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NEO — Home-School Agreement

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Operated by: Nudge Education Ltd · Version: v09.26 · Owner: Director NEO & Head of School

NEO BY NUDGE EDUCATION

Home-School Agreement Nudge Education Online

Policy OwnerDirector, Nudge Education Online & Head of School
ApprovedSeptember 2026
Review DateSeptember 2027, or sooner if the Terms and Conditions change
Version09.26
Operating CompanyNudge Education Ltd (Company Number 10192753)
ProprietorDiego Melo
Accreditation RouteOnline Education Accreditation Scheme (OEAS) — accreditation in progress

NEO is a fully online alternative provision for learners aged 11–18, operated by Nudge Education Ltd. NEO is not a DfE-registered independent school and is not subject to Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspection. NEO is pursuing OEAS accreditation only.

1. About this agreement

This agreement sets out the commitments that make a NEO placement work: what NEO will do, what the learner will do, and what the family will do. It is grounded in NEO’s six Cornerstones — Connection, Movement, Creativity, Reflection, Rest and Nutrition — and in a relational, trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming approach to education.

It sits alongside the contract for the placement, and does not replace it:

Where anything in this agreement appears to differ from the Terms on fees, payment, notice or ending a placement, the Terms apply.

2. What NEO commits to

NEO will:

  • Welcome your child as they are, and take time to understand what helps them feel safe, connected and ready to learn.
  • Deliver live lessons through qualified subject-specialist teachers, and give your child a named Practitioner-Mentor, who is their mentor and your single point of contact. Practitioner-Mentors do not teach lessons.
  • Plan learning around your child’s strengths, needs and aspirations in an Intervention Plan, and review it with you at least termly.
  • Keep your child safe online by using only approved platforms (Google Classroom, Google Meet and Google Workspace), and by filtering and monitoring any device your child uses for NEO through Smoothwall, in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (currently the 2026 edition).
  • Record live lessons only for safeguarding, quality assurance and teacher training. Recordings are normally kept for one school term, longer only where a safeguarding reason requires it, and are never shared with anyone — including parents and carers — or posted or distributed. If information from a lesson is needed, we provide a written note or transcript.
  • Handle personal information in line with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the ICO Children’s Code, and publish privacy notices for parents and for learners.
  • Share progress openly, through real-time progress tracking you can see, written reports and review meetings.
  • Make reasonable adjustments for special educational needs and disabilities, and provide pastoral support for learners experiencing emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA) or anxiety.
  • Respond to concerns within the timeframes in section 6.
  • Never withdraw your child from lessons abruptly. If a payment problem arises we will talk to you first, and any pause in live lessons follows conversation with you and our Designated Safeguarding Lead. Curriculum access is kept in place.
  • If your child leaves NEO with no confirmed school, provision or home-education arrangement to go to, tell your home local authority, as the statutory guidance on children missing education requires. We will tell you when we do this.
  • Celebrate effort, curiosity and growth as well as attainment, and prepare your child for further study, training, employment and adult life.

3. What the learner commits to

As a NEO learner, I will do my best to:

  • Attend my live lessons when I am able, and tell my Practitioner-Mentor when something makes attending hard.
  • Treat everyone at NEO — staff, other learners and visitors — with kindness and respect.
  • Follow the NEO Code of Respect, and take a breath before reacting when something feels difficult.
  • Use NEO platforms safely: keep my account secure, keep my communication for learning, and never record or screenshot a lesson without permission.
  • Ask for help, a break or an adjustment when I need one. Asking is a strength.
  • Speak to a trusted adult at NEO, or use the anonymous reporting route, if I have a concern about my safety or someone else’s.
  • Take part in the Cornerstones, giving time to Movement, Rest, Nutrition and Reflection alongside my academic work.
  • Be honest about my learning, and curious about my strengths and what I want to grow into.

