Terms and Conditions

This is part of your agreement when joining South Side. Attendance at our academy is open to all subject to the following conditions:

• Fees are paid upfront before your term begins

• We have up to date contact details for our students

• We have clear details of medical conditions and injuries which might affect the students within our classes and clear care plans if medication is required.

• We must be notified of any changes to the information provided for our pupils.

• South Side accepts no liability for any injuries sustained whilst participating in a class or on the premises.

• South Side accepts no responsibility for loss or damage of personal belongings while on the premises. We encourage all items to be named–including water bottles. 

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Code of Conduct for Students and Parents/Guardians

• All students must wear clothing they can move freely in, including appropriate shoes for dancing. Please avoid heels or flip-flops.  We encourage all of our students to wear a South Side t-shirt for our classes for company spirit.  Hoodies are also available.

• All students should bring a bottle of water each week.

• Please ensure students are dropped off and collected punctually and promptly. 

• Persistent late pick ups will likely incur fees to cover teacher time and venue hire. Parents/guardians must let South Side know if running late.

• We must be notified if any child plans to go home alone who does not usually.

• Please report all absence as soon as possible, this includes planned absence such as holidays, family celebrations etc. 

• South Side is not liable for any loss or damage of personal items brought on site.

• Parents are not permitted to stay within the premises for South Side sessions unless this has been agreed in advance with the South Side team. This is so as not to create an imbalance between our students or distract their training. Every term will end with an End of Term performance for friends and family.

• Parents/Guardians must notify South Side of any changes to contact or medical details.

• Any form of abuse will not be tolerated and dealt with promptly and sufficiently by the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Artistic Director.

• Any complaints should be made directly to the Artistic Director.

• South Side follows a strict Privacy Policy, Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and a Photography and Video Policy.  All parents/guardians should make themselves aware of the policies in full.

• South Side reserves the right to take photos or videos of all students to be used for publicity purposes only in line with our photography and video policy. (Parents/Guardians must inform South Side if they would not like to give consent)

• Parents/guardians are expected to supply costumes if required for productions your son/daughter is involved in.

• Racist, sexist and other offensive language and behaviour is not tolerated, and we reserve the right to terminate attendance without notice, the final decision being undertaken by the Board of Directors.

• All information will be kept on file and added to our mailing list unless stated otherwise. (Please email us if you would like to be removed from the mailing list). 

• Parents/carers will be invited to arranged class/performances at the end of selective terms. Parents/carers are not permitted to watch classes otherwise as we found students settle better and actively are more engaged. However, we will always contact you if needed. 

Teaching Staff

South Side reserves the right to change the teaching staff whenever necessary.

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Class Groups

South Side reserves the rights to alter class groups and ages as required. Students will only be able to move up age groups early if agreed by the South Side team. 

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Productions

• South Side will solely decide castings for all productions with careful consideration of class members attendance record, punctuality, past experiences, previous roles, audition performance and student's attitude. Casting decisions are final and unable to be changed. All class members will be cast in the show with plenty to do in rehearsals. 

• Once committed to a production all cast members are expected to see out the full rehearsal and performance process and shouldn't leave at any point during the process until the show is done. Fees for leaving productions early will be incurred for parents/guardians, with payment due until the end of the production process. 

• South Side students committ to working on productions following the South Side ethos of all-inclusivity, professionalism, teamwork and passion for theatre. This includes putting in work at home on lines, blocking, songs and dances. 

• South Side aim to keep class costs as low as possible and do not charge a show fee. We do however, typically ask parents to supply costumes for shows, or where costumes are more specialised we do ask for a small costume fee (no more than £20) from each participant. 

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Fees & Notice

• All class fees must be paid 6 weeks before the start of term via Direct Debit (GoCardless) or by the first day of the holiday project, unless a payment plan has been agreed.
• Notice must be given to leave at the end of a term, prior to the previous half term, to allow us to plan accordingly, specifically for productions. Full class fees will be due for the next term, following the half term break. For example to leave at the end of the Summer notice, notice must be given by the end of May half term.
• No refunds will be given. The only exception being, if the class is full and your place can be filled, where we reserve the right to make a £10 charge (taken off the refunded amount), and the cost of any classes where the space was not filled. E.g. the space is filled mid-term.
• No refunds will be given for any missed classes or rehearsals. 
• If your class is working on a production, students are expected to complete the full rehearsal and performance process once committed. Therefore, you are still liable to cover full fees until the end of the production process.

Absence

• Parents are not to allow their child to attend South Side if they are feeling unwell or have a known injury which would prevent a student
  from fully taking part. This includes presenting any contagious illness including (but not limited to): Chicken Pox, Head Lice, Common Cold, Flu and, as of March 2020, symptoms of COVID-19.

• Any child missing for more than three classes per term during a rehearsal process may have their roles altered or be removed from scenes/songs. Class numbers are limited, and many have long waiting lists, so good attendance and commitment to the course is essential.

Child Collection Policy

• Teachers must ensure that each child has left a session with an adult or older child (agreed in advance with parent). It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to ensure the child is collected punctually at the end of the class or session.
  Should a parent/ guardian not turn up to collect a child on time – this is the procedure we will follow:​

1. Contact the 2 contacts on our register. If the parent/carer is not reachable, and it is 15 minutes past the end of the class finishing time, the emergency procedure will be taken.

2. Leave a message with the parents/carers.

3. If classes, have finished we will take the child to the nearest police station in a taxi.

4. Leave a message for the parent/guardian to say where the child will be. 

• If we do manage to reach the parent/guardian but they are help up and will be collecting late the following challenges will apply.

  • 10 minutes, no fee but if it happens regularly, we will need to discuss with parent/carers

  • 10-15 minutes £5 charge

  • 30 minutes £10 charge

  • 45 minutes £15 charge

  • 1 hour or more £20 charge​

Waiting List

Students on the waiting list will be contacted in order of the list. If students are unavailable, and don’t respond to an email invite within 48 hours, the next students on the waiting list will be contacted and the first to make contact will receive the place.

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Localised Lockdowns & Pandemics

If South Side cannot deliver classes due to force majeure or government directive, we shall implement online classes via video conferencing software as a replacement. No refunds will be offered.

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Disclaimer: Our terms and conditions are subject to change without prior written notice. South Side Theatre Academy retains the right of final decisions and interpretation of terms and conditions.

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