Frequently asked questions
At the start of each new term - the payment due date is given on the invoices that are sent out to parents.
Costs are incurred when our staff have to monitor and collect late fees. The late payment fee covers these extra costs and ensures that all available funds can go where they should do - helping to inspire and teach children.
The tutor will normally send home a book order slip giving details of the book required. When you receive one of these, you can call our office to order the phone or return the slip by post with payment. In either case the book is usually sent directly to your home address.
When your child is ready to take an examination, the tutor will usually send home an exam entry form. This gives you details of the relevant exam and has a slip for you to return to our office to enter them. We then administrate the exam entry to the relevant board on your behalf. See our Examinations section for more details.
Lesson times are reviewed and altered periodically, and adjusted for changing circumstances. This may be:
- Because groupings are adjusted to match ability levels and personalities
- Because students have left
- To make it possible for new groups to start at your child's school
- due to changes in a tutor's availability
Lesson times are published in the paperwork that is sent our prior to the start of each term - if the lesson time is to change part way through a term then depending on the circumstances we will either contact you directly or inform the students, as appropriate in different scenarios.
All students will need the relevant books and equipment for their lessons and home practice. Information on what exactly they will need can be found here.
SCAMPS can supply all the books that students need for their lessons, and can supply guitars, drum starter packs, full drum kits and other instruments. More information can be found here.
As much as possible! Regular practice is essential to each student's progression and so their enjoyment of the lessons. A minimum of 10 minutes a day is recommended, but this should be increased for more advanced students or when an exam or performance is looming.
We carefully choose centres that have good facilities and that are easily accessible from a wide geographical area, to minimise the number of centres that our students are spread between - doing this means that we can often place a teacher at the centre on the day of the exam to help candidates warm up and tune up, if appropriate. Details of the centres we use for exams for each board can be found here.
Cancellation fees are only charged when we have not been given enough notice of your intention to withdraw your child from lessons.
We need to know of such intentions in advance, as students places are reserved and timetables are also planned in advance - We couldn't do it any other way. Cancellation fees are payable in lieu of this notice.
More details of how and when to cancel can be found here (link to 'stopping lessons section'
If the tutor cannot make it to a particular lesson due to illness, transport problems or other commitments etc then the lesson time will usually either be made up later in the term, or if this is not possible then one week's worth of fees will be credited to your account.
Unfortunately, we cannot credit for, or make up time for lessons where the student does not attend.
Regrettably, lessons that are missed due to circumstances beyond our control cannot usually be made up or credited. However, wherever possible the tutor may add extra time onto other lessons.
In normal circumstances, no. Each student must ultimately take responsibility to get to their lesson on time each week - the tutor will do what they can to send for students who may have forgotten, but this may not always be possible, as lesson for the other children in the group can't be compromised while the tutor searches for missing students.
Please let us know of any details of their needs as they develop. Many children with special needs can learn alongside others normally - in fact, music can be the area where they excel.
However, depending on the nature and severity of their condition, a private lesson may be required. Every situation will be different - please call us to discuss the matter.
Yes! Wherever possible and appropriate, our tutors organise concerts at the school twice per year, to give all the students a chance to perform in front of their classmates and in most cases you, their parents.
As busy peripatetic teachers, our tutors unfortunately cannot fit an extra event such as a concert into their timetable as well as providing all the usual lessons so your child's normal lesson will not usually happen in the week of the concert.
When a concert has been organised, you will be informed by means of a slip sent home with your child which gives details of the date and time of the event.
Although the logistical considerations prevent the usual lesson from going ahead that week, please be assured that performing to an audience is one of the most valuable lessons that can ever be 'taught' to a developing musician.
Many of the students who move on to senior school each year can continue at one of our afters-school centres. Details of any centres near you are usually sent out during the Summer term, with a reply slip to indicate whether or not you would like them to or not.
Some of the advantages of continuing with SCAMPS are:
- Continuity of syllabus
- Full graded support through bodies such as Trinity Guildhall, Rockschool and Associated board
- Often keep the same teacher
- Full office administration for credit card payments and book orders
- Delivery of 36 -38 weeks of lessons per school year (not 30, as some other providers)
- Avoid potentially long waiting lists at senior schools
- No academic lessons missed during the school day
No - they can usually learn the same way round as right-handers. Doing this often help guitarists when it comes to reading diagrams and chord boxes as well as purchasing instruments , and drummers benefit by not needing to swap kits around, either in lessons or gigs further down the line, when sharing a kit between bands is common.
When learning any musical instrument, both hands have equally difficult tasks to perform so for most students there is no disadvantage to learning the 'wrong' way round. After all, there are no left handed pianos!