please print or save these terms for future use as SMC Teach will not keep a file copy specifically for the User and SMC Teach cannot guarantee that they will remain accessible on the Website in future.) If a User does not wish to be bound by these terms, they should not use the Website.

1.5 (“T”) Where the person who agrees these terms and conditions contracts on behalf of a company/organisation, they hereby confirm that they have authority to act on behalf of that entity.

1.6 Certain words are defined in clause 16 (Definitions) of these terms and conditions and are capitalised throughout.

2. SMC Teach Rights & Responsibilities

This clause sets out what SMC Teach promises to do:

2.1 To help Tutors and Students to meet for professional tuition services on the Website, and Students to book Lessons

2.2 To maintain a functioning Website, including communication systems, a booking platform and Online Classroom, wherever possible. SMC Teach cannot guarantee that the Website will always be available, or that it will always work, but it will try to have it up and running properly at all times. Every now and again, the Website might need to be taken offline for maintenance purposes.

2.3 To communicate any planned maintenance of the Website or downtime.

2.4 To use reasonable endeavours (which means to try hard!) to keep the Website free from viruses and worms.

2.5 To use reasonable endeavours to check the identity of all Tutors and the background checks of Tutors who have Background Checked Status. (But if a Student is concerned about any Tutor, do not meet a Tutor alone.)

2.6 To decide when a Tutor’s profile is sufficiently complete to be set live on the Website and be accessible by other Users.

2.7 To communicate new Bookings, confirmation of Bookings and cancellations, to both Students and Tutors via the Website and by email (except where a Student or Tutor has chosen to alter their notification settings to exclude email communication).

2.8 To endeavour to ensure that each Student’s Lesson is free.

2.9 To endeavour to ensure Complaints are considered promptly and in accordance with these terms and conditions.

2.10 To take precautions SMC Teach considers appropriate to protect Students’ and Tutors’ information.

2.11 To monitor postings made on the Website and messages sent between Students and Tutors. SMC Teach does so in the hope of helping Students and Tutors meet, but also to stop misuse of the Website, as set out in these terms and conditions.

3. User Responsibilities – this applies to both Students and Tutors, and anyone else who uses the Website

3.1 Users are responsible for their own security in conjunction with the services through the Website, both online and offline.

3.2 Users are solely responsible for the material they post on the Website, including messages sent, and they must not post defamatory, offensive or illegal material.

3.3 Users must immediately report to SMC Teach any defamatory, offensive or illegal material they view on the Website.

3.4 Users must exercise their own judgement regarding the accuracy of information provided on the Website. SMC Teach cannot and does not guarantee that all of the content on the Website is complete, accurate or up-to-date.

3.5 Users must contact SMC Teach immediately if they believe their password has been compromised. Users will be responsible for the actions of any interactions conducted in their name until they have notified SMC Teach that they believe their password has been compromised.

3.6 Users must not use the Website with the intention of engaging directly with other Users outside of the SMC Teach environment. Users must not promote opportunities or services of any company other than SMC Teach on the Website.

3.7 Users agree to abide by the Privacy Policy provided through the Website.

3.8 Any User who fails, in SMC Teach’s opinion, to comply with these terms and conditions may be immediately suspended from using the Website and any related services. SMC Teach reserves the right to cancel any existing bookings in such circumstances.

4. Student Responsibilities

4.1 SMC Teach is not responsible for the acts or omissions of Students or Tutors and is solely responsible for its own acts or omissions.

4.2 Students must be at least 18 years old to book a Tutor for themselves. Students under the age of 18 must be represented by a parent or legal guardian who gives consent for them to receive tuition from a Tutor via SMC Teach. SMC Teach is not responsible for any dispute between a person under the age of 18 and a parent or guardian.

4.3 Students must ensure that all of their personal details and contact information are accurate and up-to-date. SMC Teach will contact Students by email.

4.4 When a Booking is made more than 24 hours in advance of the start time of the first Lesson, Students have up to 12 hours before their first Lesson with a new Tutor is due to commence to confirm the Booking. When a Booking is made within 24 hours of the start time, Students have up to 2 hours before their first Lesson with a new Tutor is due to commence to confirm the Booking.

4.5 By confirming their Booking for their first Lesson with a Tutor, the Student authorises the Tutor to make further Bookings on their behalf. Further Bookings made by a Tutor on behalf of a Student after the first Lesson will, therefore, be confirmed automatically.

4.6 When a Booking is confirmed, the Student enters into a direct contract with the Tutor for the provision of Lessons and SMC Teach accepts no liability in relation to the Tutor’s provision of lessons.

4.7 Students agree not to circumvent or disintermediate, or attempt to circumvent or disintermediate, SMC Teach in any way at the time of booking any Tutor, during any period of confirmed Bookings with any Tutor or at any time within six months of the date of the most recent Booking with the relevant Tutor (the “Student Restriction Period“) and that, save where Tutorful has barred the Student or Tutor in accordance with clause 4.14, all future Lessons within the Student Restriction Period with a Tutor found through the Website will be booked through Tutorful..

