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Keystone has one of the most rigorous selection criteria for tutors in the sector. Our tutors are dedicated professionals, who commit to regular training and ongoing professional development. For those schools who need it, we can limit our selection to those tutors with QTS. We will only put forward tutors who we believe have the sufficient capability and expertise to teach to the highest standards for each particular course. We will share full details of each tutor’s prior experience and it is incumbent upon the school to determine if that meets their requirements.

We can currently only pledge to offer online teaching. However, for schools based in or near London, our tutors are happy to come for initial in-person meetings to meet students and staff.

When sourcing tutors for our school programmes we use best endeavours to pick tutors who can commit to the full course. However, every now and then it is possible that a tutor will become unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances. If this happens we will look to replace the tutor with a suitably qualified alternative, approved by the school.

To ensure provision is as seamless as possible we look to utilise the technology that is already in place at each school. We are familiar with the mainstream platforms (e.g. Teams, Google Classroom) as well as many more niche providers. During the launchpad meeting we will discuss this with the school and ensure our team is fully versed in the technology agreed upon.

Students will need access to a stable internet connection and a computer with a webcam.

As mentioned above we will look to work with the school’s existing technology wherever possible. If giving our tutors access to the school’s portal is not possible we can use a platform entirely separately from the school and agree upon the best way for work to be passed to relevant members of the school team.

Our recommendation is for tutors to be given limited access to the school’s existing infrastructure to ensure they are communicating within each school’s existing IT infrastructure and procedures. Where this is not possible we make use of secure and private platforms that meet the highest standards and received best practice in schools.

We have our own standards but are also used to adapting to the needs of each school. When we are offering full-time subjects, our tutors tend to sit under the most suitable Head of Department (e.g. Head of MFL for a Classics tutor), with further interaction with a school’s Deputy Head Academic and Exam Officer. Our standard process is to have half-termly check-ins with the school’s designated senior member of staff.

Schools will be expected to sign off on our tutors’ proposed scheme of work. Every lesson is recorded as default and can be watched by a school for quality control. Our tutors will also expect to attend regular parent/tutor meetings. We have a full Terms and Conditions that we would send in advance of any engagement.

Our maximum group size of 7 students ensures we are able to support the needs of the group and the individuals within it. We request that schools provide our tutor with any relevant information relating to each student’s learning needs so that they can tailor their support as appropriate.

Initially our tutors will seek to address poor behaviour within the lesson. However, instances of poor behaviour will also be reported to the school so that they can be addressed in line with the school’s own policies.

We have a dedicated operational team that is in daily communication with our tutors.

Keystone Tutors is not a registered exam centre. As such it is the school’s responsibility to ensure all elements of the examination process are completed correctly. This includes but is not limited to:

• registering for exams;
• arranging and offering examinations;
• managing the process of filing predicted grades; and
• confirming with the tutor which set texts and syllabuses should be covered.

Keystone will make all reasonable efforts to assist with this process and provide the information required (e.g. for predicted grades).

Keystone is committed to protecting the welfare and well-being of both students and staff. All sessions will be recorded and schools will be able to access these should they wish to. All of our tutors are required to undergo safeguarding training, which includes modules on tutoring online. At the outset of an assignment, we will have a discussion with the school to ensure our tutors are familiar and compliant with the school’s safeguarding procedures. All tutors have been vetted by Keystone including an enhanced DBS check, qualifications check, identity check, and teacher barred list check.

In most cases, because it is beyond the core offering of a typical school, schools pass the extra costs of the sessions to parents as an extra on their school bill. Alternatively, parents can pay Keystone directly for our shorter Masterclass courses.

• What technology do I need: Each student will require a secure internet connection, a tablet or laptop (with a camera) and headphones if working in a communal space.
• What platform do you use: Our online courses are taught using Zoom - which is free to download. Your course confirmation email will include the Zoom link and this will be sent again 24 hours before the course starts.
• Online Tutoring Ground Rules: Given our considerable experience of teaching online lessons we have established a set of ‘Ground Rules’ for teaching and learning online. These rules can be found here: https://www.keystonetutors.com/news/online-learning-ground-rules-for-students.
   

The topics covered in each course can be found listed on the individual course page. Here it will also list what exam board each course is relevant for. 

All courses are taught by Keystone Tutors who have been through our recruitment process and are extremely experienced. When each course goes live on the website you will be able to see the full profile of the tutor who is teaching the course.

In reality, the differences between the GCSE and IGCSE syllabi are relatively minor – the majority of the content is the same, however, it can by covered in varying depths. With this in mind, there can be value in doing our IGCSE course if you are studying a GCSE syllabus but we recommend you review the topics covered in your chosen course carefully to ensure they are all relevant. If you are looking to simply review some of the core topics in the GCSE subjects then the courses will be useful, but if you are looking for an in depth and highly tailored course for your qualification, they will not be as useful.

With the exception of the Study Skills courses, you are only able to join our exam related courses if you are in the year of that exam (Year 11 or Year 13). This is due to the fact these are revision courses so the expectation is that the students will have all completed the course curriculum by the time the course takes place.

Given these are group courses, it is important to note that there may be a mix of abilities within the group. We deliberately keep the class size small (a maximum of 10 students) to ensure that enough attention is given to each student. If a student is highly advanced, or feels they are quite far behind, it may be more beneficial to look at our 1:1 tuition options, to ensure they are given the right amount of time and level of work.

• Cancellation Policy - Revision Courses: We operate a 7-day cancellation policy for the revision courses. We are unable to refund any cancellations made fewer than 7 days before the first day of the course. Occasionally we will have to cancel a course if there is not enough demand and in this case, we will always issue a full refund.
• Cancellation Policy - Weekly Cohorts: We operate a 28-day cancellation policy for the weekly cohorts. We are unable to refund any cancellations made fewer than 28 days before the day of the course. Occasionally we will have to cancel a course if there is not enough demand and in this case, we will always issue a full refund.
• Missing a session within a course: Unfortunately, due to the fact these are group classes, we are unable to offer refunds for any days missed and we cannot reschedule classes. Tutors will always try to provide work for the student if they miss a lesson, depending on the format, and will outline any homework. Please do take note of each day the course falls on however, before booking, as we recommend a student attends every session to gain maximum benefit.

Unfortunately, the courses are not designed to be joined midway through.

We chose to run these courses as Revision courses, so therefore they are placed as near to the exams as possible, to ensure that the tutor can revise topics with the students, rather than teach them new ones.