Term Dates & Billing

•  Syncopate Studios runs lessons during NSW Public School Term Dates, in AEDT time zones.

•  For lesson packages: any term that does not contain 10 weeks for lessons will have the extra week/s supplied as personal videos from tutors to make up the 10 weeks. Any terms with more than 10 weeks will conclude in Week 10.

• Once lesson times have been confirmed with the tutor, lessons are considered final for that term and refunds will not be offered for change of mind.

• Invoices will be emailed to the supplied email address, and fees must be paid by the due date, or the time slot may be given to another student.

• Students are automatically re-enrolled for the next term, and withdrawal for the next term must be made in writing, two weeks prior to the first lesson of the new term.

• GST is added to all Syncopate services and products.

Creative/Active Kids Vouchers

• Unfortunately we are unable to accept the updated Creative/Active Kids vouchers.

Make Up Lessons, Credits & Refunds

• Syncopate offers make up lessons if students are absent from a lesson, strictly provided that 24 hours written notice is received before the time the lesson is due to commence. If less than 24 hours notice is given, there will be no make up lesson given, but the tutor will email through written and/or video content for the student to work on. Syncopate does not offer refunds or credits for missed lessons.

• Make up lessons must be completed before the following term, and cannot be carried over.

• Once a make up lesson time has been agreed upon in writing by the student and tutor, any cancellation by the student will result in forfeiture of that lesson.

• Any lessons that commence after the first week of term, due to late payment, will not receive make up lessons but will receive a video from the tutor on the back end of the term.

• Any lessons cancelled by the tutor will be made up prior to the end of term. 

• A maximum of two make up lessons or lesson time/day changes per term will be allowed for student cancellations.

• Syncopate is unable to offer shortened terms, refunds or account credits due to conflicting events, family holidays, or to align with private school or other state terms.

• Should the regular tutor be unavailable for more than two lessons per term, Syncopate Studios reserves the right to provide a substitute tutor.

Enrolment & Tutor Communication

• Once an enrolment form has been completed, one of Syncopate’s tutors will be in contact to arrange lessons.

• As with school teachers, Syncopate respects the privacy of its tutors, and thus any and all communication with tutors must be through their Syncopate email and not through any other avenues.

• Tutors will use the email provided during enrolment to contact parents for initial lesson planning, as well as for any further communications required, including checking in if students are late to lessons. Mobile numbers are typically not used by tutors, and thus parents should ensure that they regularly check the email they supplied upon enrolment.

 Online Lesson Policies

• It is the responsibility of the student to have a stable internet connection for lessons. If students are unable to complete a lesson due to internet or technical errors from the student’s end, the tutor will record and send a video to cover the remaining content of the lesson. If the errors occur on the tutor’s end and cause more than half of the lesson to be disrupted, the tutor will organise a make up lesson. If under half of the lesson is impacted, the tutor will record and send a video to the student to cover any missed content.

• As tutors typically teach back to back lessons, students who enter their lesson early will be sent to the online waiting room until the tutor opens the lesson. Tutors will endeavour to ensure that each lesson begins within the first two minutes of the designated lesson time, so that lessons don’t run late.

• Tutors must be informed via email if students are running late to a lesson. The tutor will keep the online lesson open for 15 minutes, following which time the lesson will be closed as the tutor instead creates a video for the student.

• Students should ensure that the space for their lesson is set up to provide the best learning environment possible. This includes having their instrument and music, device and headphones (if necessary), good lighting and minimal distractions. They should also ensure that their camera shows enough of their instrument, hands and face for their tutor to see.

• Students should not be in a bedroom, on a bed, or in a bathroom for lessons. It is encouraged by Syncopate for there to be a clear line of sight between students and parents/guardians during lessons, and/or that parents listen in on the lesson.

• Syncopate uses Zoom for lessons, and provides a comprehensive instruction sheet on adjusting Zoom audio settings for these lessons. Students should ensure that these adjustments are made prior to lessons commencing.

Privacy

• Syncopate does not share, sell or trade your personal information. We use your personal information to provide you with products and services that you have requested, to notify you of products, services and special offers that may be of interest to you, and to comply with any legal or regulatory obligations imposed on us. To do this we may disclose your personal information to organisations that carry out functions on our behalf. This may include suppliers of products and services such as freight carriers.

• To amend any personal information supplied to us, please use our Contact Us form.

Child Protection  & Complaint Management

• Syncopate Studios aims to provide a fun and Child Safe environment for anyone who participates in our programs. We support and respect the children, their families, and our staff. Our staff hold a valid and cleared Working With Children Check and a current certificate in Child Protection Awareness Training, and professional development training is completed as required.

• To add additional safety measures to online lessons, tutors enable Zoom Waiting Rooms so that student entry must be approved by the tutor. All lessons also require passwords for entry.

• All of our lessons are recorded, unless parents/guardians opt out of this process. Recordings are kept on a secure server for a designated period of time, and with administrator-only access. Parents who opt out of recordings will be required to sign a waiver at the conclusion of each lesson.

• Parents are encouraged to respectfully approach Syncopate with any complaints. Syncopate has a ‘Complaint Management Policy and Procedures’ document, which can be accessed on request.

• Syncopate will often use pictures and/or videos as promotional material. Please let us know in writing if you do not wish your child’s image to be used by Syncopate.

Documentation

• Optimizing Zoom Audio Settings