Terms & Conditions
Acton Ballet School – Terms and Conditions
Once a student has been enrolled into a paid class online/by email/text or verbally and you have received your confirmation email, the following terms and conditions are deemed to have been read and agreed to by the parent of the student or the student (if over 18 years of age).
All existing students/parents of students have been supplied with the link to these terms and conditions and have agreed to these by continuing to attend classes at Acton Ballet School
1. Registration
There is a Membership fee that will be charged once for each NEW student and must be paid for before the first class is taken. This will not be charged again during the time that the student attends the school, unless the student leaves and then re-enrols at a later date, without prior agreement.
Additionally, the balance as advised for the month of enrolment, plus a month upfront must be paid by the end of the first week of the paid class. The online waiver must also be accepted and a payment card lodged with our secure payment provider, through our Acton Ballet School online portal.
Please note that enrolment is for the complete remainder of the term and will continue for each term thereafter, until notice is given. It is your responsibility to give Acton Ballet School notice if you do not wish to return for a consecutive term, as otherwise the place will be held and charged for. We do not issue refunds for students missing classes through illness, holidays or any other reason. However we may agree to suspend payments during a longer period of absence if advised in advance.
2. Fee Structure and payment rules
Please find below a description of the monthly fee structure for 2019 to 2020. Feel free to contact our office staff if you have any fee-related queries.
The monthly fee is an average of the yearly cost (36 weeks of lessons at the hourly rate), plus a £1 monthly card charge. We will adjust upon enrolment for the first month according to the number of classes in that month. Also, adjustment will be made after the specified notice has been given to account for the actual number of teaching weeks during the year/term (as applicable)
The balance due immediately upon enrolment into a class includes the fees for the month of enrolment, plus a month upfront as a deposit to be deducted from the final bill once the correct notice has been given (and the whole term has been paid for). We will also include the Membership fee for a new student. After this, the average monthly fee is charged on the 1st of each month throughout the year, whether or not there are school holidays. We do require at least one month’s notice if leaving and you are committed to the full term as soon as this starts. We offer a secure recurring card payment system. Please keep your cards up to the date on the online portal.
SIGNING UP FOR A CLASS ONLINE/VERBALLY/BY TEXT OR EMAIL CONSTITUTES AN AGREEMENT THAT YOU ARE SIGNED UP UNTIL THE END OF THE TERM AND AGREE TO PAY THE WHOLE FEE FOR THE TERM. Notice is required of at least one month before the start of the next term. No refunds are payable during the term.
If we do not receive payment when requested your child will be removed from the class register and so not permitted to attend classes.
Overdue fees will accrue a late fee of £10. After two weeks late, interest will accrue at 10% per week.
If we do not receive payment one month in advance your child will be removed from the class register and so not permitted to attend classes.
Refunds will not be issued for missed classes due to cancellation or public holiday – where possible, we will endeavour to arrange make-up lessons for classes cancelled or will offer an alternative class.
3. Attendance
Your child’s attendance in class is very important to their peers and our teaching staff. As a member of the team, it is a commitment for you to ensure your child attends their classes on time each week and attends all lessons planned for them. Not only do absences impact the progress through the syllabus for the class as a whole and the show routines we create, it also impacts the social and confidence-building principles we work hard to foster in each age group.
If you know ahead of time that your child will be absent due to holidays, commitments or school trips, please let us know so the class impact is minimal. If your child is too unwell to attend class, we ask that you inform our admin team as soon as you can so they can let the teachers know and preparations can be made to catch up on any missed work.
We will allow make up classes where there is a class option and space within the class, but unfortunately we are unable to guarantee make-up sessions for students who miss classes. Acton Ballet School will make every endeavour to schedule a catch-up class in the unlikely event that the school needs to cancel a lesson.
4. Social Media
Acton Ballet School’s Social Media Policy refers to all social networking sites, video/photo sharing sites, blogs, micro-blogs, wikis, podcasts, forums, instant messaging and geo-spatial tagging (for example, Facebook check-ins). Please see below for our regulations regarding Social Media and feel free to contact our office staff if you have any questions.
- Please remember that your anonymity on Social Media is never guaranteed and to exercise particular caution when posts, images or videos identify children in your care.
- Remain mindful that your behaviour on Social Media remains in keeping with Acton Ballet School’s code of conduct as outlined in chapter 6 of this handbook.
- Any comments or posts perceived to be obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, discriminatory or hateful towards Acton Ballet School staff, students or families may subject the owner to disciplinary or legal action.
- Should you wish to engage on Social Media while identifying as a studio volunteer or employee, you may only do so with integrity, respect, and adhere to privacy and confidentiality policy.
- Any content revealing or referring to sensitive studio information is not allowed to be shared online.
- Intellectual property laws (for example, costume design and choreography) must be observed by all studio patrons when posting online.
- All matters pertaining directly to the studio - whether it be fees, scheduling, placements or performance opportunities - may not be communicated via Social Media. We have an open door policy and encourage all communication, complaints and feedback to be communicated to the principal directly.
- We discourage students and teachers from becoming ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ on Social Media, unless there is an existing relationship. We consider all studio members to be family and as such feel the obligation to respect and monitor personal boundaries.
- You may not post photographs / videos that feature Acton Ballet School dancers other than your own online without the proven consent of their parent/guardian.
