Targeted Provision - Code of Conduct - Tutors
Policy owner |
Head of Education |
|---|---|
Last updated |
4 September 2025 |
Next update due |
4 March 2026 |
1. Purpose
This behaviour code outlines the conduct Targeted Provision expects from our employees, workers (tutors) and volunteers who work 1:1 in direct contact (either in person or online) with our young people.
For adults working within Targeted Provision
1.1. Position of trust
When working with or for children and young people, you are acting in a position of trust and great responsibility. You must not abuse this position. You are likely to be seen as a role model and must act with integrity, professionalism, and respect at all times.
Professional Standards
To help facilitate this, we have outlined a Code of Conduct which every student facing employee, worker and volunteer, irrespective of seniority, will follow closely. This code promotes consistency with our approach to supporting behavioural change in our young people and is an expectation from all staff.
All tutors must demonstrate teaching practices consistent with DfE Teachers’ Standards.
Lessons may be formally and informally observed.
All tutors must have regard for the Non-school Alternative Provision Voluntary national standards, August 2025
Tutors must act on feedback and recommendations for improvement from Targeted Provision.
Consistent failure to meet these expectations may result in removal from our tutor register.
Supporting Behavioural Change
Our approach is guided by a person-centered framework for addressing behaviours that challenge, by understanding the underlying reasons, and implementing proactive strategies to support change. We expect you to apply these same principals in all interactions with young people, colleagues, carers and other professionals.
Professional Boundaries
Our Referrals Team will share all relevant background information prior to any tuition taking place, including risk assessment documents which identify any known risks relating to individual young people. Our referrals team take every reasonable step to collect information on risks but are reliant on other agencies/schools to provide this information and cannot be held responsible if information is not supplied or withheld. We expect you to keep this information confidential and not share outside of your tutoring capacity.
You must always maintain clear professional boundaries, including
With parents and carers – keeping communications professional, factual, and respectful.
With Local Authorities and other professionals – ensuring all engagement is constructive, transparent, and within your professional remit as a tutor for Targeted Provision.
Discussing with your support team ahead of any communications with Local Authorities and other professionals. There must not be any direct communication with other professionals without our prior knowledge.
Avoiding any action that could bring Targeted Provision into disrepute.
Responsibilities
At all times, you are responsible for:
Putting Safeguarding at the forefront of all the work you do for us
Prioritising the welfare and best interests of children and young people
Delivering a positive learning environment (either online or in person).
Providing your pupils with an ILP (individual learning plan) which may include both learning and behaviour objectives and strategies.
Ensuring lessons are conducted at the agreed time, length, and format, unless changes are pre-approved by parents/carers and Targeted Provision.
Maintaining accurate records of lessons delivered – fraudulent or incorrect claims for payment will be treated as misconduct.
Providing a safe environment for children and young people.
This includes ensuring equipment is used safely and for its intended purpose.
This includes having good awareness of issues to do with safeguarding and child protection and taking action when appropriate.
This includes following our online safety policy where our expectations are clearly laid out.
Following our principles, policies and procedures
This includes all of the policies and procedures which reference and are encapsulated by this Code of Conduct, our Safeguarding Policy and Child Protection Policy (including managing allegations against staff), Behaviour Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy, Privacy Policy (which includes our Confidentiality Policy), Complaints Policy, Safer Recruitment Policy, Whistleblowing Policy and our Terms and Conditions (which includes our Health and Safety Policy and Whistleblowing Policy)
Staying within the law at all times
Reporting safeguarding concerns or allegations immediately in line with our policies.
Challenging any and all unacceptable [staff] behaviour and reporting any breaches of the behaviour code to Senior Management or directly to the Board, in line with the relevant policy. This includes any ‘low-level’ concern as identified in KCSiE 2025 Part 4, Section 2.
Your response to challenging behaviour is restricted to verbal advice and guidance. At no point should you engage in any form of physical intervention to manage behaviour.
Reporting all allegations/suspicions of abuse following our reporting procedures and policies
This includes abusive behaviour being displayed by an adult or child and directed at anybody of any age.
The “3R” framework in which we operate
Our Behaviour Policy operates within a “3R” framework, which puts the child or young person’s Rights, your Relationship to them and the Respect that you must show them, at the centre of how we expect you to act when representing Targeted Provision, ensuring that young people’s dignity, individuality and needs remain central.
Following this framework allows you to meet DfE guidelines on how to best encourage good behaviour during educational sessions.
Rights
At all times, you must:
Treat children and young people fairly and without prejudice or discrimination
Understand that children and young people are individuals with individual, often complex needs
Respect differences in gender, sexual orientation, culture, race, ethnicity, disability and religious belief systems between yourself and others, and appreciate that all participants bring something valuable and different to the group/organisation
Challenge discrimination and prejudice
Encourage children, young people and adults to speak out about attitudes or behaviour that makes them uncomfortable.
