Policies, Terms and conditions
Below you will find important information which we request all parents read, share and discuss with their children as appropriate.
1. Introduction
These are the terms and conditions for students joining and participating in dance classes at Pennine Academy of Dance (PAD). In order to participate with a dance class these terms and conditions must be agreed to by a parent or guardian of a student if under 18 or the student themselves if over 18.
Pennine Academy of Dance can be contacted via email at [email protected] or telephone at 0774553323. Classes are held at Gledholt Methodist Church and Milnsbridge Village Hall. Details of timetable and venues can be found on the dance class page.
2. Registration
All students must be registered for the classes they attend. Unregistered students will not be allowed to participate in class.
Registration will take place by completing the registration form. It will be emailed to the parent via our school management system – Coacha. Agreement to the Terms & Conditions is essential for registration to be complete. A direct debit mandate for payments via GoCardless from Coacha will be emailed to the parent which must be completed by the second class. Failure to do this may result in the student being unable to be accepted into the class.
A new student will receive a free trial class. Following that, payment must be made via direct debit for the remaining classes of the month. A one-off payment request will be sent for the remaining classes. Please see prices for remaining classes. Following that they will be given a monthly subscription for their fees via direct debit.
Classes are divided by age, but these are guidelines and students can be moved or placed in a class by ability at the teacher’s discretion. There is a minimum age for some class groupings. A student cannot be moved into a class that they would otherwise be eligible for, if they are too young.
Parents have responsibility to ensure that Pennine Academy of Dance is kept updated of personal details including changes of mobile numbers and changes to health.
Notices and communications will be sent via email to the primary email address given at registration. It is a parent’s responsibility to inform PAD if they have not received a communication.
Monthly newsletters will be emailed at the beginning of each month with all relevant upcoming notices included.
If a student misses one month’s classes without payment or advance warning their place will be forfeited, and name removed from the register.
3. Fees & Payment
Fees are paid monthly in advance via Direct Debit on the first of the month. Payments are taken via the software ‘GoCardless’. If a direct debit cannot be taken, the payment will be attempted to be repeated. If a payment is not made after 3 attempts without prior communication the place in the class will be forfeited.
View our current class prices.
Fees are non-refundable or transferable, our costs are fixed and have to be paid whether you attend or not. Please refer to section 4. Refunds and Cancellations for further information.
If a student turns up to class without the fee having been paid, and unless you have a prior written agreement with PAD regarding fee payment, they will not be allowed to participate.
Special events such as exam days, shows and dress rehearsals are charged and counted as classes – even if you/your child chooses not to take part.
4. Refunds & Cancellations
PAD is unable to offer refunds to cover your booked holidays, illness or any other reason why you may miss a class to ensure continuity of service.
No fee will be returned if a class is cancelled as a one off due to inclement weather conditions or any other circumstances outside of our control. PAD will always endeavour to keep classes open if it is safe to do so. If possible, a cover teacher will be arranged if the teacher of the class falls ill. If a class should be cancelled on a more permanent basis the direct debit amount charged will be changed to reflect this.
Should PAD require to send money or refund a parent (such as cancelled exam fees due to the Covid-19 pandemic) the parent will be asked to give the email address attached to a PayPal account and money will be transferred using this secure service.
Should a student wish to discontinue any class or leave the school, refunds for any unused classes will not be given.
One month’s written notice to the Principal is required for any student wishing to discontinue any class or leave the school. If the required notice is not received, the full payment of the student’s fees for the following month will be due.
PAD will cancel the student’s space within their class if there is no attendance for 4 weeks without any communication.
5. Timetable Changes
PAD endeavours to keep timetabling changes to a minimum. All timetabling notifications will be emailed with as much notice as possible.
6. Uniform
All students are required to dress appropriately for the dance activity they are participating in. View class and exam uniforms.
All students are required to wear the regulation footwear for all classes.
New Students
- New students should wear appropriate clothing for physical activity such as leggings/ joggers and a T-shirt. Pumps or clean trainers can be worn to dance in.
- New students should have the required class uniform by their 5th class (One month in)
Dancewear
PAD stocks and sells dancewear and footwear. For information about ordering, fittings and payments please read the dancewear page.
Regulation T-shirts and Hoodies can be ordered by emailing [email protected].
7. Photographs & Filming
Photographs must not be taken (or recordings made) whilst on site by parents or students unless authorised by PAD to do so.
8. PAD Photographs & Filming Policy
By agreeing to the terms & conditions you give your consent for the use of photographs and video recording from time to time by PAD. These could be used on promotional material such as flyers, banners, website and show programmes for the development and marketing of PAD. No identifiable images will be used on social media.
Photographs and video recording will be done for shows and presentations and will be available to purchase by members of PAD.
By taking part in PAD activities you are agreeing to this happening, unless you have otherwise informed the school in writing.
9. Code of Conduct
Please read our full code of conduct.
All members and their parents/guardians of the dance school community are expected to:
- be responsible for their own actions and know how to behave;
- show self-discipline and support others;
- have good manners and be polite;
- show understanding and respect towards each other and others’ property;
- display positive attitudes to the school and staff team.
Should we believe that these standards are not being met, we will speak to the parent/guardian to try and resolve any issues. Should behaviour continue not to meet our expectations, our Principal reserves the right to ask that student to leave the school.
10. Child Safety- Drop off & Collections
If your child is being collected by someone else, you must inform PAD via email or text in advance of the class.
