How the room is designed
- each class has its own joining code and an approved school adult who opens the class and supervises participation. Students with a valid code enter an open class without individual admission;
- one-off expert sessions use automatically assigned participant labels without student account or name entry. Saved classroom units use teacher-issued nicknames and private learning codes;
- participation does not provide peer-to-peer chat, private messages to a presenter, student cameras or student microphones. Optional school-controlled AI assistance is a separate feature;
- the supervising teacher can pause or remove participation, and students can ask that adult for help at any time;
- the school chooses a classroom screen or individual screens; supervision and the same safety controls apply to both;
- prerecorded expert videos do not record students or their classroom; separately arranged live sessions are not recorded by default; and
- session content is reviewed before use. Presenters in live sessions use approved content and cannot screen-share arbitrary material.
Optional school-controlled AI assistance
Teacher and student assistants default to off at school level, and student assistance also defaults to off for each class. School permission is only one requirement: Recess must separately enable the relevant service and privacy and safety arrangements. The student assistant is limited to school-confirmed users aged 13 and over, selects reviewed learning-support cards and is unavailable during independent work, paused classes or locked sessions. It does not grade students, make achievement judgments, submit work or act on other tools.
Staff may use an enabled teacher assistant for lesson planning and explanations, subject to their school's requirements and their own review. Neither assistant replaces a supervising teacher or promises correct, appropriate or risk-free responses. The school must consider accessibility, age suitability, required notices and provider data handling before use.
Assistant questions, any deliberately entered attempt, recent conversation history and reviewed lesson context are processed by OpenAI when the feature is enabled. The browser does not automatically send pupil records, saved responses, page contents or local files. Students and staff should not enter names, contact details, assessment records or sensitive information. Automatic filters cannot identify every inappropriate or identifying entry. The privacy policy explains processing, in-memory conversations, request metadata and provider retention; storage-disabled requests do not mean zero data retention.
In Review mode, saving an initial attempt keeps it as classroom work without contacting an AI provider. A separate, deliberate feedback request can forward that saved attempt and reasoning only when the school's permissions and service approvals allow student assistance. Teachers can review the initial attempt alongside later work. This supports a discussion about reasoning; it is not proof of unaided work or a substitute for a teacher's judgment.
Assistant conversations are not monitored live by a person. They are not private messages to a teacher or expert and are not an emergency-reporting service. A blocked or redirected request does not mean a person has been notified. A student who needs help or wants to report harm should speak directly to their teacher or another trusted adult.
Age suitability and school approval
Recess is intended for students aged 13 and over. A school must confirm that its participating students meet this age requirement and that the topic is suitable for their group. We confirm school access and relevant local requirements before participation.
An age threshold does not replace required notices, school or family permissions, privacy protections or learner-safety safeguards. If a school needs a session for a younger group, it must discuss this with Recess before making a booking; the current service is not offered for under-13 participation.
Adults in the room
In the on-demand format, a teacher leads the classroom experience using prepared expert videos and activities. Prerecorded content does not provide a private connection between an expert and a student. Contributors complete the review and onboarding required for their role before their content is used.
Presenters must complete role-appropriate identity, onboarding, training, rehearsal and jurisdiction-specific child-safety checks before live delivery. Their invitation and material access do not replace those approvals. Private rehearsal rooms admit authorised adults only and do not admit students or start the real event.
Each school staff member uses their own approved access. The assigned teacher remains responsible for their class and can pause or end participation. School administrators can manage their team and assign a replacement teacher before an event. Recess restricts safeguarding cases to authorised, identity-verified reviewers.
Adult code of conduct
Adults must keep communication professional, observable and relevant to learning. They must not seek personal contact, promise secrecy, favour or isolate a student, use sexualised or discriminatory language, promote products, exchange private details, or continue a session when safety controls are unavailable.
When a student shares a concern
Students should tell their supervising teacher or another trusted adult directly. Activities and reactions are not a messaging or emergency-reporting channel. The fixed “I'm confused” reaction is a learning signal, not a private request for help. The teacher can pause participation, follow the school's procedures and contact Recess for support.
Safety reports and disclosures retained from earlier session formats are restricted to people with an appropriate safeguarding role. We listen, record only what is needed, avoid investigating beyond our role, and escalate to the school, emergency services or the appropriate authority when required.
We cannot promise secrecy if information suggests someone may be unsafe. We will share it only with people who need it to protect or support the student.
Expert involvement and student privacy
Experts contribute session content and are credited for their work. This does not give contributors access to student contact details, individual responses, private disclosures or a route to contact students. Reports use privacy-protected participation and activity summaries. Student work is not sent to an expert unless a separate, reviewed permission process has been agreed.
Speak up
A student can tell their teacher at any time. Students, families, schools and presenters can also use Help and complaints or email hello@recess.education. For immediate danger, contact local emergency services. In Australia, call 000.
Review and accountability
Recess Pty Ltd (ABN 46 674 209 100, ACN 674 209 100) is responsible for the platform's learner-safety controls. We review incidents, moderation outcomes, screening status and feedback to improve the programme. Learner-safety controls are reviewed at least annually and after a serious incident or material platform change.