This page outlines the policies (current and in development) at ViolinSchool for the following areas:
Scheduling, Cancellation & Replacement Lesson Policy, Payment Policy, Data Protection, Health and Safety, Child Protection
We are working towards full automation of ViolinSchool’s scheduling, and in the future students will be able to submit any time change requests via the online portal.
Until such time, scheduling of lesson times is handled by the ViolinSchool office ([email protected]). Tutors do not handle any scheduling or administration. Students are asked to liaise directly with the ViolinSchool office, not with their tutors, about their lesson times.
If at the time of enrolment you know of any lesson dates for the forthcoming term when you will be unable to attend your regular lesson, just let us know using the appropriate space on the enrolment form. We will allot these times to other students, and you will not be billed for any lessons you cannot attend. Your other regular lesson times are unaffected. If you wish to find alternative times to replace the lessons you can’t attend, then we will schedule these for you on an ‘ad hoc’ basis, subject to availability.
N.B. ViolinSchool is an international school and we do not follow UK school schedules. We do not have a half term break. For families, we recognise that the school ‘half term’ holiday can be important family time, so please remember to notify us at the time of enrolment if there are dates when you are unable to attend your regular lesson time. In these instances, we will offer your half term week lesson to other students and you will not be billed for that lesson.
To encourage commitment and dedication to your studies, cancellation or rescheduling of lessons is generally not permitted once enrolment is complete, and any missed lessons will not be refunded. However, ViolinSchool does maintain a ‘missed lesson’ notification list for lessons that have been missed in these limited circumstances:
In these circumstances, the following re-scheduling policy will apply:
1) If you cancel a lesson at short notice (within 24 hours), it will not be replaced or refunded under any circumstances.
2) If you know that you will be unable to attend a lesson, and let the school know at the earliest opportunity (please send us an email at [email protected]), we will add your name to the ‘replacement lesson’ list.
3) When another student cancels a lesson, you will receive a notification that a replacement lesson time has become available. Until late 2013, this will be sent manually by the ViolinSchool office. Later in the year, you will be able to claim the lesson yourself via your online ViolinSchool account.
4) If we are unable to find a mutually convenient lesson time by the end of the term, you will lose the lesson allocation.
PLEASE HELP US TO HELP YOU, BY LETTING US KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE ABOUT ANY CANCELLATION. This will greatly increase the chance that we can re-allocate your lesson to someone else on the missed lesson list, and therefore offer you a replacement lesson before the end of the term.
Conditions:
1) Availability
Replacement lessons depend entirely on tutor availability and other student cancellations. Therefore, although we will endeavour to replace your lesson where possible, this is not guaranteed.
2) Priority
First time requests for a replacement lesson will be dealt with strictly in the order they are received. If a student makes a second replacement lesson request in one term, this will be dealt with only after first time requests from other students.
3) Limitation
Replacement lessons are strictly limited to 2 lessons per term. No student will be allowed more than two replacement lessons per term.
4) Communication
All cancellations or missed lessons must be notified by email to [email protected]. We cannot accept cancellations by phone.
Central London is almost never un-traversable, however if extreme weather results in a rare transport system meltdown or it is unsafe for you to travel from home, then ViolinSchool tutors may be able to deliver your lesson via the internet instead (using Skype).
In the event that a ViolinSchool tutor is absent (e.g. illness) on a teaching day, ViolinSchool’s support team will alert you by email as soon as feasibly possible. We will liaise with the teacher to find a replacement lesson time that is convenient for you, and will replace your lesson at the earliest possible time.
All lessons must be paid for before tuition takes place. Termly payments must either be made in advance, or in two instalments as specified on the termly enrolment form.
ViolinSchool reserves the right to refuse lessons to students who have not pre-paid or whose accounts are in arrears. If a student is in financial difficulty they should contact the school at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss payment options. Payment issues are always treated in the strictest confidence, and we will always do what we can to help a seriously committed student who is in genuine need.
Membership and Recurring Payments
We are currently developing a strict and comprehensive data protection policy, which will be published soon. In the meantime, ViolinSchool operates according to the UK’s Data Protection Act 1998. Our data is currently hosted on servers owned by Tsohost and Google.
We are currently developing a strict and comprehensive health and safety policy, which will be published soon. In the meantime, ViolinSchool operates according to the UK’s Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
ViolinSchool is committed to providing:
We are currently developing a strict and comprehensive Child Protection policy, which will be published soon. In the meantime, ViolinSchool operates according to the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004 for England and Wales.
