Tuition Terms
1. Booking and Payment
- All lesson times for each term are agreed in advance
- Term fees are payable in full before the first lesson
- Once booked, pupils’ tuition slots are reserved exclusively for them and cannot be offered to another pupil.
Why? Our tutors commit to these specific times for the whole term and ringfence them for your child, ensuring consistency and continuity of teaching.
2. Parent-initiated cancellations
If a pupil cannot attend a booked lesson:
- The parent should notify the School as early as possible.
- The tutor will try to offer an alternative time if available.
- If the tutor cannot offer an alternative slot, the lesson is considered missed and no refund, credit, or reschedule is issued.
Why? Tutors reserve these times for your child and cannot re-sell the slot at short notice. This ensures we can retain high-quality tutors through stable, reliable income.
3. Tutor-initiated cancellations
If a tutor needs to cancel:
- we will offer a rescheduled lesson where possible
- if rescheduling is not possible, the parent receives a 100% refund for that lesson.
Why? It is only fair that families are reimbursed when the tutor is unable to teach.
4. Illness and emergencies
If a pupil is unwell or there is an unforeseen emergency:
- we will attempt a reschedule if the tutor has availability
- if no alternative time exists, the missed lesson is treated under the normal parent-cancellation policy.
Why? Our tutors have fixed weekly teaching capacities. We cannot exceed these limits, but we will always aim to help where we can.
5. Summary of Fairness
Our policy ensures that:
- tutors are fairly paid for the time they dedicate exclusively to your child
- parents are protected with a 100% refund when a tutor cancels
- the school maintains high-quality, reliable teaching through stable tutor retention
- families receive flexibility where possible without compromising the tutor’s income.
By booking lessons, families agree to these terms.
PARENT FAQs
Why Do Missed Lessons Still Have to Be Paid For?
1. Why can’t a missed lesson be refunded?
Because your tutor reserves that specific weekly time exclusively for your child. When a lesson is missed, the tutor still sets aside that time and cannot offer it to another pupil on short notice.
2. But clubs and activities allow refunds—why doesn’t private tuition?
Clubs can admit 20–30 children. Tutors can only teach one child at a time, so the space cannot be filled by someone else.
3. Why can the tutor cancel and get a refund, but not the parent?
This keeps the policy balanced:
- if we fail to provide the service, you are refunded
- if the pupil cannot attend, the tutor must still be paid for their reserved time.
This is standard practice across music tuition in the UK and internationally.
4. What if my child is ill?
We will always try to reschedule, but tutors have fixed teaching hours. If no alternative slot exists, the standard missed-lesson policy applies.
5. Why is this policy necessary?
It allows us to
- hire and retain the best tutors
- guarantee your lesson time each week
- provide consistent, high-quality music education.
Without protecting tutor income, we would not be able to offer reliable teaching or retain Tutors.
