TRAINING COURSES TERMS & CONDITIONS

How to Book

• For Introduction Courses and Workshops, please complete a booking form & return with full payment.
• For any VTCT Courses please complete a booking form & return with £120 deposit.
• NB: Places cannot be confirmed without a booking form and payment/deposit.
• Full balances payment should be made at least 30 working days (1 month) prior to your course date, unless you are on the monthly payment plan. Please check your invoice for payment details.
• All payment options are listed at the top of the booking form. All personal information received will be treated in the strictest confidence and in full accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998

Course Cancellation Policy (THESE TERMS ARE STRICTLY APPLIED)

• All deposits (VTCT £100, Intros £15, 1 day courses £30) are non-refundable, unless Orchid Indulgence Ltd cancels the course.
• Course bookings cancelled at least 30 working days prior to course date; full payment minus deposit will be refunded or waived, unless VTCT registrations for your courses have been made, then this amount will be deduced from the refund (these registrations will be held by CMA for future course completion or transferred to another college on request).
• Course bookings cancelled between 29 – 18 working days prior to course date, 50% payment minus deposit will be refunded, unless VTCT registrations for your courses have been made, then this amount will be deduced from the refund (these registrations will be held by CMA for future course completion or transferred to another college on request.
• Course bookings cancelled less than 18 working days prior to the course date, 100% of the course & registration fees (registration at this point will have been competed) will be charged for loss of business and incurred costs.
• Under any circumstances, course fees will not be refunded in full or in part for courses which are started but not completed. CMA will however, allow completion at anytime in the future by prior agreement.
  NB: Non-attendance together with non-payment prior to the course date, without due cancellation notice as above, you will be liable for full payment which, if not made within 5 working days, relevant court action will be taken to recover the debt.

STATEMENTS TO ALL CANDIDATES:

COURSE ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance: Students are expected to attend every date of their scheduled course, if for any reason a student is unable to attend on any given date, they must offer as much notice as possible to the Academy in order that we are able to make any necessary arrangements such as cancelling clients etc.

Missed Days: The costs for each course run are based solely on the dates for that particular course. We cannot accept liability for students who miss any of their scheduled course dates. In the event of a missed course date the Academy will not be able to offer ‘free of charge’ a replacement day. Should the missed day be the informal assessment date then we will make every effort to offer an alternative option on another or the next scheduled course, as long as that course is running and we have space available. Should students wish to do a replacement session at any other time, we will be happy to make the necessary arrangements on a date to suit at £30 per hour, the amount of time required will be discussed so as to minimise any additional costs. This cost can be shared with other students but it will be the responsibility of that student to find someone to share with. It will also be the responsibility of that student/s to bring with them a client to work on, the Academy will obviously offer support with this if possible.

Unsuccessful Practical Assessments/Exams: Should a student be unsuccessful with their formative or summative practical assessments, the Academy we will make every effort to offer attendance on another or the next scheduled course/exam date, as long as this date is running. However, an alternative cannot be guaranteed, so in the event that this is not possible then we will be happy to make the necessary arrangements on a date to suit at £30 per hour, the amount of time required will be discussed so minimise any additional costs. Any written work which requires amendment can be submitted via email and attendance at the Academy will not be required.

HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, and the subsequent additional legislation places duty upon the management of an establishment to secure and maintain a safe working environment for all employees and those affected by the services provided.
Orchid Indulgence Ltd undertakes to:

• Provide a consistently safe environment in the venues used by the Academy.
• Incorporate up-to-date health & safety knowledge into all student courses.
• Provide information and procedures for fire and emergencies, and on request information and procedures for accidents.
• Promote a responsible attitude to health and safety throughout the Academy.
• Provide monitoring processes for the above.

