(And Terms and Conditions) 

Class Climate

We aim to treat all students as individuals working and learning together in a supportive and relaxed environment which at the same time challenges creativity so that everyone can achieve his/her potential.  

Child Protection

All Drama Studio Associate Teachers and Administration Associates must have an Enhanced Disclosure or be PVG Scheme members.

Privacy

The Drama Studio holds personal information in the strictest confidence. Click on the link here to see our updated Privacy Policy in line with new GDPR regulations. 

Behaviour

All students and teachers will treat each other with respect. While Drama is an excellent vehicle for channelling challenging behaviour, we will not tolerate bullying. Disrespect or abuse towards others will result in exclusion from our classes.

Parental Concerns

Should parents have any concerns about their child within the class environment these should be raised with the Teacher or Director without delay. Most issues are best dealt with as soon as possible.

Should parents have a more serious issue it should be brought directly to the attention of the Directors Louise and Julie.

These issues should be dealt with respectfully and professionally by both parties.

 Fees

Fees are due before the start of the term and early payment of fees is an indicator of commitment and may affect allocation of drama roles.

Any alteration to fee arrangements must be agreed in advance.

Weekly Class Fee Refunds

The Drama Studio is committed to pay Hall fees and Class Teacher fees and can only do so based on class bookings and student commitment to the term.

Refunds will be given if parents cancel the class prior to the start of term and a £5 fee will be charged for refunds.

For new students we offer a FREE TRIAL one-off class to try it before paying for a term fee.

This trial class is not available at school based clubs.

We regret we cannot give term refunds of any kind after the term has started.

Holiday School Refunds

A £5 fee will be charged for refunds requested before the two week period prior to the start of the Holiday School.

After that period we cannot give Holiday School refunds. 

We cannot give refunds should students become ill or injured either at the Drama class or outwith it during term-time or holiday clubs.

Class Cancellation

Should we have to cancel a class due to teacher illness or unavailability that class will be credited or refunded to the students.

Classes may also be cancelled due to venue closures (and at times such as bad weather conditions, in schools with staff issues etc).

The Drama Studio has no control over venue closures and has a commitment to pay all Tutors and Admin Staff who are available and able to work. We cannot therefore instantly give credits for these types of cancellations. However after 2 consecutive sessions of disruption we will apply the refund/credit policy from then.

Door Policy

Each of our venues has it’s own unique door policy and parents and children will be made aware of the procedure for the start, changeover and finish of classes. We insist that parents of young children (under 7) bring them into the venues and come in to collect them.

Health and Safety

Children will be made aware of fire procedures and safety issues where appropriate to each venue. We are fully insured under NODA by Groupama Insurances

Other Drama Studio Policies

The Drama Studio has in place policies on Child Protection. Health and Safety, Discipline, Complaints, Security at Venues, Risk Assessments, Equality and Equal Opportunities, Client Privacy, Professional conduct.

Shows

At the end of three terms students will have the opportunity to present their plays and show to an audience of family and friends usually within the drama class time. We do have theatre opportunities for teenage students and also for selected junior groups from time to time. Performing is not compulsory and for children who do not wish to do so we will arrange for them to be involved in another aspect of the show such as lighting, costumes and props etc

Audiences

Most children love to perform their plays and it is a highlight and an important part of their development. We feel very strongly that the children are supported fully in their performances and ask that our audiences kindly respect this. For this reason we offer crèche facilities where possible in many of our venues for toddler siblings who do become understandably restless during the show. We ask that show day is seen as that special moment for older siblings.

Filming and Photographs

The Drama Studio on occasion films shows and workshops. We do this for the following reasons:

1. For Drama Teacher Training and Resources both online and in Teacher In- Service Courses.

2. For our young students to watch their Drama in progress and to learn from it.

3. For specific student filming projects.

4. For promotional reasons - our Drama Studio website and Social Media pages.

We have an opt-out policy whereby we will assume that parents agree to the above unless they tell us otherwise.

We also believe that the very nature of Drama lends itself to film and photography and by capturing these magical moments we have an invaluable record of childhood for parents and children to cherish forever.

If parents wish to film shows we ask that they do not use flash photography and that photographs and films are strictly for private viewing and will not be posted on any online platform.

Should parents not wish for their children to be filmed during a show they must advise us and we will offer an alternative activity on show day for their child.

Please note that we do not allow the students in our classes to film or take photographs of each other doing Drama. We make a special emphasis on this point with our Senior and Teenage classes and while it is very difficult with mobile phone culture as it is, to guarantee, we will do our best to ensure that it does not happen.

Casting

The Drama Studio has a Casting Agency and our students are welcome to join. Producers of film, TV and radio often contact us looking for young people for acting roles or even in pilot workshops to trial ideas. These castings and workshops are usually great fun and even if students do not get selected for the final piece, the experience is usually character forming. Again if parents do not wish their children to be considered for these types of projects please let us know.

This is a free service and parents will be asked to complete a Casting Agreement Form for us. Should a teacher put a student forward who has not yet completed a form the same Terms and Conditions will apply.

Talented Children

Some of our younger talented children may be invited to join one of our Senior/teenage Theatre groups to take part in one of their productions. This opportunity is only open to those who attend a weekly class with us already and is not a replacement for that class but an extension to it at a much reduced cost.

Online Classes

During the Lockdown we have been successfully running Drama Classes Online. Most parents are familiar with the format and we have been able to adapt our normal content to it.

The students need access to a computer and can be logged in via email. Your privacy regarding these details is the same as in our Privacy Policy.

We will follow the guidance on protecting children during the Zoom classes. Students will initially be held in the Waiting Room and only admitted if we recognise their emails. We will limit chat and screen share controls.

We will be teaching the students about the Zoom controls and monitoring what they can and cannot do during a class. Some of the time will be spent altogether in what is called the Main Room where everyone can see everyone else. 

We will ensure that the activities themselves are safe and will be giving safety briefings where appropriate.

For older students (age 10+) we will do the class groupwork in Breakout Rooms which the teachers will visit to ensure that everyone is on task.

For students aged 7-9 years the Breakout rooms will be supervised by a teacher at all times.

As the students are not within a normal class setting we ask that parents check that the room in which the students will be doing the class is safe for them as The Drama Studio cannot provide overall supervision of each child in each home. 

For younger children (age 5-7) we ask that children are within sight of a parent and again please ensure a safe area as younger students are more likely to be moving around in a space. Tables and chairs for example should be moved to the side and children briefed in advance as to where they can safely do the drama activities.

We ask also that children are not eating during the classes as we recognise this to be a potential choking factor when they are talking excitedly or moving around and for these reasons we do not allow it in our regular classes.

We will be producing fims/footage from the sessions for parents to download at the end of a full block (10 sessions). This is strictly for your own private use and should not be shared on social media.

We would like to use some of the footage from the online classes to accompany our Teacher Training Online Lessons. This is invaluable for other Drama teachers to see how to adapt class Drama online and is only available to qualified teachers via private links accompanying their Teaching Lesson Plans. 

If you do not wish your child to be shown do let us know and we can blank out their video screens from the Zoom room windows.

If you have any questions regarding these classes please get in touch.

We value constructive feedback from you on any of our services.