Terms and Conditions – April 2020


  • We run a 40 week academic year, which matches Surrey school term dates. To view your lesson schedule on the calendar login to your online account here.
  • Lessons can be 30 minutes (£20), 45 minutes (£30) or 60 minutes (£40) in length.
  • Lesson notes will be sent to your email after each lesson to help students with their weekly practice. If you have any issues with these please get in touch.
  • Weekly lesson times will remain as agreed in your initial communications, unless a change has been discussed and agreed with you. Lesson times may need to vary slightly on a weekly basis, but we will always let you know of any changes beforehand. For home lessons, please allow 15 minutes either side of agreed lesson time, as due to traffic and possible delays at other lessons, the time may vary slightly each week.
  • Payment is to be made via your online account on My Music Staff. Your My Music Staff account is created when you sign up via the free lesson sign up form. Any information entered is only used to schedule your lessons and will not be used for any other purposes.
  • Payment will be collected on set dates (notified to you in advance) via an automatic payment process (Autopay) using your My Music Staff account.
  • Half-termly payment must be made in advance of lessons. If payment is not received and no communication made, lessons will not be taught until payment is received. Missed lessons will be chargeable if notice has not been received before payment is collected.
  • If no communication is made by a customer regarding an overdue payment, we reserve the right to attempt collection on the 1st of any subsequent months until payment has been received in full.
  • Course books are required for lessons and recommendations will be made by your teacher in good time.
  • Continuation of lessons is assumed and lessons will continue to be scheduled until notice is received in writing, via email.
  • The notice period is four weeks/lessons and notice must be given in writing, via email.
  • Each half-term, we will send you a text and an email to remind you that payment will be collected on a set date (usually one week after the reminder).
  • All cancellations are payable. Thi s does not include any lessons that are cancelled by the teacher, in the unlikely event of this situation the fee would not be payable. Please see notice for rescheduling below. 
  • Notice for rescheduling is a minimum of 7 days before your lesson is due to be delivered. This is to ensure that your lesson can be rescheduled to an appropriate day/time in your area within the same week, based on your teacher's schedule. All rescheduling notice must be in writing (email/text is fine). If a time cannot be agreed within the same week the full fee is still payable.
  • Bank Holidays are included in each half-term schedule. If you do not wish to have a lesson on a bank holiday, the rescheduling policy above still applies. Please make contact a minimum of 7 days before your lesson to reschedule.
  • Tuition fees are subject to change and are reviewed on an annual basis. This will be communicated to you in advance.
  • Terms and conditions are subject to change. This will be communicated to you as and when this happens.

 


Online Lessons - Important Information Regarding Safeguarding & Etiquette


The requirement to ensure that children and young people are able to use the internet and related communications technologies appropriately and safely is addressed as part of the wider duty of care to which all who work with children and young people are bound. Parents/Carers play a crucial role in ensuring that their children understand the need to use the internet / mobile devices in an appropriate way. Research shows that many parents and carers do not fully understand the issues and are less experienced in the use of ICT than their children. Please read our Online Learning Guidelines below carefully to help make sure that students fully engage with online lessons, while adhering to rules to assure effective online safeguarding.
 
1. Select a suitable, neutral location for your lesson; ideally this should not be a bedroom. Please select an area with as few distractions as possible and blur your background (if possible) or select a place where the background is neutral and not displaying lots of personal items. The door to any room used should be kept open and the child and the screen in full easy, view at all times.
 
2. A student’s behaviour and clothing must be appropriate at all times. If students are not suitably dressed or if any behaviour is inappropriate, the teacher will end the online lesson immediately then email/call parents to inform them of the reason for this.
 
3. For children aged 12 and under, an adult should be present in the room for the duration of the lesson. For children aged 13-15 an adult should be present for the start and end of the lesson and be on hand if needed, but not necessarily in the room. For young people aged 16-18, lessons can be unaccompanied.  
 
4. Please join your lesson on time. Take the time to check that all equipment is working, and you know how to use it well in advance of the lesson. If you do not attend your lesson the same terms and conditions apply as for face to face lessons.
 
5. All written and verbal comments must at all times be appropriate to the formality of your lesson. Teachers and pupils should communicate as is normally appropriate in a lesson at school or music centre.