Parents are asked to wait in the waiting area during classes, they will not be allowed to wait in the hall with the class as this causes a distraction to the students.
If you wish your child to wait unattended prior to a class starting, we cannot be held responsible for them.
If you wish your child to go home unsupervised, that is your responsibility.
View COVID-19 Compliant Collection & Drop Off System
11. Child Protection & Safeguarding
PAD is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and expects all staff, visitors and parents to share this commitment.
It is the statutory responsibility of every dance school to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as outlined by the DFE in its publication Keeping Children Safe in Education. This means that PAD must protect children from maltreatment, prevent impairment of children’s health or development, ensure that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provisions of safe and effective care and take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes in life.
Our safeguarding officer is Helen Snowden (Principal).
At PAD we ensure that all members of staff and visitors who come into contact with the children and their families are clear on the role that they play in safeguarding children. We promote an ethos where children and parents feel comfortable sharing their concerns about their safety and well being of others.
Child protection is everybody’s responsibility and all people in the dance school community have a duty to act on any concern. If you are concerned about the safety of any child in our dance school, you must report this to the designated safeguarding lead – Helen Snowden.
All PAD staff members (teachers & assistants) wear a purple staff t-shirt with their name on. This allows the staff, children and parents to know who the adults & assistants are in the dance school, ensuring that everyone feels safe. All staff that are over 18 years of age hold a current, enhanced DBS certificate.
Where possible, we encourage parents to take their own children to the toilet should they need assistance.
For large performances, special events and trips – we follow the Child Performance License and registered Chaperone rules and regulations set out by Kirklees Council.
12. Physical Contact
Due to the nature of teaching dance, it is sometimes necessary to correct and support dance positions physically. This is always conducted with the utmost care and professionalism by members of staff.
Students are also sometimes required to have physical contact with each other such as holding hands, doing partner activities and creating acrobatic pictures and lifts. These are supervised by a member of staff.
Where contact is needed, we will remain sensitive to the student’s wishes and put their welfare first. In all cases, we will say why and how we will be correcting the student’s position before making any contact. We encourage students to report any concerns.
Due to Covid-19, we are currently limiting all physical contact with members wherever possible – please see our Covid-19 Protection Policy for further details.
13. First Aid
PAD will comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. Your registered First Aider is Helen Snowden. First aid boxes are located within all of our venues, and a kit is also carried by Helen Snowden at all times.
By agreeing to these terms and conditions you authorise PAD to seek medical services in case of serious illness or injury if you the parent/next of kin cannot be contacted.
14. Data Sharing & GDPR
PAD keeps records of students on our online databases (Coacha and ActiveCampaign – both GDPR compliant) with password protection for the purpose of efficiency and consistency of administration. The data held on you/your child can be viewed by you upon request and by any member of the PAD Admin team. These details will enable us to contact you in an emergency, send you information and updates, keep our class lists up to date, and enable us to take any injury/illness/medication stated into account or apply informed First Aid when needed. PAD will not share any of your personal details without your permission, aside from where the law allows. This complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the GDPR legislation.
Should you leave PAD, your details will be permanently deleted within 1 year. Except where we are legally required to hold information for Child Protection and Safeguarding.
You also have the right to request for your details be deleted at any time after your departure from PAD.
If your child is taking a dance examination, the exam board will require the child’s name, DOB and ethnicity. Kirklees council will also require this information should your child take part in one of our shows.
15. Illness
Parents are asked to keep their children at home if they have a serious infection or illness and to inform PAD as to the nature of the infection should other parents need to be alerted.
Parent’s have a responsibility to notify their teacher of any illness or injury that may affect the child’s class.
Please keep your child at home if she/he:
- Has symptoms of a possible communicable disease
- Has a fever or has had one in the previous 24 hours
- Has had an upset stomach/ sickness or diarrhoea in the previous 48 hours
- Has heavy nasal discharge
- Has discharging eyes
- Measles
- Chicken Pox
- German Measles
- Whooping Cough
- Impetigo
- Scarlet Fever
- Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease
- Norovirus
PAD cannot offer a refund for a missed class due to illness.
16. Exams
PAD takes examinations annually with the Central Dancing Association. Students may also take examinations with the Royal Academy of Dance and Acrobatic Arts if they attend extra classes in Ballet and Acro alongside their core class.
Students will only be entered when they have reached the required standard decided by the teacher. PAD has the right to withdraw any student from an examination at any stage.
All examinations will require an additional fee to be paid which includes those set by the exam board and any additional administrative fees set by PAD. Students can only be entered for an examination if the fee is paid by the deadline given by PAD.
Failure to take dance exams if a student is deemed ready by their teacher may limit a student’s progression through the dance school.
Student assistants who assist in classes must continue to take all examinations that they are deemed ready for, until qualified as a teacher, should they wish to continue assisting.
17. Protection of Property
PAD does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage to personal items brought to or left on the premises.
It is strongly advised that dancewear/ footwear and clothing are named.
18. Covid-19 Protection Policy
From October 2020 PAD introduced many changes to our operations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic – some temporary, some permanent. These are outlined in our Covid-19 Protection Policy, which must be read.
Agreement to our Terms and Conditions also includes agreeing to all the further Terms and Conditions in our Covid-19 Protection Policy.
19. Changes to Terms & Conditions
Pennine Academy of Dance reserves the right to amend or alter these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice. The terms and conditions can be accessed via the governance section of PAD’s website.
Last updated 1st January 2021