Parent / Client Terms and Conditions

Version 2.0 | Effective from 1 September 2026 | Review date: September 2027

Company	The Community Schools CIC (Company No. 14658587)
Registered office	Office 211, Epicentre, Enterprise Way, Haverhill, England CB9 7LR
Tutors’ Association	Corporate Member CO 306
Contact for notices	Claire@thecommunityschools.co.uk
Data protection	Data Controller: The Community Schools CIC. ICO registration ZC221275
Designated Safeguarding Lead	Hayley Coull — admin@thecommunityschools.co.uk
Deputy DSL	Claire Meadows-Smith — claire@thecommunityschools.co.uk

This Privacy Policy explains how The Community Schools CIC ("The Community Schools", "we", "us" or "our") collects, uses, shares, stores and protects personal information in connection with our tutoring services and our own online administration system. It is intended for parents/carers, students, prospective students, tutors, applicants, schools and other clients.

About The Community Schools CIC — and why these Terms are written as they are

The Community Schools CIC is a not-for-profit organisation. We exist to provide young people with teaching that the State does not provide as standard, matched to their individual learning needs — and to relieve the pressure on families who are often exhausted by the search for it.

Every teacher who works with your child is a qualified, experienced teacher. We are not an agency. Our teachers are directly engaged, properly supported, safely recruited and fully vetted, because that is what allows them to do their best work for a child — and it is what allows us to stand behind the service we provide.

We have no shareholders. Every surplus is reinvested in extending provision to more young people. This has a practical consequence that runs through these Terms: when a place is booked, a qualified teacher’s time is reserved and paid for by us, whether or not the session is attended. Money refunded for teaching we have already staffed and paid for is money taken from provision for another child.

We know that family life is complicated, that some children find attendance genuinely hard, and that emergencies happen. We will always try to be humane about it, and clause 4.6 says so. But we are asking families to understand that fairness here is fairness to the whole community we serve, not only to one family at a time.

Key terms at a glance

This summary is for convenience only and does not replace the full Terms below. Please read the clauses referred to. By accepting these Terms you confirm that these points in particular have been drawn to your attention.

The five terms most likely to affect you

1. If your child does not attend a booked session, the fee for that session is still payable. We have already reserved and paid for a qualified teacher’s time. See clause 4.
2. Ongoing tuition ends on 28 days’ written notice, and fees remain payable for sessions falling in that notice period. See clause 6.
3. Monthly instalments are a way of spreading the cost of the booked tuition across the year. They do not buy a particular calendar month’s sessions. If tuition ends part-way through the year, we reconcile what has been delivered against what has been paid. See clauses 3.2 and 6.5.
4. If you booked at a distance or away from our premises, you have a 14-day statutory right to cancel. See clause 7 and the cancellation form at Annex A.
5. Please do not engage our teachers privately outside The Community Schools. This is a safeguarding requirement as much as a commercial one. See clause 13.

1. The agreement and our tutoring service

1.1 The Community Schools CIC provides tutoring services delivered by qualified, experienced teachers who have been recruited under our safer recruitment procedures. The contract for tuition is between the Parent and The Community Schools CIC. The individual teacher does not contract directly with the Parent.
1.2 The agreement consists of these Terms and Conditions together with the Student’s registration/booking information, the applicable fee information, and the policies referred to in clause 18.
1.3 A booking is accepted when we confirm the Student’s place or first scheduled session in writing. The Parent is responsible for ensuring that registration information is accurate and complete, and for telling us promptly about relevant changes — including changes to contact details, parental responsibility, medical or SEND information, and any court order or safeguarding arrangement affecting the Student.
1.4 We will use reasonable care and skill in providing tuition. We cannot guarantee a particular examination grade, school place, assessment outcome or other academic result.
1.5 We are a supplementary education provider. We are not a registered school and we do not provide full-time education. Where a Student is electively home educated, the legal duty to secure a suitable full-time education under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 remains with the parent at all times. Our provision supports that duty; it does not discharge it.
1.6 Where the Parent is not the person with parental responsibility for the Student, the Parent confirms that they have the authority of a person with parental responsibility to enter into this agreement and to receive information about the Student.