- Identifying information of any featured minors - including names, ages or location - must be removed when posting on Social Media.
5. Uniform
At Acton Ballet School we believe that wearing studio uniforms give students a sense of belonging to our family as well as creating an identity for our studio in the greater community. Uniforms are compulsory from Primary class stage and above.
Our uniforms also:
• Encourage discipline
• Help students resist peer pressure to buy stylish clothes for class
• Help identify non-students in the studio
• Diminish economic and social barriers between students
• Increase a sense of belonging and school pride
• Improve attendance
Uniforms can be purchased year-round from http://act.mydancestore.co.uk. The uniform required is listed under each grade.
Please ensure all parts of your child’s uniform are clearly labelled - individual shoes, socks etc...you’ll be amazed at the amount of lost property we generate!
6. Safety
With the safety of our families a number one priority, Acton Ballet School is very serious about upholding Child Protection laws and policies within the studio as well as at public performances and in the online arena (website and social media).
As part of your registration, you will have read and signed a media waiver allowing us to proudly use images and video footage of your student for advertising and promotional purposes. Should you have any concerns whatsoever with signing this declaration, please email us and we will happily assist you.
We have viewing windows within the studio rehearsal space, which can be checked by parents and family members from the comfort of our waiting area and CCTV in the entrance hall. All of our teachers and staff members have undergone enhanced DBS checks allowing them to work with children.
The teachers are educated in the negative impact of inappropriate music and costume selection when it comes to performing dance routines and are wholeheartedly committed to ensuring children in all of our dance routines are not subjected to any inappropriate songs or costuming. We recognise that songs with sexist, explicit, violent, racist, homophobic or criminal content may influence our dancers and/or audience and will strive to avoid using such music. We are committed to restricting costumes that project sexuality, contain explicit graphic or sexual content.
Our staff members have all been trained in first aid. We enforce a nut-free policy at the studio to ensure the safety of any students or parents with allergies to nuts or nut products and encourage gluten and dairy free foods when involved in fundraisers or studio events.
Acton Ballet School takes no responsibility for any stolen or misplaced property on the studio premises and we encourage our families to avoid bringing valuable items into the studio where possible.
7. Code of Conduct
To ensure the smooth, safe running of Acton Ballet School and an enjoyable experience for all, below you will find our code of conduct. As always we are open to feedback, so if any of the requirements outlined below are unclear or concerning, please give us a call to discuss further. Following a formal meeting, we do reserve the right to dismiss or take disciplinary action on any students or parents who breach our studio’s code of conduct.
Families who do not comply with their fee or costume payment obligations may be charged a late fee, and/or excluded from performances. External debt collection may occur when fees remain overdue and this will be at the expense of the client. Costume expenses are the responsibility of the parent, and costumes will not be issued to students with unpaid class fees.
No classes (including private lessons) or teachers are to be disturbed unless it is an emergency. Parents are not to approach teachers or students during class and if messages or food/drink/medication needs to be passed on to a student, it must be done through a staff member. All parents, unless watching class, must wait in the waiting areas or outside of the studios until classes have been dismissed.
We are unable to take responsibility for our students before or after their scheduled classes and it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure their child is picked up and dropped off on time. In the case of an emergency or unavoidable delay, please contact the studio immediately to inform us of the situation so we can keep your child calm and safe until they can be collected.
Any questions or complaints must go through the Principal – parents and students are not permitted to contact teachers via phone, in person, or via email / social networking with studio issues unless permission has been given by the Principal. Personal meetings with the studio principal can happily be arranged via email.
In the rare case of a parent or student showing disrespect or defamation to any parent, staff member or student, a meeting will be called immediately and dismissal may be considered at the discretion of the principal. Physical, mental, emotional or cyber bullying by parents, staff or students will not be tolerated and may result in dismissal from the studio.
Acton Ballet School takes no responsibility for any stolen or misplaced property on the studio premises and we encourage our families to avoid bringing valuable items into the studio where possible.
Acton Ballet School reserves the right to change teachers or timetabling when necessary at any time throughout the year.
Choreography, costuming and studio policies remain the intellectual property of Acton Ballet School Ltd and may not be reproduced or sold by any students, parents or staff without permission of the principal.
8. Communication
Miss Alex can be contacted on: 07939 930229 and is usually available between 9am and 3pm Mon-Fri. Kathryn our Office Manager can be contacted on email: info@actonballetschool.co.uk.
For convenience, our primary means of communication is via email. You will receive regular newsletters and important information via email so please ensure you have provided the studio with an up to date email address that is regularly checked. Don’t forget to add our email address: actonballetschool@hotmail.com to your contacts so we don’t end up in the dreaded Spam folder!
In the infrequent case of urgent information (for example, unexpected class cancellations), we will send an SMS and/or phone call to all families. So, for this reason, please make sure the mobile phone number you have provided to the studio is correct and up to date.
Facebook is a great way for us to keep in touch with a large number of people at once, so we encourage all families to join our closed Acton Ballet School Facebook group. This group can be found by searching Acton Ballet School Families and it will be monitored to ensure all content is appropriate and relevant.
We display important information, dates and studio details on our noticeboard in reception so please have a quick look when dropping off and picking up in case there is anything you may have missed. We are always happy to chat in more detail about communications you may receive from the studio, so if you need any clarification please don’t hesitate to email or call us.