Showing up
Be on time, prepared, and present. The lesson is sacred time for the student.
- Be online and ready 5 minutes before the scheduled start. Test audio and video before the student joins.
- If you must cancel, give at least 24 hours' notice. Repeat short-notice cancellations or no-shows result in faculty review and possible removal per the IC Agreement.
- If you are running late (technical issue, family emergency), message the student immediately through the in-portal messaging system.
- End the lesson on time โ students often have other commitments. Don't stretch into the next slot without explicit student agreement.
Quality of teaching
Real preparation. Real progression. Real notes after.
- Review the previous lesson note before each session. Build on what was covered, don't repeat unnecessarily.
- Bring a focus for each lesson โ even with adult hobbyists, structure is what students remember.
- Write a lesson note after every session: what was covered, what to practise, what to focus on next. The student sees this in their portal.
- Adjust to the student. A 60-year-old returner needs a different approach than a 14-year-old prepping for an audition. Both deserve your best.
- Be honest. If a student is not ready for a piece, say so kindly and propose an interim path.
Communication
Reply within 48 hours. Use the portal. Be warm but professional.
- Reply to student messages within 48 hours via the in-portal messaging system at
/teacher/messages. - Use professional language. Friendly, warm, encouraging โ never sarcastic, dismissive, or condescending.
- Do not give out personal contact details (WhatsApp, personal phone, personal email) to students. All communication should flow through the Platform's tools, both for student safety and your own legal protection.
- Confidential information shared by a student (medical conditions, family circumstances, mental health) stays between you and them โ and never appears in lesson notes unless the student has explicitly asked for it to be recorded.
Working with minors
Highest standard of care. Parent in the loop. No private off-platform contact.
Teaching students under 18 โ and especially under 13 โ carries the highest standard of professional conduct.
- For under-13 students, the parent is your direct counterpart. Communications go to the parent. Lesson notes are written for the parent's eyes.
- Never request, accept, or send personal contact details (phone, email, social media) to a minor. Never.
- Encourage parents to be present or in-room during lessons with very young children (3โ7).
- Do not record any lesson involving a minor without the parent's explicit per-session written consent.
- If you observe anything concerning โ signs of abuse, neglect, eating disorders, self-harm, family conflict โ pause the lesson if appropriate and report immediately to info@theglobalconservatory.com. We have escalation protocols.
- Background checks for faculty teaching minors. Required at acceptance and renewed annually. Checks cover violent offences and trust-and-safety offences (fraud, internet crimes, statutory crimes). TGC pays the fee. Faculty consent to the check as a condition of accepting bookings from under-18 students. Failure to complete an annual renewal results in immediate suspension from teaching minors until completed.
- Identity verification at lesson start. For under-13 students, briefly confirm with the parent (visually or verbally) that the right child is on the call before beginning the lesson.
Respect, equity, and inclusion
Every student is welcome. Every culture, every level, every body, every brain.
- Treat every student with equal respect regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, neurodivergence, or musical background.
- Adapt to learning differences. If a student is dyslexic, neurodivergent, has a motor difference, or learns at a different pace, your job is to find the path that works for them.
- Do not impose your own religious, political, or ideological views on students. The lesson is about the music.
- Honour the cultural origins of the music you teach. World-music traditions deserve the same depth and rigour as the Western canon.
Boundaries and dual relationships
No romantic or financial relationships with students. No off-platform contracting.
- No romantic, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate personal relationships with current students. If a relationship develops, the faculty must end the teaching relationship before pursuing it.
- No accepting gifts of significant monetary value from students or their families.
- No private business arrangements with students outside the Platform โ this includes selling them sheet music, instruments, recordings, or other services.
- Honour the 90-day no-poaching window after a student's last booking with you. After 90 days, you and the student are free to continue privately.
- If a parent asks for "off-platform" lessons to save the platform fee, decline politely. Direct them to book through the Platform โ your earnings are the same either way.
Your professional growth
Keep learning. Keep your profile current. Tell us when something changes.
- Update your profile at least annually โ refresh your bio, add new credentials, update your headshot if it's older than 3 years.
- Add a sample lesson video so prospective students can hear your teaching voice (recommended, not required).
- Add your Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Music links if you have professional recordings โ students love hearing you play.
- Tell us when something major changes โ a new institutional position, a new tour schedule that affects availability, an extended absence.
Reporting concerns
See something, say something. info@theglobalconservatory.com.
If you observe behaviour that concerns you โ by another faculty member, an admin, a student, or a parent โ report it to info@theglobalconservatory.com. We acknowledge within 2 business days and investigate confidentially.
Retaliation against a good-faith reporter is itself a violation of this Code and the Acceptable Use Policy.