2. Courses, sessions and teachers

2.1 Our standard term consists of 11 scheduled tutoring sessions, and a standard academic year therefore consists of 33 scheduled sessions across three terms, unless the booking confirmation expressly states otherwise. Term dates and the session timetable are notified at booking and published by us.
2.2 Tuition may be delivered in person or online, individually or in a group, according to the service booked.
2.3 Where tuition is booked as a group session, we will notify the intended group size maximum of 6 students at booking. If a group becomes non-viable, we may combine groups, offer an alternative group, offer an alternative format, or (if none of those is suitable) end that provision under clause 5.1 without charge for sessions not provided.
2.4 All teachers engaged to deliver tuition hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or an equivalent recognised teaching qualification, hold an Enhanced DBS certificate with a check of the children’s barred list, and satisfy our safer recruitment and safeguarding requirements.
2.5 We will take reasonable steps to provide continuity of teacher. We may change a teacher where reasonably necessary, for example because of illness, availability, safeguarding, staffing or operational requirements. Any replacement teacher will meet the same requirements set out in clause 2.4.
2.6 We do not deliver tuition in a Student’s home. In-person tuition takes place only at premises arranged or approved by us. Tuition outside those premises is delivered online in accordance with clause 8.

3. Fees and payment

3.1 Fees are those notified to the Parent at the time of booking or subsequently agreed in writing. Fees are inclusive of VAT where VAT applies.
3.2 Where the Parent chooses our standard monthly payment arrangement, fees for the academic year are collected by Direct Debit in 10 monthly instalments from September to June. The monthly instalments are a payment arrangement that spreads the cost of the booked tuition across the year; they do not mean that each payment purchases a particular calendar month’s sessions. Direct Debit payments are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
3.3 The Parent must maintain a valid payment method and pay sums due on time. If a payment fails, we will contact the Parent to arrange payment. If undisputed sums remain overdue after we have given reasonable written notice, we may suspend future tuition. Where tuition is suspended for non-payment, fees for sessions falling during the suspension remain payable unless we confirm otherwise in writing, because the teacher’s time remains reserved.
3.4 We may review fees, normally with effect from the start of an academic year. Any increase affecting an existing booking will be notified at least 28 days in advance and will take effect only from the date stated in the notice. We will not retrospectively increase fees for tuition already supplied.
3.5 If the Parent does not wish to accept a fee increase, the Parent may end ongoing tuition by giving written notice before the increase takes effect, and the increase will not apply during the resulting notice period.
3.6 Where we incur a reasonable and evidenced administrative cost as a result of a failed or returned payment, we may recover that cost. We will not charge more than the cost we have actually incurred.

4. Attendance, absence and catch-up sessions

4.1 The Parent should tell us as soon as possible if the Student cannot attend a scheduled session.
4.2 When a place is booked, we reserve a qualified teacher’s time for that Student and we pay the teacher for the reserved session whether or not the Student attends. That cost is not recovered elsewhere. Fees for a booked place therefore remain payable in full if the Student does not attend a scheduled session, or attends late, or attends for only part of a session. Because we are a not-for-profit organisation with no shareholders, sums refunded for sessions we have already staffed and paid for directly reduce the provision we are able to offer other young people.
4.3 Sessions are not transferable between Students or between terms, and unattended sessions do not accrue as credit.
4.4 If the Student arrives late, the session will normally finish at the scheduled time.
4.5 Where our current service permits an online catch-up session following an in-person absence, at least 24 hours’ notice must be given and a maximum of one such catch-up session is available per Student per term, subject to teacher availability and to the arrangements notified by us. A catch-up session is a discretionary accommodation, cannot be carried into a later term, and does not create a right to reschedule.
4.6 We recognise that families face genuine emergencies, bereavement, serious illness and periods of acute difficulty, and that for some Students attendance is itself part of the difficulty. Where exceptional circumstances arise, the Parent should contact us and we will consider what we can reasonably do, which may include a rearranged session, a temporary adjustment or a pause in provision. Any such accommodation is at our discretion, is decided case by case, and does not vary these Terms or create a precedent.
4.7 Nothing in this clause 4 affects the Parent’s statutory cancellation rights under clause 7, the termination rights under clause 6, or the Parent’s rights where we do not supply a session (clause 5).