4. What parents and carers commit to

As a parent or carer of a NEO learner, I will:

  • Support my child to attend live lessons and engage with their learning, understanding that readiness builds gradually, especially after EBSNA or other barriers. I understand that missed timetabled lessons are not rescheduled, because teaching is live and group-based, and that NEO will always work with us on re-engagement rather than penalise absence.
  • Provide, so far as possible, a safe, quiet space to learn, a reliable internet connection and headphones. If any of this is difficult, I will tell NEO so we can find a way through together.
  • Make sure a responsible adult is available during live sessions, the space my child works in is safe, and there is a working smoke alarm. Because learning happens at home, I am responsible for my child’s physical environment.
  • Look after any NEO device, which stays NEO’s property and is managed by NEO, and return it within 14 days of the placement ending, using the prepaid packaging NEO provides.
  • Keep NEO informed about anything affecting my child’s wellbeing, safety or learning, including SEND information, health changes, safeguarding concerns and relevant family circumstances.
  • Read and respond to communications from NEO within a reasonable time, including reports, review invitations and safeguarding information, and engage with my child’s Practitioner-Mentor as my main point of contact.
  • If my family is paying for the placement, pay as set out in the Terms and Conditions for Parents and Carers: monthly in advance by direct debit from September to June, with the first month and the registration fee paid before my child starts. Fees are subject to VAT. Exam entry fees are separate and are paid directly to NEO’s exam-centre partner.
  • Give notice of withdrawal in writing (email is enough). Notice is one calendar month from the date NEO receives it, and fees remain payable to the end of the notice period, as set out in the Terms and the NEO Withdrawal Policy.
  • If my child is under 13, give my explicit consent before they use NEO platforms, in line with the ICO Children’s Code.
  • Support NEO’s online safety expectations, as set out in the NEO Online Safety and Acceptable Use Policy.
  • Uphold the values of respect, inclusion and anti-racism in all communication with NEO staff and other families.
  • Contact NEO’s Designated Safeguarding Lead straight away if I am worried about my child’s safety or an adult’s conduct.

5. Partnership principles

  • Respect — we speak to each other as partners, and we disagree with care.
  • Transparency — we share what matters, in time for it to help.
  • Responsiveness — we reply, we show up, and we follow through on what we have agreed.
  • Consent — we ask before we act; we do not assume.
  • Curiosity — we ask “what does this learner need?” before “what is wrong?“

6. When something is not working

If anyone feels this agreement is not being honoured, talk to the Practitioner-Mentor or the Head of School first; most things are resolved there. A concern raised informally is acknowledged within two working days.

If that does not settle it, the NEO Appeals and Complaints Policy applies. A formal written complaint is acknowledged within five working days and answered in writing, with reasons, normally within 15 working days. If you are still unhappy, you can ask for one review within 10 working days of that answer; it is carried out by a panel that includes someone independent of NEO’s management, and you receive a final written response normally within 15 working days. Complaints can be sent to talktonudge@nudgeeducation.co.uk. Concerns about personal information can go to privacy@nudgeeducation.co.uk at any time.

Safeguarding concerns are handled separately, straight away, under the Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.

7. How this agreement is signed and kept

  • Parents and carers confirm this agreement through the NEO Parent and Carer Agreement, signed electronically before a NEO account is set up or a device is sent. You do not need a Google account to sign. Where more than one person has parental responsibility, each is invited to sign.
  • The learner agrees to their part at induction, alongside the learner version of the Acceptable Use Agreement, in a conversation with their Practitioner-Mentor.
  • NEO’s commitments are made on NEO’s behalf by the Director, Nudge Education Online & Head of School.
  • The signed copy is kept securely on the learner’s record and a copy is emailed to the family. The agreement is reviewed each year and whenever the placement changes materially.

Document Control

Version09.26
Replaces04.26 (April 2026)
ApprovedSeptember 2026
Next ReviewSeptember 2027
OwnerDirector, Nudge Education Online & Head of School
ApproverProprietor (Diego Melo)
Amended24 September 2026 — section 6 complaint timescales aligned with the Nudge Education Complaints Policy v2.0 (outcome and review each within 15 working days; one review, by a panel with an independent member)
Operating CompanyNudge Education Ltd (Company Number 10192753)
ChangesAligned with the Terms and Conditions for Parents and Carers and the Billing and Payment Rules v0.3: contract relationship, notice, payment, VAT, home environment, devices, recordings, missed lessons, complaints timeframes and children missing education. Signing moved to the electronic Parent and Carer Agreement. Terminology updated to Practitioner-Mentor.

Document control

FieldValue
Versionv09.26
OwnerDirector NEO & Head of School
Statuslive
Source fileNEO Policies/NEO - Home-School Agreement v09.26.docx

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