Trust and safety
Trust is not a feature. It is the product.
Everything that makes CadenzaHub different from a Google search or a community Facebook group is here: who we let teach, how we check them, and what protects you if something goes wrong.
How we review teachers
The checks before a teacher goes live.
Our team reviews every teacher profile by hand. Every teacher verifies their identity and uploads their credentials for us to review, and in-person lessons also need a police check provided by the teacher. A profile only goes public once our review is done.
Identity verified
Every teacher confirms who they are with government-issued ID through Stripe, our payment provider, before they can be paid.
Credentials reviewed
Teachers upload proof of their training, such as RCM certificates or conservatory and university diplomas. Our team reviews each document for completeness before it shows on a profile. We do not confirm credentials with the school or exam board that issued them, and the documents themselves stay private.
Background check provided
Teachers who offer lessons at their studio or in your home, or who teach students under 18, must upload a recent police check. Our team reviews it for completeness. Teachers without one can only teach adults online.
Background checks
How background checks work on CadenzaHub.
A police check is required to teach at a studio, in a student's home, or to teach anyone under 18. Here is exactly what happens, and what we can and cannot do.
- 1
The teacher gets a check from the police
Teachers request a Police Vulnerable Sector Check, or a Criminal Record Check if they only teach adults, from their local police service. It must be issued in the last six months.
- 2
They upload it to CadenzaHub
The document is stored privately. The teacher confirms it is genuine, their own and unaltered, and agrees that families they approve may see it.
- 3
Our team reviews it for completeness
An automated reading tool helps us pull out the details, and a person on our team checks the type of check, the police service, the name and the issue date before approving or rejecting it.
- 4
The profile shows what was provided
Approved checks show as "Background check provided" with the type, police service and issue month. Checks stay valid for three years from their issue date, then drop off.
- 5
You can ask to see it and verify it
Ask to see the document from the teacher's profile. The teacher approves or declines each request. To confirm it, contact the police service named on it.
A Police Vulnerable Sector Check, needed for students under 18, looks for things like:
- Criminal convictions on record, including violent offences
- Sexual offences, including records in the pardoned sex offender database through the vulnerable sector check
- Drug offences
- Fraud and theft
A check only shows what is already on record. It can't predict how someone will behave, and not every jurisdiction reports every offence the same way. For in-home lessons with a student under 18, a parent, guardian or another responsible adult needs to be home for the whole lesson.
Please read: what we cannot confirm
CadenzaHub is a marketplace that connects students and families with independent music teachers. We are not a screening agency, and we do not have the legal or investigative expertise to confirm that a background check is genuine, complete or current.
When a teacher uploads a police check, our team reviews it for completeness: the type of check, the issuing police service, the name and the issue date. This review cannot detect every altered or fake document, and we cannot contact the issuing police service on your behalf.
A provided check is not a guarantee of a teacher's character or conduct. You can ask to see the document, and you can confirm it by contacting the police service named on it. Please use your own judgement, meet a teacher before lessons begin, and stay involved when a child is learning.
Badges
What the badges on a profile mean.
A badge only appears once our team has reviewed the document behind it. Credentials reviewed means we looked over the certificates a teacher uploaded, not that we confirmed them with the issuer. A background check badge means the teacher provided a check we reviewed, not that we confirmed it with the police, and it drops off on its own when the check expires.
- Identity verified
Government ID checked.
- Credentials reviewed
Certificates or diplomas uploaded and reviewed by CadenzaHub.
- Background check provided
Police check uploaded and reviewed for completeness. Not confirmed with the police.
Some profiles are marked Unclaimed. Those teachers haven't joined CadenzaHub yet, so they have not been through our review. You can send a request and our team will contact them, but nothing is charged until they join and complete it.
Your booking is protected
If plans change, you are covered.
Payment held until each lesson
You pay when you book, and we release each lesson's share to the teacher only after that lesson happens. If a lesson doesn't happen, it isn't paid out.
Rematch guarantee
If a teacher cancels three or more lessons in a row with less than 24 hours' notice, we refund the rest of your package and help you find a new teacher within 48 hours.
Clear rules if a lesson is disputed
Each in-person lesson has a check-in code, and online lessons log when both sides join. If a lesson is reported as missed, published rules based on those records decide the refund, the same way every time.
Reviews from real bookings
Only students and families who completed a package with a teacher can review them, so every review on CadenzaHub comes from someone who actually took lessons.
Messages stay on CadenzaHub
You never have to share your phone number or email to get started, and teachers only see the student details they need to teach.
Clear cancellation policies
Each teacher picks one of three policies. You see it on their profile and at checkout, and refunds follow it automatically.
Flexible
Full refund if cancelled before the lesson starts. No refund once it has started.
Moderate
Full refund if cancelled by 12:00 pm the day before the lesson. No refund after that.
Strict
Full refund if cancelled by 12:00 pm one week before the lesson. No refund after that.
Staying safe
A few things we ask of everyone.
- Book and pay through CadenzaHub. If anyone asks you to pay them directly, decline and let us know. Payments outside CadenzaHub aren't protected.
- Keep conversations on CadenzaHub until you are comfortable, and never share passwords or card details in a message.
- Tell us right away if anything makes you uncomfortable, with Report a concern on the teacher's profile. We look into every report and can suspend accounts while we do.
- In an emergency, call 911 first. Then let us know as soon as you can.
Report a concern
Tell us when something is not right.
Any student or family can report a teacher, including teachers who have not joined CadenzaHub yet. You do not need to be sure something is wrong to tell us.
- 1
Open the teacher's profile
Sign in, open the teacher's profile and choose Report a concern near the bottom of the page.
- 2
Tell us what happened
Pick what the report is about, describe what happened and when, and tick the box if a student under 18 is involved.
- 3
A person reads it
A person on our team reads every report within one business day. We never tell the teacher who reported them. We may contact you for more details, and we will tell you when the report is closed.
- 4
We act and let you know
We may talk to the teacher, help with a booking or refund, pause their profile, or remove them. Reports about safety and students under 18 come first. You can follow the status under Your reports in your account.
If someone is in danger
If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 now.
If you believe a child is being harmed, Ontario law asks you to report it to the police or your local children's aid society. You can also tell us afterwards.
CadenzaHub is not the police and cannot investigate crimes. We can remove a teacher from the platform, pause their bookings and help you with refunds.
Not sure where to start? Read our help answers on reporting or email [email protected].