Relationships
At all times, you must:
Promote relationships that are based on openness, honesty, trust and respect, maintaining professional boundaries at all times
Avoid favouritism, particularly when working with groups of children and young people
Act with care and be patient
Exercise special caution when you are discussing sensitive issues with children and young people
Ensure your contact with children and young people is appropriate and relevant to the work of the project you are involved in
If a child specifically asks for or needs some private time with you, ensure other staff or volunteers know where you and the child are, and that the other appropriate adult is always within verbal contact distance.
Personal care or administration of medications must not be provided under any circumstances.
Respect
At all times, you must:
Listen to and respect the children and young people you are working with
Take the contribution of children and young people seriously, engaging them actively in discussion and planning specific activities where appropriate
Respect the right all children and young people have to personal privacy, where possible
In some cases it may be necessary to break confidentiality in order to follow our Safeguarding and Child protection procedures and policy; if this is the case it is important to explain this to the child or young person at the earliest opportunity.
Unacceptable behaviour
Any behaviour deemed unacceptable will be dealt with appropriately, within the letter of the law. The severity of the actions will be led by our various Safeguarding Policies.
When working with children and young people, you must never:
Allow concerns or allegations to go unreported
Take unnecessary risks
Smoke, consume alcohol or use illegal substances
Develop inappropriate relationships with children and young people
Make inappropriate promises to children and young people
Engage in behaviour that is in any way abusive. This includes having any form of sexual contact with a child or young person
Share your personal contact details (mobile number, email or home address) with children and young people or have contact with them via a personal social media account
Act in a way that can be perceived as threatening or intrusive
Patronise or belittle children and young people
Make sarcastic, insensitive, derogatory or sexually suggestive comments or gestures to or in front of children and young people.
Act in an intimidating manner or in any way that could be considered bullying behaviour, as outlined in our Anti-Bullying Policy.
The following are considered serious breaches of this policy
Failure to follow safeguarding procedures
Fraudulent claims for payment (e.g. for undelivered or shortened lessons).
Refusing to follow Targeted Provision’s professional recommendations or guidance.
Inability or unwillingness to understand and engage with a young person’s needs.
Altering lesson times or durations without due consideration for the pupil and their parent/carers, and then only after consulting with your support team at Targeted Provision.
Crossing professional boundaries with parents, carers or professionals.
Any form of abuse, misconduct or inappropriate behaviour.
Upholding this Code of Conduct
You should always follow this code of conduct and never rely on your reputation or that of Targeted Provision to protect you. We will implement disciplinary proceedings where we identify professional misconduct or inappropriate behaviour.
Depending on the severity of individual incidents, the following actions may be taken:
Requirement to undertake further training
Formal warning
Immediate removal from contract and/or denial of further work with Targeted Provision.
Referral to statutory agencies, including police, Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO or DBS Services, where applicable).
If you become aware of any breaches of this code, you must report them directly to our Designated Safeguarding Lead, or, if not appropriate, to another Senior Manager. If necessary, you should follow the whistleblowing procedure and child protection/safeguarding procedures.
Points of Reference
The above behaviour code aims to help us protect children and young people from abuse and reduce the possibility of unfounded allegations being made. They have been informed by the views of young people and tutors. All of our policies have safeguarding at their core and should be read alongside our core Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.
Our Board of Directors take responsibility for ensuring everyone taking part in our services have seen, understands and agrees to follow our codes of conduct, and that they understand the consequences of inappropriate behaviour. Anyone who takes up a position with Targeted Provision either as an employee, worker or a volunteer, will be sent these Codes of Conduct alongside our other core documentation in their Induction Pack.
We expect people who take part in our services to display appropriate behaviour at all times. This includes behaviour that takes place outside our organisation and behaviour that takes place online.
Targeted Provision is not registered with Ofsted as a school or provider but adheres to all statutory guidance wherever possible including the Equality Act 2010 in respect of safeguarding of pupils with SEND. We also adhere to the guidance found in:
Alternative Provision Statutory guidance for Local Authorities, January 2013, updated February 2025 (which includes the main legislation and guidance covering the duties and powers relating to the provision of AP)
Non-school alternative provision Voluntary national standards August 2025
Section 19 of the Education Act 1996, as amended by section 3A of the Children
Schools and Families Act 2010
Section 29A of the Education Act 2002
Sections 6A and 100 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006
Sections 1C and 4 of the Academies Act 2010 (as amended)
The Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Application of Enactments) (England) Regulations 20071
The Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Management Committees etc.) (England) Regulations 2007
The Education (Educational Provision for Improving Behaviour) Regulations 2012
The Education (Short Stay Schools) (Closure) (England) Regulations 2010
The Pupil Referral Units (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2012
The Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2012.When wprking
Find us
targetedprovision.com
4 Lonsdale Road
London
NW6 6RD
Contact us
contact@targetedprovision.com