Terms and conditions for a music teacher

Music teaching goes wrong in predictable ways: the pupil who stops coming in week four of a term you have already been paid for, the parent who cancels by text an hour before the lesson, and the school that pays peripatetic invoices whenever the bursar gets round to it. I draft customer terms around how you actually teach, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Instrumental and singing teachers in England and Wales, teaching privately from home or a studio, at pupils' homes, or online, and often also for schools, academies and music hubs. Private pupils and the parents who pay for them are consumers, with rights they cannot sign away. Schools and agencies are business customers. One set of terms has to deal with both.

What matters in a music teacher's terms

Termly fees paid in advance

Invoicing a term ahead is sensible and most teachers do it, but a clause saying fees are non-refundable in all circumstances is vulnerable under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Keeping a prepayment when the pupil leaves, with no matching obligation on you, is exactly the kind of term the fairness rules single out. What works instead is a clear statement of what the termly fee buys, how many lessons are included, how school holidays and half term are treated, and a proportionate position if teaching stops part way through the term.

Missed lessons, lateness and make-ups

The cancellation policy is the clause you will lean on every week. It should state the notice you need, whether a missed lesson is chargeable, whether you offer a make-up slot or practice work instead, and what happens when a pupil turns up late for a slot that still ends on time. Against a consumer, a charge has to reflect what you genuinely lose rather than punish, because the same fairness rules treat disproportionate default charges as suspect. A charge equal to the lesson you reserved is usually defensible; a multiple of it is not.

Ending lessons and changing your rates

Private teaching drifts on for years, so the terms need an ending. Say how much notice each side gives, whether notice takes effect mid-term or only at the end of one, and what happens to fees already paid for lessons that will not now happen. Rate rises need the same care: a term letting you change the fee whenever you like, with no notice and no way out for the parent, is a one-sided variation right and unlikely to bind a consumer. A stated notice period, with the family free to stop at that point, holds up.

Teaching children and who the contract is with

Where the pupil is a child, your contract is with the parent or guardian paying the bill, and the terms should say so, name who may cancel or rebook, and confirm who receives invoices when parents live apart. Set out whether a parent stays in the room or in the building, arrival and collection arrangements, and that responsibility for the child sits with the adult outside the lesson slot. Add the right to end teaching for conduct, and a line pointing to your safeguarding position and insurance, which parents increasingly ask about before booking.

Home visits, studio lessons and online teaching

Lessons agreed at the pupil's home, or arranged by email, telephone or a booking page, are off-premises or distance contracts under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and the parent has fourteen days to cancel. If the first lesson falls inside that period, you need their express request before you teach, and you can then charge a proportionate amount if they cancel; where the cancellation information was never given, the right can extend by up to twelve months. The terms should also cover the teaching space, a tuned and maintained instrument, and dropped connections in video lessons.

Schools, hubs and the extras

Peripatetic work for a school, academy or music hub is a business contract, so set a payment period and rely on the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 for interest and fixed compensation when invoices sit unpaid. Confirm that you teach as a self-employed contractor, who supplies the room and the timetable, and what happens when the school cancels a whole afternoon for a trip. Say who pays exam entry fees, accompanist costs and sheet music: these should be billed as extras, agreed in advance, rather than quietly absorbed into your hourly rate.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

A pupil has stopped coming but the term is paid for. Can I keep the money?

That depends on what your terms say and whether they are fair. A clause keeping the whole termly fee, whatever the reason and whenever the pupil leaves, invites a challenge. A clause keeping fees for lessons already taught and for a stated notice period, returning the balance, is defensible and in practice collects far more than an unenforceable one.

Do parents have to sign anything?

A signature is the cleanest evidence, though not the only route. What counts is that the parent had a real chance to read the terms before the first lesson and accepted them, by signing an enrolment form or ticking a box on a booking page. Terms sent out with the second invoice usually fail, and that is where most teachers come unstuck.

What if I am ill or away and cannot teach?

Your terms should say what follows: a rescheduled lesson, a credit against the next term's fees, or a substitute teacher you have approved. Silence is the dangerous option, because a parent who paid for a term and received fewer lessons will expect something back. Setting the remedy yourself keeps that choice in your hands rather than theirs.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a personal trainer
• Terms and conditions for a yoga or pilates studio

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.