5. Cancellation or disruption by The Community Schools

5.1 If we or the allocated teacher cancel a session, the Parent will not be charged for a service that is not provided. We will normally offer a rearranged session, suitable replacement provision, credit or refund as appropriate. Any refund due will be made within 14 days using the same payment method unless otherwise agreed.
5.2 For online tuition, if a session cannot take place or is materially curtailed because of a failure of the Student’s or Parent’s device, software or internet connection, it will be treated as Student non-attendance under clause 4. If the failure is caused by our systems, or by the teacher’s device or connection, we will treat it as a cancellation by us and clause 5.1 applies.
5.3 Neither party is responsible for failure to perform caused by events outside its reasonable control. Such events include (without limitation) severe weather, fire, flood, failure of utilities or telecommunications networks, epidemic or pandemic, government restriction, civil emergency, and closure or loss of a venue for reasons outside our control.
5.4 Where such an event affects a venue or service, we may offer reasonable alternative arrangements, including online tuition, a different venue or rescheduling. Where we cannot provide the service or a reasonable alternative for a continuous period exceeding four scheduled sessions, either party may end the affected provision on written notice and we will reconcile fees under clause 6.5. The Parent’s statutory rights are not affected.

6. Ending ongoing tuition — 28 days’ notice

6.1 After any applicable statutory cancellation period has expired, the Parent may end ongoing tuition by giving The Community Schools CIC at least 28 days’ written notice.
6.2 Fees remain payable for scheduled tuition falling within the 28-day notice period, whether or not the Student attends, except where we cancel the tuition or the law requires otherwise.
6.3 Notice must be sent in writing to the contact address for notices shown at the front of these Terms. The notice period starts on the day we receive the notice.
6.4 We may end or suspend tuition on reasonable notice where necessary, including for persistent non-payment, serious or repeated behaviour concerns, safeguarding concerns, or a serious breakdown in the working relationship. Where appropriate we will explain the reason, taking account of safeguarding and confidentiality obligations. We may end tuition immediately where there is a risk to the safety or welfare of any person.
6.5 Reconciliation on ending. Where tuition ends part-way through an academic year and the Parent pays by monthly instalment, we will compare the total fees paid against the fees properly due for all sessions delivered and for all sessions scheduled within the notice period, calculated at the applicable session rate. If the Parent has paid more than is due, we will refund the difference within 14 days. If the Parent has paid less than is due, the balance is payable within 14 days of our written statement. Instalments falling due after the end of the notice period will be cancelled.
6.6 Ending tuition does not affect any right or liability that has already arisen.

7. Statutory right to cancel a distance or off-premises contract

7.1 Where the Parent enters into this contract at a distance (for example online, by telephone or by email) or off our business premises, and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply, the Parent has 14 days from the day after the contract is made to cancel without giving a reason.
7.2 To cancel, the Parent must make a clear statement to us before the cancellation period expires – by email.
7.3 If the Parent asks us to begin tuition during the 14-day cancellation period, the Parent expressly requests early performance of the service. If the Parent then cancels during that period, we may charge a proportionate amount for the services actually supplied up to the point of cancellation.
7.4 If the service is fully performed during the cancellation period after the Parent expressly requested early performance and acknowledged that the right to cancel would be lost once the service was fully performed, the statutory right to cancel ends at that point.
7.5 Any refund due under this clause will be made within 14 days of the day we are told of the cancellation, using the same payment method unless otherwise agreed.
7.6 This clause does not limit any other statutory rights the Parent may have.

8. Online tuition, recordings and images

8.1 Students must access online tuition using the platform and joining arrangements approved by The Community Schools. Joining links and access credentials must not be shared with anyone else.
8.2 Parents and Students are responsible for providing a suitable device, an adequate internet connection and an appropriate learning environment. To support safe online working, sessions should take place in a shared or communal area of the home rather than a bedroom or bathroom wherever practicable; a parent or responsible adult should be present in the home and contactable throughout; and the Student should be appropriately dressed. We may end a session and contact the Parent if these arrangements are not in place.
8.3 Students and Parents must not record, photograph, screenshot, copy, distribute or publish any session or any material showing another Student or a member of our staff, unless we have expressly authorised this in writing.
8.4 We record online tutoring sessions as a safeguarding and quality measure. Recording is a condition of online provision and the Parent will be told at booking which sessions are recorded. Our lawful basis for this processing is explained in our Privacy Policy.
8.5 Recordings are accessible only to the Student, the Student’s teacher, the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy, and authorised Community Schools administrators. Recordings are not used for marketing or training purposes without separate written consent.
8.6 Recordings are retained while the Student remains a current student and are then deleted in accordance with our Records Retention Schedule, normally within 30 days after the Student ceases to be a current student. Where a recording is or may become relevant to a safeguarding concern, allegation, complaint, legal claim, regulatory requirement or investigation, it will be retained for as long as necessary for that purpose in line with the retention periods set out in that Schedule, and access will remain restricted. Where our safeguarding retention obligations require a longer period than 30 days, those obligations take precedence.
8.7 Where a Parent asks for access to a recording, we will handle the request under UK data protection law. We may need to withhold or edit material that identifies another Student or another individual.
8.8 We will not use a Student’s image, work, name or words in publicity, case studies, funding applications or award submissions without separate, specific written consent. That consent is optional, is not a condition of tuition, and may be withdrawn at any time.
8.9 Further information about online safety and personal data is set out in our Online Safety Guide and Privacy Policy.

