GDPR means that Caterpillar Dance School must;
Caterpillar Dance School is a recognised school with the CDMT and as so, is required to collect and manage certain data. We need to know parent’s names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses. We need to know children’s’ full names, addresses, date of birth and School Education, along with any medical or SEN requirements. We are requested to provide this data to Medway County Council, Kent County Council & other council areas where our performances take place; this information is sent to the Local Authority via a secure electronic file transfer system.
Full details of our policy can be found in our Parent and Student Handbook online
Payment for term fees can be made by bank transfer or through the automated invoicing system STRIPE. To ensure that teachers are not unduly distracted from the class, we ask that all term payments are made electronically.
Please note, NEW students paying for the 3-week trial will need to pay via bank transfer prior to starting the trial. Please note, places for a three week trial are non-refundable, as we allocate spaces in advance to ensure our class sizes are kept small but also financially viable. Thank you for your understanding.
We will no longer accept CASH payments for private lessons, exam coaching classes, workshops, uniform, merchandise and exam fees. We do accept CARD payments for Uniform and Merchandise.
Private lessons, exam coaching, uniform, merchandise, workshops and exam fees all incur an additional cost and are NOT included as part of your term fees payment.
Please note an automatic fee of 10% will be charged on all late payments (if received after the payment due date), unless pre-authorised by the Principal.
Non Payment – For every payment that is Late without previous notice there will be a reminder email sent and an additional £3 will be added to the bill for every week that it is late. If payment is still not made within 1 month of reminder your place will be suspended and you will be unable to return to class until payment has been made. If payment is still not made after 3 months of suspension you could be taken to the small claims court.
If you are absent, please let us know so we can make a note on the register. As failure to pay your fees on time, and non-attendance during the first week of term may result in your place being given to another student on our waiting list.
All dance Schools have a dress code, and we ask all students and parents to observe the dress code as stated in the handbook. A PDF copy of the handbook can be downloaded by clicking on “About” on the menu bar then choosing “Student and Parent handbook”.
New students are allowed a period of 6 weeks to organise the correct uniform during which time they can wear their own dance wear. Regulation uniform is ordered through Caterpillar Dance School only.
At Caterpillar Dance School we take child safeguarding extremely seriously. The filming and taking of photographs during classes from outside the studio by parents, carers and other students is strictly prohibited. From time to time Caterpillar Dance School teachers may take group photographs of children for use on our website, facebook community page and closed parent group. We may also film routines and post these on our closed group to help children practice.
Your authorisation to use a photo or photos of your child within this context is therefore requested in accordance with Child Protection Act. Student names will not appear in any publicity unless requested (e.g. for examination result purposes or to recognise students achievements); in this case there will be consultation with the parents.
Full details of our Media Policy and Child safeguarding can be found in our Parent and Student Handbook online.
Caterpillar Dance School reserves the right to cancel any classes or workshops that fail to meet our minimum enrolment requirement. In the event of such a cancellation, your will firstly be offered an alternative class place. If a suitable alternative class place is not available, you will be refunded for any remaining classes in the term.
Recent years has seen the odd occurrence of bad weather, which has forced the venue to close due to health and safety. Similarly, occasionally a teacher may fall ill and it proves impossible to provide adequate cover. In these instances the school will re-schedule classes at the end of or in the following term and no refunds are offered.
We understand that from time to time peoples’ circumstances change and that you or your child may no longer be able to attend classes. In order to ensure that classes remain viable; notification to withdraw from a class during the academic year must be given in writing by the last Friday of term. At the end of the academic year, notice must be given by the end of July, if you wish to withdraw from classes and not return in September.
Failure to provide such written notice will result in you being billed for one terms tuition fees. Students who wish to re-join classes at a later date who have not given notice of leaving will be charged a £25 admin fee.