4.8 Students must use their own judgement about the services of Tutors detailed on the Website. Although SMC Teach undertakes certain checks to assess the suitability of each Tutor prior to setting their profile live on the Website, Students are responsible for checking the credentials, expertise, references, qualifications and insurance policies of any Tutor with whom they confirm a Booking.

4.9 Students are responsible for checking that Bookings made by Tutors on their behalf are done so correctly and understand they will be informed of these Lessons by email (except where a student has chosen to alter their notification settings to exclude email communications) and through the Website only.

4.10 Students are responsible for ensuring that they have the correct equipment to be able to access the Online Classroom prior to an Online Lesson. In the event that Students are unable to access the Online Classroom for whatever reason.

4.11 Any Student who fails, in SMC Teach’s reasonable opinion, to comply with these terms and conditions may be immediately barred from using the Website and any related services. SMC Teach reserves the right to cancel any existing Bookings in such circumstances.

4.12 Cancellations: Students may cancel any Booking, by giving more than 12 hours’ notice.

4.13 Nothing in these terms and conditions affects a Student’s statutory rights.

4.14 Simply by agreeing to these terms and conditions, a Student is not required to sign up with any Tutor or make any Bookings.

4.15 A Student may cease to use the SMC Teach service at any time.

5. Tutor Status and Responsibilities

5.1 Tutors are not employees of SMC Teach but contracted and are solely responsible for their own actions both on and off the Website.

5.2 Tutors must be at least 18 years old.

5.3 Tutors must be legally entitled (possessing the relevant immigration status where relevant) to work in the country in which they reside.

5.4 If Tutors contact Students who are under 18, they must ensure that these Students are represented by a parent or legal guardian who gives consent for the Student to receive tuition.

5.5 Tutors are responsible for ensuring that the personal information they provide and their personal statements on the Website are accurate and in no way misleading. They must update this information promptly to maintain its accuracy.

5.6 Tutors must disclose any criminal convictions or cautions they may have to SMC Teach, including any criminal convictions or cautions received at any time after having registered a tutor account on the Website and for as long as the Tutor remains registered.

5.7 Tutors claiming Background Checked Status must meet the requirements set out in clause 16.4 of these terms and conditions.

5.8 Any Tutor who, in SMC Teach’s opinion, fails to comply with these terms and conditions may be immediately barred from using the Website and related services. SMC Teach reserves the right to cancel any existing Bookings at any time in such circumstances.

5.9 Tutors must use their own judgement about whether they wish to offer their tuition services to each individual Student. Tutors must take every precaution to ensure that they work in a safe environment and are responsible for taking out and maintaining their own insurance policies to cover the work they undertake.

5.10 Tutors cannot charge Students a fee for tuition.

5.11 Tutors should make Bookings for Lessons and respond to messages received from SMC and Users promptly.

5.12 For any meetings (including lessons, trials or assessing student need) with a Student found via SMC Teach’s Website, Tutors must make a Booking to account for this time using the Website. Tutors agree not to solicit Students or disintermediate SMC Teach, or attempt to solicit Students or disintermediate SMC Teach, in any way, at the time of booking any Lesson with any Student, during any period of confirmed Bookings with any Student or at any time within six months of the date of the most recent Booking with the relevant Student (the “Tutor Restriction Period”).

.

5.13 Tutors must not complete or intend to complete coursework, or any similar assignments, on behalf of Students.

5.14 Tutors must ensure that all written communication with Students to organise Bookings and arrange Lessons takes place via the Website.

5.15 Tutors shall indemnify Tutorful for all claims and liabilities arising out of any use by the Tutor of the Website, including any costs and expenses incurred.

5.16 Tutors are responsible for ensuring that they have the correct equipment to be able to access the Online Classroom prior to an Online Lesson.

6. Missed Lessons and Complaints

6.1 A Student should inform SMC Teach of a Complaint by either phone or email within 96 hours after the scheduled finish time of the relevant Lesson.

6.2 When a complaint has been received from a student, SMC Teach will contact the Tutor within 72 hours of the complaint being received, by email and text message to inform the Tutor that a complaint has been raised.

7. Child Protection

7.1 SMC Teach seeks to provide the best service possible and provide a safe experience in which children can learn.

7.2 Any User who is the parent of a child under the age of 18 who has a Lesson with a Tutor should not leave the child in the sole care of that Tutor.

7.3 All Tutors must comply with the The Tutors’ Association Child Protection Policy, whether or not they are a member of The Tutors’ Association, and all relevant legislation and government guidance. The Policy can be found at this link: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/1a668a6b-1c3c-4fdd-ad54-243a369a420a/downloads/1cksgq6k5_30316.pdf

7.4 If any User has a concern regarding child protection, they should contact Tutorful immediately.

8. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

8.1 Nothing in these terms and conditions in any way limits or excludes SMC Teach’s liability for negligence causing death or personal injury or for anything which is not permitted by law to be excluded or limited.