And will ensure that its candidates:

• Observe the Academy’s health and safety regulations.
• Co-operate with others in keeping the environments it uses safe.
• Take care to avoid injury to themselves or others, by being appropriately dressed and not misuse or damage equipment, materials or the premises.
• Report any hazard immediately to the tutor in charge.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY

The Academy is committed to ensuring equal opportunities to all candidates across all the Academy’s courses, all the attending clients and to the staff regardless of their role. There is a commitment to encourage every individual to realize their full potential. Training or access to assessments will not be affected by gender, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, social circumstances, marital status, age or physical and intellectual ability or other relevant state. The requirements of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Employment (Disabled Persons) Act 1944 and 1958 will be upheld and any amendments or extensions thereto. Equal opportunities will be integrated into all planning, procedures and course resourcing. All promotional material including web, course schemes and display material will not reinforce stereotypes and will reflect diversity of our society. All staff and candidates will be advised of the policy to be pursued with clients and visitors of the Academy. There will be positive reinforcement of the requirements of the policy statement and the Academy’s EO provision will be monitored and reviewed at regular intervals among staff and candidates with action being taken if required. Encouragement will be given to discuss any concerns over these issues when they occur. Advice is available to help those concerned to understand the problem and to take steps to resolve them.

CANDIDATE APPEALS PROCEDURE

The Academy is committed to ensuring that the assessment procedure meets the requirements of the Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) as the Awarding Body and fulfils national standards. The Academy operates a system for reviewing the quality and fairness of the assessment procedure. As part of this the candidate has the right of appeal against any assessment decision, written or practical, that the candidate deems to be unfair. The candidate should notify his/her Assessor (through the Academy) of dissatisfaction with the outcome of the assessment within 7 days, stating why there is disagreement with the decision. The Assessor much explain the decision in writing with the reasons, responding within 7 days.

If the candidate is not satisfied, the Internal Verifier and External Verifier must be informed and an investigation conducted. The Internal Verifier may order the candidate to be re-assessed by another Assessor. The matter should be resolved in 30 days. If the matter is not resolved to the candidate’s satisfaction, an appeal can be made to the VTCT External Verifier, according to the procedures outlined in the Awards Manual. The candidate will be given access to the Awards Manual detailing the VTCT Appeals Procedure. In the first instance any problems should be brought to the attention of: Georgeene Eastwood-Taylor, Director. If the matter is not resolved then it must be brought immediately to the attention of the Vocational Training Charitable Trust in writing by the Academy management. Failure to do this may incur suspension of the Academy. The stated policy will be monitored on visits by the External Verifier.

CANDIDATE COMPLAINTS/CONCERNS PROCEDURE

The Academy is committed to delivering quality training provision at all times. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the training provision we would like to hear from you. Equally, if you are pleased with any aspect of provision, or have a suggestion for improvement, please do let us know. Should have any concerns or issues with your training provision the following procedure should be followed:

• Your first point of contact is your course tutor. Any dissatisfaction should be discussed directly with them (this will be documented) or you should put your concerns in writing to them. This should be done at the time of the dissatisfaction, within at least 5 workings days. It is not acceptable to lodge concerns retrospectively as it is difficult to be accurate with the facts at a later stage. Please provide as much information as possible and examples/evidence of support, so that your concerns can be dealt with thoroughly. You tutor will log this matter and if necessary it will be raised at a tutor/assessor meeting or discussed with a senior member of staff. The outcome will also be recorded and given in the same manner to which is has been received, within 7 working days from receipt of when the matter was logged.
• Should you not be satisfied with the outcome of the above, you may forward your case in writing to the Academy (an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it is also acceptable) and will be passed on to the appropriate member of staff) within 5 working days of your tutors’ response. Again this must state all the facts of your concerns or issues, any evidence to support and also a statement as to why there is disagreement with the tutor’s response. It is our intention that you will receive a formal and definitive response, in writing, which will be final, within 7 working days. However, if a full response cannot be given within this time frame eg when a matter is very complex or where we have to consult a third party on the matter, you will be informed of the progress being made. In all cases we will treat your correspondence in strict confidence, with fairness and objectivity. The response given will bring a close to the matter on behalf of the Academy. If any recomendations or actions are to be carried out, this will be done in the time frame given.
• Should you not be satisfied with the outcome of the above, you may forward your case in writing to VTCT through their formal complaints procedure, please refer to your Handbook or VTCT's website.