Please note that lessons missed by pupils are not made up or credited.
When signing up for my lessons, you are buying half an hour of my time on a predetermined day. This needs to be paid for regardless of whether the pupil attends the lesson. This principle applies in numerous contexts: ballet and drama classes, swimming lessons, private medical appointments, driving lessons and, of course, with school fees. I don’t think anyone would expect a swimming teacher to make up a missed lesson in their own time when you’ve booked a term of lessons on a particular day; nor would you expect your child’s class teacher to come into school on an extra day to give a catch-up if your child is off school sick. School fees are still payable if your child is off school. This applies equally to music tuition fees.
I attend school whether pupils are there or not and it is unreasonable to expect me to reserve an additional lesson slot for a pupil who misses a lesson. Unlike a dentist, who can offer a last-minute appointment to another patient in the case of a late cancellation (despite usually charging for the missed appointment), I can not fill a missed lesson slot with another pupil: each slot is reserved for a specific individual. If I am to be expected to make up missed lessons, I could, hypothetically, be required to make up 50 lessons in my own time, after having had an unpaid week attending school.
In case of a known absence not related to a school event, and with at least a week’s notice being given, it may be possible to reschedule the lesson, though in reality this is unlikely as I usually only visit all my schools on one day a week. I may be able to swap lesson times to an afternoon if, for example, a pupil has a doctor’s appointment in the morning. If it proves impossible to reschedule during normal school time, the lesson will be forfeited. It is unreasonable to expect me to come in on a different day just to teach one pupil.
In case of a school trip, match or other event, the lesson will be made up or refunded, provided that a week’s notice has been given. This potentially gives me time to shuffle lessons around so I can leave earlier or arrive later, rather than sitting in school doing nothing for an unpaid half-hour. I can’t do this if I’m told the night before. Please note that I need notice from parents even if the event is in the school calendar. At schools where I am self-employed, I do not attend staff briefings and may not receive internal staff emails about school events. Often information about trips or matches is vague – sometimes it only applies to certain pupils (eg those selected for a sports team). Although schools do their best to keep music teachers informed, I do not always get the full picture, and it is hard to keep track of events across multiple schools (I teach around 50 pupils across 6 different institutions). Parents always have the fullest picture of their children’s activities and I rely solely on this information.
Lessons missed when pupils are in school:
It is ALL pupils’ responsibility to remember their lesson times.
I will not try to find pupils in year 7 or above if they forget. I will send a message by email or on Teams if they haven’t arrived 5 minutes after the start of the lesson, but if they miss their lesson for whatever reason, it will be forfeited.
At year 6 and below, pupils should still be mature enough to remember their lesson time, but I will try to find pupils if they forget. Lessons will be forfeited in the following circumstances:
- A pupil is not in their usual classroom and I am unable to find them.
- A teacher does not let a pupil out of class because of a test.
- If a lesson is scheduled for break time and I am unable to find the pupil.
- If pupils are taken out of class for school photos.
- If there is a fire alarm and some of the lesson is missed.
From my point of view, I have been available to teach at the allotted time and have been unable to deliver the lesson through no fault of my own. You should take the matter up with the school if you are unhappy that a class teacher or school event has prevented me from providing a lesson.
School closures
If the school is closed unexpectedly (for example due to snow) I will be available give a lesson online at the scheduled time. If this is not wanted, the lesson will be forfeited.
Lessons missed by me will, of course, be refunded or made up at a mutually convenient time.
Normally there is an expectation that I’ll deliver between 27 and 30 lessons per year. At schools where I am self-employed, I do not enjoy the benefit of holiday pay. In order to make up the shortfall of nearly half a year when I do not receive teaching income, I maintain parallel careers as a professional performer, examiner, writer and artist. Performing work does not fall neatly into the 22-25 weeks when I’m not teaching, so there will be times when I am unable to teach because a concert clashes with teaching and I need to maintain my performing career. I hope that you are sympathetic to the fragility of a musician’s life and are happy that your child is being taught by an experienced working musician.
For further reading, click here for a link to an article by an economist on the subject.