8.2 All Users must give SMC Teach a reasonable opportunity to remedy any matter for which SMC Teach is potentially liable before incurring any costs remedying the matter themselves.

8.3 SMC Teach shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by it or its employees or agents in circumstances where:

• there is no breach of a legal duty of care owed by SMC Teach or by any of its employees or agents;
• such loss or damage was not reasonably foreseeable by both parties; or
• such loss or damage is caused by the User, for example by not complying with these terms and conditions.

8.4 To the extent permitted at law, the User will be liable for any reasonably foreseeable loss or damage SMC Teach suffers arising from the User’s breach of these terms and conditions or misuse of the Website (subject of course to SMC Teach’s obligation to mitigate any losses).

8.5 The following clauses apply only if the User is not a consumer:

• To the extent allowed by law, the User and SMC Teach exclude all terms, whether imposed by statute or by law or otherwise, that are not expressly stated in these terms and conditions. In this clause, any reference to SMC Teach includes its employees and agents.
• SMC Teach’s liability of any kind (including in respect of its own negligence) with respect to the Website for any one event or series of related events is limited to £0 or the total Platform Fees paid by the User in the 12 months before the event(s) complained of, whichever is higher.
• In no event (including SMC Teach’s negligence) will SMC Teach be liable for any:
  • economic losses (including, without limitation, loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings);
  • loss of goodwill or reputation;
  • special, indirect or consequential losses; or
  • damage to or loss of data (even if SMC Teach has been advised of the possibility of such losses).
• the User will indemnify SMC Teach against all claims and liabilities directly or indirectly related to the User’s use of the Website and/or breach of these terms and conditions.
• These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to their subject matter and supersede any previous communications or agreements. The parties both acknowledge that there have been no misrepresentations and that neither has relied on any pre-contractual statements. Liability for misrepresentation (excluding fraudulent misrepresentation) relating to these terms and conditions is excluded.

9. Intellectual Property

9.1 When submitting material to SMC Teach, Students and Tutors also grant to SMC Teach a non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-terminable licence to copy, modify, distribute, show in public and create derivative works from that material.

10. Changes to these terms and conditions

10.1 SMC Teach may change these terms and conditions by posting the revised version on the Website at least 14 days before they become effective. Please check the Website from time to time. Users will be bound by the revised terms and conditions if they continue to use the Website or the services following the effective date shown.

11. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

11.1 These terms and conditions and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim will be decided only by the courts of England.

11.2 If any clause or any part of these terms and conditions is found to be unenforceable in law, the other terms and conditions will remain in force.

12. Definitions

12.1 “Booking” means the booking attached to an individual Lesson on the Website.

12.2 “Complaint” means a claim by a Student that either the service provided by a Tutor falls below the standards the Student expected of a tutor introduced by Tutorful, or, that there was a Missed Lesson.

12.3 “Content” means all information of whatever kind (including information, service provider listings, profiles, Reviews), published, stored or sent on or in connection with the Website.

12.4 “Background Checked Status” means a Tutor displaying the ‘I have a background check’ badge on their profile page on the Website. Background checks must have been awarded within 5 years of the date on which a Tutor creates an account on the Website, and within 6 years at any point in time thereafter. Within these time frames, background checks will be accepted if they are an enhanced check provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure Scotland or Access Northern Ireland. Tutorful cannot verify any claim made by Tutors within their profile or in any of other communication which relates to them having a valid background check other than through the awarding of the “Background Checked Status”.

12.5 “Lesson” means, unless otherwise specified, a one-to-one tuition lesson between a Student and a Tutor, including both in-person and online sessions.

12.6 “Missed Lesson” means a claim by a Student that they have not received a Lesson with a Booking on the Website.

12.7 “Online Classroom” means SMC Teach’s own online lesson space which is made available to Users at the time of booked Online Lessons.

12.8 “Online Lesson” means a one-to-one tuition lesson between a Student and a Tutor delivered through SMC Teach’s Online Classroom.

12.9 “Review” means any review, comment or rating.

12.10 “Student” means a User who has registered a student account on the Website. The Student must be at least 18 years old. Where the learner is under 18 years old, the Student will be their parent or guardian.

12.11 “Student Restriction Period” means, as defined in clause 4.9, being at the time of booking any Tutor, during any period of confirmed Bookings with any Tutor or at any time within six months of the date of the most recent Booking with the relevant Tutor.

12.12 “Tutor” means a User who has registered a tutor account on the Website.

12.13 “Tutor Restriction Period” means, as defined in clause 5.13, being at the time of booking any Lesson with any Student, during any period of confirmed Bookings with any Student or at any time within six months of the date of the most recent Booking with the relevant Student.

12.14 “SMC Teach” means the company  SMC Worldwide Ltd is a limited liability company (company no. 11112821) trading as SMC Teach with it’s registered office address at Keltan House, 115 Mare St, Hackney, London E8 4RU.

12.15 “User” means a person who uses our Website (whether or not they have registered an account with us).

12.16 “Website” means the website on the domain https://smcteach.com