9. Safeguarding and professional standards

9.1 The welfare and safeguarding of Students is our primary consideration. All staff and teachers must follow The Community Schools CIC Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct and related procedures, which reflect the principles of Keeping Children Safe in Education.
9.2 The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Hayley Coull. The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Claire Meadows-Smith. Contact details are at the front of these Terms.
9.3 Safeguarding information may be shared where reasonably necessary to protect a child or to comply with a legal obligation. Safeguarding concerns are not subject to ordinary confidentiality in a way that prevents appropriate reporting or referral, and we will not always be able to seek consent before making a referral.
9.4 Allegations or concerns about the conduct of a teacher, member of staff or volunteer are dealt with under our Managing Allegations procedure and not under the ordinary Complaints Procedure. Where the threshold is met, we will refer the matter to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and to any other appropriate agency.
9.5 Nothing in these Terms prevents a Parent, Student or any other person from contacting children’s social care, the police or the LADO directly at any time, and a Parent does not need to raise a safeguarding concern with us first.
9.6 The Community Schools CIC is a corporate member of The Tutors’ Association (membership CO 306) and expects standards of professional conduct consistent with its applicable Code of Practice.

10. Student behaviour and appropriate use

10.1 Students are expected to behave respectfully towards teachers, staff and other Students, and to follow reasonable instructions intended to support safe and effective learning.
10.2 Bullying, harassment, discriminatory abuse, threatening behaviour, sexual harassment, harmful sexual behaviour, misuse of recordings or images, and serious online misconduct are not acceptable and will be addressed under our Anti-Bullying Policy, Student Behaviour Code and, where relevant, our safeguarding procedures.
10.3 Behaviour that raises a safeguarding concern will be managed under our safeguarding procedures as well as any behaviour policy. We will consider the Student’s age, SEND or disability, circumstances and any appropriate reasonable adjustments before taking any action.
10.4 Where behaviour cannot be safely managed within our provision, we may suspend or end tuition under clause 6.4. We will explain our reasons in writing so far as safeguarding and confidentiality permit.
10.5 We expect the same standards of conduct from Parents towards our teachers and staff. Abusive, threatening or discriminatory behaviour towards our people may result in tuition being ended under clause 6.4.

11. Health, SEND and reasonable adjustments

11.1 The Parent must provide the information reasonably necessary for us to support the Student safely and effectively, including relevant SEND, disability, medical, allergy, mental health or learning information, and must keep that information up to date.
11.2 We will consider reasonable adjustments for disabled Students under the Equality Act 2010 and will discuss practicable support arrangements with the Parent. We cannot guarantee that every venue or service can meet every requested adjustment, but we will consider reasonable alternatives.
11.3 We do not administer medication. Where a Student requires medication during in-person provision, the Parent must tell us in advance and agree suitable arrangements with us in writing.
11.4 In an emergency we may take reasonable steps to protect the Student’s welfare, including contacting the Parent, the emergency services or other appropriate agencies. The Parent must ensure we hold an emergency contact who is contactable during scheduled sessions.

12. Data protection and confidentiality

12.1 The Community Schools CIC is the data controller for personal data processed in connection with tuition. We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and UK data protection law.
12.2 Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect, our lawful bases, who we share information with, how long we keep it and the rights available to Parents and Students, including the right of access.
12.3 Parents should not provide more personal or special category information than is reasonably necessary for the provision of tuition, safeguarding or support.
12.4 Teachers and staff must keep Student information appropriately confidential, subject to safeguarding, legal and regulatory duties.
12.5 The recording and image arrangements in clause 8 form part of our data handling arrangements.
12.6 If a Parent is concerned about how we handle personal data, they should contact us first. A Parent also has the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).

