Trust & safety

Every badge on TutorLab is checked, or it doesn't exist.

We would rather show you nothing than show you a hollow tick. This page says exactly what each signal means, how a tutor earns it, and, just as important, what it does not promise.

ID verified

The green tick appears when a tutor's identity has been confirmed, either by Stripe's regulated identity verification when the tutor connects payments, or by TutorLab checking photo ID directly. It cannot be bought, and it is never awarded for referrals or subscriptions.

What it doesn't mean: It does not mean TutorLab has met the tutor in person or assessed their teaching.

Qualification badges

A tutor emails us their certificate (QTS, PGCE, a degree, an examining-board qualification). We look at the actual document before granting the badge. Tutors cannot self-award one.

What it doesn't mean: Only the green badges are checked by us. Qualifications written in a tutor's own profile text are their own words, so ask to see certificates that matter to you.

Enhanced DBS checked

The tutor has shown TutorLab their Enhanced DBS certificate and we display the issue year next to the badge. Where the tutor is registered with the DBS Update Service, we check status there too.

What it doesn't mean: A DBS certificate is a point-in-time record, not a guarantee of future conduct. And no badge does not mean no DBS: many tutors hold one we simply have not checked yet. Our guide to sensible first-lesson precautions is in the safeguarding checklist below.

Verified reviews

A review can only be written by a parent who booked and paid for a lesson through TutorLab, via a private link we email after a completed lesson. One review per lesson. Tutors cannot review themselves and strangers cannot review at all.

What it doesn't mean: No reviews does not mean a bad tutor. Many good tutors teach mostly off-platform, so their TutorLab review count starts at zero. We never write, import, or buy reviews to fill the gap.

Reply times

“Usually replies in ~2h” is measured, not marketing: it is the median time from a real parent enquiry to the tutor's first reply over the last 90 days, and it needs at least two replied enquiries to show at all.

What it doesn't mean: When a tutor's data is too thin or too slow, we show nothing rather than an invented number.

The other half of the promise

What we never do

  • ✓Sell a badge, or grant one for referrals, subscriptions, or anything other than the check it names.
  • ✓Write, import, or buy reviews. If a number is on the site, the mechanism behind it is on this page.
  • ✓Call every tutor “vetted”. Blanket claims hide more than they tell you, so we label each check individually instead.
  • ✓Show a statistic we can't stand behind. When the honest number is zero or unknown, we hide the stat, not the truth.

Something doesn't look right?

Every profile has a “Report a concern” link, and it goes straight to a human, not a queue. Email harry@trytutorlab.uk and the founder reads it.

Choosing a tutor? Our plain-English guides: questions to ask a tutor and the safeguarding checklist.

Are you a tutor? Every badge above is free to earn, start from your profile settings.