This page covers what to do if a tutor, on Tutorperch or anywhere else, has behaved in a way that has harmed a child, could harm a child, or that means they shouldn't be working with children. The routes below are the statutory ones. They exist independently of any tutoring platform, and they apply whether you found the tutor through a directory, a school noticeboard, or a friend.
If you came here in a hurry: if a child is in immediate danger, call 999 now. The rest of this page can wait.
Step 1: work out what kind of concern you have
Three rough categories shape which routes apply first.
An immediate threat to a child's safety. A tutor is currently with a child in a way that isn't safe; a child has been hurt and the tutor is still there or has just left; or a tutor is on their way and a child needs to be away from them. Call 999.
A reportable concern, but not immediate. Something a tutor said or did, a pattern of behaviour you've watched build up, inappropriate messages, or a child who has disclosed something after the fact. Use the non-emergency routes below: police 101 and the NSPCC helpline are the right starting points.
A worry without a clear allegation yet. Something feels off, your child has gone quiet about lessons, or a tutor's communications have shifted in a way you can't pin down. The NSPCC helpline is set up for exactly this: talking it through with someone trained, before you've decided whether you have a report to make.
The categories overlap. A non-immediate concern can become immediate, and a worry can become an allegation when your child says more. The routes accommodate that.
Step 2: the police
The two police numbers cover different needs.
999 (emergency) is for when a crime is in progress, a suspect is on the scene or nearby, a child is in immediate danger, or violence is being used or threatened. The official guidance is unambiguous: where there is danger to life or the immediate possibility of further harm, dial 999.
101 (non-emergency) is for reporting a crime where the suspect is no longer present and there's no immediate danger, giving information, or following up after a 999 call. 101 is the standard non-emergency number across all 45 UK police forces. Most force websites also have an online reporting option: search "[your police force name] report a crime online".
When you call, you don't have to know whether what happened was a crime. Describe what happened. The call handler decides what kind of crime it is, if any, and what response is appropriate.
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, Relay UK covers both. Dial 18000 for an emergency, or 18001 followed by 101 for non-emergencies.
Step 3: the NSPCC helpline
The NSPCC helpline is for any adult worried about a child. Calls are free, you can stay anonymous, and it sits independent of children's services and the police. It's the right place to start when you have a worry but aren't sure whether it crosses a line, when you want to talk through what your child has said before deciding what to report, when you're not sure which statutory route applies, or when the thing you're worried about happened a while ago.
Phone: 0808 800 5000, free from landlines and most mobiles. Answered 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Email: help@nspcc.org.uk, 11am to 4pm, seven days a week. An email sent outside those hours is not received, so use the phone or the text number instead.
Text: 88858.
The helpline can refer concerns into children's services or the police on your behalf if that's the right step.
For under-19s wanting to talk to someone themselves, Childline is 0800 1111: free, confidential, and the number doesn't appear on phone bills.
Step 4: NCA CEOP for online concerns
If your concern involves online communication with a child, such as a tutor messaging a child inappropriately on a video-lesson platform, a chat app, a social network, or a games platform, the route is the National Crime Agency's Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Safety Centre. CEOP takes reports about online sexual abuse, online communication that crosses the line into grooming, and concerns where the digital element is core to what's happening.
The report form covers:
Who the report is about (the suspected adult).
The platform and context: what was said, where, and screenshots if you have them.
What happened to the child.
The reporter's contact details. CEOP doesn't take anonymous reports, since they need to come back to you.
CEOP reports route to the NCA's Child Protection Advisors and from there to the appropriate police force. CEOP is the right route for online concerns; for offline concerns the police directly, on 999 or 101, is the right route.
Step 5: the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
The Local Authority Designated Officer is the statutory route for any allegation against an adult who works with children, including a self-employed tutor working with under-18s. Every local authority in England has one. The role exists under the Department for Education's Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance.
The LADO must be informed within one working day where someone working with children is alleged to have:
Behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed, a child.
Possibly committed a criminal offence against, or related to, a child.
Behaved towards a child in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children.
Behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children.
Most LADO referrals come from employers such as schools, agencies, and charities. A parent can also refer, and where the alleged conduct is by a self-employed adult working with children, such as a private tutor, the LADO route still applies.
To find your local LADO, go to your local council's website and search for "LADO" or "Local Authority Designated Officer". Each council publishes a contact email, phone number, or referral form. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have analogous roles under their own safeguarding frameworks.
The LADO's role isn't to investigate the criminal side; that's the police. The LADO co-ordinates the response, oversees employer-side actions where applicable, and makes sure the right agencies are talking to each other. A LADO referral is appropriate even when no crime has been committed, if the behaviour suggests the adult shouldn't be working with children.
Step 6: Tutorperch
If the tutor is on Tutorperch, please also report them to us. Open their profile, choose Report, and select Safeguarding concern. If you cannot find the profile, email hello@tutorperch.com. We can:
Suspend the tutor's profile while the concern is reviewed.
Preserve and produce messages, unlock records, and account metadata if law enforcement, the LADO, or the NSPCC asks us to under their lawful information-request routes.
Stop unlocks against that profile and, where appropriate, refund recent unlock fees from affected families.
Reporting to Tutorperch sits alongside, not instead of, the routes above. We're a directory and messaging surface, not a safeguarding authority. If the immediate question is whether a child is safe right now, the answer comes from 999 or the NSPCC helpline before it comes from us.
What about reporting to the tutor's school or employer
If the tutor also works at a school, college, or other organisation, you can report to that organisation's designated safeguarding lead. For most parents this isn't relevant, since private tutors are usually self-employed. Where it is relevant, the LADO route covers it: the LADO co-ordinates with employers as part of their oversight role.
Documenting what you've seen
Whether or not you decide to report, keep a written note of what happened: dates, times, what was said or done, who was present, screenshots of any messages, and your child's words verbatim if they've disclosed something. Write it down soon, because memory drifts. Storing this securely, in a folder on a personal computer rather than a shared device, gives whichever statutory route you take a clearer starting point.
A note on DBS and what it does and doesn't tell you
A clear Enhanced DBS certificate doesn't mean a tutor is safe; it means they had no relevant convictions, cautions, or recorded police information at the point the certificate was issued. People can be at risk of harming a child without a record. The reporting routes above exist because checks alone don't substitute for a parent's judgement and a child's voice. See running your own DBS check for what the certificate actually evidences.