Your Membership
All about Us
For any teaching queries please speak to Sensei in class if possible, or email him on mike@teamblackbelt.com If you have an urgent query, text Sensei Mike on: 07789 663224 , and he’ll get back to you asap.
For any admin queries (ie suits, moving class, fees etc), please email Helen on helen@teamblackbelt.com If you have an urgent query, text Helen on: 07702 130762, and she’ll ring you back asap. (NOT WhatsApp or Messenger, please).
All about You
We need you to keep us up to date with regard to your address and contact information (including your emergency contact details) and your email address(es).Please email Helen here to let her know if any of the above changes.
Once a child is settled in to the school, we are happy for children 10yrs and under to be supervised by another appointed adult (ie a fellow student’s parent), and children age 11yrs and above can be dropped off for lessons, but preferably should be collected from the training room at the end of the lesson unless they’re an older teen as the car park can be very dark, and other parents may struggle to see them wandering around the car park!
Children aged 10 & under must be accompanied to the toilet – also, for safety and privacy, please lock the ‘outside’ door of the toilet so that only one person at time can use the facilities.
All about Direct Debits & Fees
Fees are paid monthly, in advance. As mentioned on our ‘Join Us’ page, and also in the handout you are given at your 1st trial lesson, we calculate the monthly amount by adding up the number of lessons available in a year (we’re open for 42 weeks per year), and then dividing them in to 12 equal monthly payments.
This means that if we are closed your monthly payment won’t change, but you haven’t paid for that week. However, if you MISS a week that we are open, you are invited to attend an extra time any week of your choice, at any time, to make up (see below for more info).
We review our fees from time to time to allow for inflationary rises etc, with any changes taking effect no less than 12 months apart. We will notify you of this at least 10 days in advance, by email.
PLEASE BE AWARE that if your direct debit payment doesn’t go through on it’s due date, we will automatically collect it on our next collection date (ie the 1st or the 15th of the month).
>>>>If your direct debit regularly fails to go through, you WILL be removed from the school. Please contact Helen if you are having any difficulty paying, we will try to help!<<<<
Change of Account details: Please email Helen here if you need to change your Direct Debit details (such as bank account number).
Belt Gradings: Belt Grading Tests happen 3 times per year (@ £30 per Grading) for children, and 2 times per year (@£40 per Grading) for Seniors and Adults.
All about Missed Classes & School Closures
If Team Black Belt is OPEN, and you can’t attend one week, then you have missed a class that you’ve paid for, and we would encourage you to come along an extra time to make up for the class you missed.
You don’t need to let us know in advance – just come at the same time on any other day – we’re open Mon to Thurs, and join in that class (*7.40pm + later students are a bit different, see below*). It doesn’t have to be in the same week as the class you missed.
*If you are in the 7.40pm or later class, your level of class may only happen 1 or 2 days per week. Please check the timetable HERE to find an alternative class to attend, but if you’re still not sure which would be the best class to attend, please text Sensei on 07899 663224 to check as higher grade classes are more interchangeable.
For long term absences (ie due to an injury or serious illness – NOT holidays) where you or your child is expected to be absent for a month or more, please email Helen here to let us know and we will try to help you with a reduction in your fees where possible. Please note, we are only able to offer this if you have notified us in advance of a possible long absence.
For shorter absences, we would invite you to come to extra lessons on your return in order to catch up with the missed teaching.
Verrucas If your child has a verruca, just pop a sock over the affected foot whilst training on the mats. (If it’s both feet then it’s best to let us know as you arrive for lessons, so Sensei doesn’t think your child has just forgotten to take their socks off and sends them off the mats to do so!)
We reserve the right to close the school for the occasional period of one or more days due to severe weather, staff illness or during school holiday periods. If this occurs on a day when your class falls due, you are invited to come on a different day that, or any other week, in order to make up for the lesson you have missed.
If you have decided to leave
Email Helen here to let us know & we will cancel your Direct Debit immediately. We also recommend that you cancel via your banking asap too, unless you will still have a student remaining in the school, in which case we will just amend your payment following your email. You will receive a reply from Helen – if you haven’t, then she hasn’t received your email!
We reserve the right to request a month’s notice, as each monthly payment covers 1/12th of the lessons you have had over the last year. However, as a courtesy, we will cancel from our end as quickly as possible in order to try to prevent any further payments being taken. (This can usually be achieved if there’s at least 5 clear banking days before it’s due).
We will act on your instructions as quickly as possible, but we are unable to refund you if it’s too late to prevent the next payment from processing (ie usually within 5 banking days prior to your payment falling due).
Please note, other than in exceptional circumstances, anyone who leaves and returns within 6 months will be required to pay a re-joining fee.