13. Engaging our teachers privately

13.1 Our teachers are engaged, supported, supervised and safely recruited by The Community Schools CIC. The safeguarding protections that surround a session — vetting, supervision, recording, a Designated Safeguarding Lead, insurance and a complaints route — exist because the teacher is working through us. Those protections do not travel with a teacher engaged privately.
13.2 For that reason, and to protect the provision that our income funds for other young people, the Parent agrees not to engage or arrange for any teacher introduced to them by The Community Schools CIC to provide tuition to the Student privately or through another provider, otherwise than through The Community Schools CIC, while the Student receives tuition from us and for six months after tuition ends.
13.3 This clause applies only to a teacher introduced to the Parent by us. It does not prevent the Parent from choosing a different provider, and it does not prevent a teacher from leaving our organisation. If the Parent wishes to make a private arrangement, they should contact us and we will discuss it; we will not withhold agreement unreasonably.

14. Complaints and dispute resolution

14.1 Parents should raise concerns promptly so that we have a reasonable opportunity to resolve them. Complaints are handled under The Community Schools CIC Complaints Procedure.
14.2 We aim to acknowledge a written complaint within 5 working days and to give a substantive response within 20 working days. If we need longer, we will say so and explain why. The Complaints Procedure sets out how to escalate a complaint if the Parent is not satisfied with the response.
14.3 Safeguarding concerns or allegations about a teacher or member of staff are dealt with under clause 9.4 and must not be delayed while an ordinary complaint is considered.
14.4 If a dispute cannot be resolved through our internal process, the parties will act reasonably and in good faith and may consider an appropriate form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). We are not obliged to use a particular ADR provider, and we will tell the Parent in writing at the conclusion of our complaints process whether we are willing to use ADR in their case. Where applicable under its current rules, the Parent may also be able to raise a matter through The Tutors’ Association.
14.5 Nothing in this clause prevents either party from exercising legal rights or bringing proceedings.

15. Liability and consumer rights

15.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
15.2 Nothing in these Terms affects the Parent’s statutory rights as a consumer, including the right for services to be performed with reasonable care and skill and within a reasonable time.
15.3 Subject to clauses 15.1 and 15.2, we are not responsible for losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when the contract was made, or for losses arising from circumstances outside our reasonable control.
15.4 Tuition is intended to support education. The Parent remains responsible for decisions concerning school applications, examination entries, examination registration and fees, medical matters and other matters outside the tutoring service.
15.5 We hold public liability and professional indemnity insurance appropriate to our provision. Details are available on request.

16. Changes to these Terms

16.1 We may update these Terms where reasonably necessary, for example because of changes in law, safeguarding guidance, technology, service delivery or administrative arrangements.
16.2 Where a change materially affects an existing Parent’s rights or obligations, we will give at least 28 days’ written notice and explain when it takes effect. If the Parent does not wish to accept such a change, the Parent may end ongoing tuition under clause 6 by giving notice before the change takes effect, and the change will not apply during the resulting notice period.
16.3 Changes will not remove statutory rights.

17. General

17.1 If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply.
17.2 A delay in enforcing a right does not mean that the right has been waived.
17.3 We may transfer our rights and obligations under this agreement to another organisation, but this will not affect the Parent’s rights under this agreement. We will tell the Parent in writing if this happens. The Parent may not transfer their rights or obligations without our written agreement.
17.4 This agreement is between the Parent and The Community Schools CIC. No other person has any right to enforce any of its terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
17.5 These Terms and the documents expressly incorporated into them form the agreement concerning the booked tutoring service. Nothing in this clause excludes liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any statement made by us on which the Parent reasonably relied.
17.6 This agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales. A consumer retains any mandatory rights they have concerning where proceedings may be brought.

18. Key policies

These Terms should be read together with the current versions of our Privacy Policy, Safeguarding Policy, Managing Allegations procedure, Online Safety Guide, Student Behaviour Code, Anti-Bullying Policy, Complaints Procedure and Records Retention Schedule. Current versions are available from The Community Schools CIC on request and at www.thecommunityschools.co.uk