These terms apply to structured courses purchased from Languages with Matt. Please read them carefully. By completing your booking and processing payment via our online system, you expressly accept these terms and conditions.
1) Course Structure, Schedule, and Absences
Fixed Schedule: Courses are delivered as a set series of scheduled group classes on specified dates and times. Unlike private tuition packages, these dates and times are fixed to ensure the continuity of the group and cannot be rescheduled, partitioned, or adjusted on an individual basis.
Student Absences: Because your fee secures a permanent place in a live group with limited capacity, missing a scheduled class due to personal scheduling conflicts, illness, holidays, or any other reason does not entitle you to a partial refund, a pro-rata credit, or a "make-up" individual session with the tutor.
Tutor Cancellation: If the tutor must cancel an individual class session due to illness or extenuating circumstances, the session will be rescheduled at the earliest logical convenience for the group, or an equivalent pro-rata credit/refund for that specific missed session will be provided.
Unexpected Venue Closures (Adverse Weather / Force Majeure): In the event that the physical venue is unavailable due to an unexpected emergency closure, adverse weather, or circumstances beyond the tutor's control, the session will be moved online via a video conferencing platform (such as Zoom) at the regularly scheduled time. If an online transition is not feasible, the session will be rescheduled, or a pro-rata refund will be issued for that specific class.
Change of Venue: Languages with Matt reserves the right to relocate the physical class to an alternative suitable venue within the local area if required by operational necessity, providing students with as much advance notice as possible.
Travel and Parking: Students and carers are entirely responsible for their own travel, parking arrangements, and compliance with local venue parking rules. Languages with Matt is not liable for any travel delays, traffic disruptions, or parking penalties incurred while attending the course.
2) Payment and Online Booking
Upfront Payment: Payment for all structured courses must be made in full at the time of booking via the online scheduling platform.
Booking Confirmation: A registration slot is only officially secured once the payment transaction has successfully cleared through the integrated payment processor. Languages with Matt reserves the right to cancel or reallocate incomplete registrations.
3) Course Cancellations, the "Cooling-Off Period," and Refunds
The 14-Day Cooling-Off Period: In accordance with the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations (2013), you have the right to cancel your course booking within 14 days of purchase without giving a reason, provided the course has not yet started.
Immediate Course Start: If you explicitly book a course that is scheduled to begin within that 14-day cooling-off window, you are making an express request for the tuition service to begin immediately. If sessions take place within this 14-day period prior to your cancellation request, you remain liable to pay for the pro-rata cost of the sessions that have already occurred.
Cancellations After 14 Days: Once the 14-day cooling-off period has expired and the course term has commenced, courses are strictly non-refundable. Because courses rely on a minimum number of participants to remain viable, refunds or partial pro-rata returns are not available if a student chooses to discontinue attending mid-term.
Course Non-Viability: In the rare event that a course does not meet the minimum required student enrolment numbers to run effectively, Languages with Matt reserves the right to cancel the course prior to the start date. In this scenario, all registered students will be issued a 100% full refund.
4) Course Content and Participation
Fixed Syllabus: Group courses follow a structured, pre-planned pedagogical roadmap designed to suit a specific language-learning proficiency tier (e.g., Low-Intermediate). While the tutor will accommodate group dynamics, individual students are not entitled to dictate the omission or inclusion of core syllabus topics.
Target Level Warning: It is the student's responsibility to review the prerequisite proficiency guidelines prior to booking (e.g., possessing a basic grasp of the present, preterite, and immediate future tenses).
Inappropriate Proficiency Level: Courses are carefully designed for specific, stated proficiency tiers (e.g., Low-Intermediate). It is the student's responsibility to review the target level guidelines prior to booking. If a student joins a class and their proficiency level is significantly lower or higher than the rest of the group—and is deemed by the tutor to be disruptive to the intended lesson pace or making it unfeasible for them to participate effectively—the tutor reserves the right to remove them from the course. In this scenario, no partial or full refund will be issued for remaining sessions, though the tutor may, entirely at their discretion, offer a credit toward private tuition or a future appropriate course if a slot is available.
5) Student Safeguarding and Participation
Authorized Students Only: The tutor will only deliver lessons to the specific individual(s) for whom the course seat was purchased. Third parties (including parents, guardians, partners, or other family members) are not entitled to step into the lesson or actively participate as a student unless they have registered and paid for their own place in the course.
Open Presence Policy: For safeguarding peace of mind, other household members, parents, or carers are completely free to remain in the same room or in close proximity during online or in-person sessions. The tutor will never request to be hidden or entirely alone with a student.
Supervision Boundaries: The tutor is only responsible for student safeguarding and supervision during the strict 90-minute duration of the scheduled class. Parents, guardians, or carers must ensure students arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before the session starts and are collected promptly at the scheduled finish time. The tutor cannot provide supervision or accept liability outside of these active instructional hours.
Supported Behaviour & SEN Accommodations: In the case of students who require specialized care, monitoring, or who exhibit challenging behaviour, the tutor reserves the right to request that a parent, guardian, or designated carer remain present for the duration of the sessions to facilitate a supportive learning environment.
6) Data Protection & Privacy
Data Controller: Matthew Charles Cocks (operating as a sole trader under the name Thaeus Enterprises and trading as Languages with Matt) is the designated "Data Controller" for this business and is committed to protecting your privacy.
Legal Basis for Processing: Personal data provided by you (including your name, contact details, email address, and progress notes) is processed under the legal basis of Contractual Necessity to effectively deliver the group tuition service.
Security & Sharing: Your data is stored securely and is only accessible by the tutor. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties unless required by law.
Data Retention: Financial records, transaction details, and booking invoices are retained for a minimum of 5 years to comply with HMRC requirements. Standard course administration notes are deleted once they are no longer required to support the student-tutor relationship.
Your Rights: Under UK data protection laws, you retain the right to access, rectify, or request the erasure of your personal data at any time by contacting the tutor directly.