London Speech Workshop Terms and Conditions

Welcome to London Speech Workshop. This page outlines our way of working and what you can expect from us.

By signing up to one of London Speech Workshop’s (LSW) Courses, you agree to the following terms and conditions. This page forms the Agreement between us.

In order for you to get the most out of coaching, it’s important that we share an understanding of how we will work together.

These terms form the basis on which our coaches operate and will govern your relationship. The intention is that both parties are clear and in agreement on what they can expect from each other.

1:1 Coaching – Terms & Conditions

Please see Terms and Conditions for Paired Coaching here.

Description of Coaching

Coaching is a partnership (defined as an alliance, not a legal business partnership) between the Coach and the Client involving a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires you to maximise personal and professional potential. It is designed to facilitate the creation/development of personal, professional or business goals and to develop and carry out a strategy/plan for achieving those goals.

Client/Coach Relationship

We are committed to supporting you to be a strong and confident communicator. We use our techniques to help you to increase effectiveness, clarity and engagement in your communication. Together with your coach you will create a plan that works for you. You will always be able to discuss the shape of your sessions and change or adjust your course programme throughout. We promise to provide you with a place of support, positive feedback and a safe and stimulating environment.

All LSW coaches are fully trained in the Serlin Method® and have extensive training and experience in voice and speech. Like most work of this nature, there are no guarantees and the process works better the more effort you put in. Therefore we ask you to engage with the process and put work in between sessions. We know this can be difficult with your busy lives, but it will be worth it. You understand that getting the most from our coaching services depends primarily on your own effort, motivation, commitment and follow-through. We provide no representations, warranties or guarantees that our coaching services are fit for any particular purpose you have or that you will achieve your goal(s) or any particular result.

If something occurs in which we feel you need to work with a speech therapist or other trained professional we will discuss this with you. Should you discuss anything with a coach of a concerning nature, we will refer you to the appropriate resources needed, which in some cases may be a healthcare professional.

Your role as Client is to be solely responsible for creating and implementing your own physical, mental and emotional well-being, decisions, choices, actions and results arising out of or resulting from the course materials, the coaching relationship and your coaching calls and interactions. As such, you agree that our coaches are not and will not be liable or responsible for any actions or inaction, or for any direct or indirect result of any services provided. You understand coaching is not therapy and does not substitute for therapy if needed, and does not prevent, cure, or treat any mental disorder or medical disease.

Homework Expectations & Communication outside of sessions

Your coach might set you homework, or even recommend you to send through messages between sessions for accountability purposes. Please note that coaches are not obliged or contracted to reply to queries or messages outside of sessions. Coaching support outside of sessions is not a current part of our packages.

If you have any questions about homework or your sessions, please email or call the Office Team directly; and we’ll gladly support.

Commitment to sessions

When participating in a remote session, please ensure you are able to conduct your sessions via a laptop or tablet. Coaches may occasionally share their screen, so it is highly recommended that you have a screen larger than a mobile phone. If this is not possible, please make sure you are in a quiet space with a reasonable set up for your mobile device.

It is important that you have a stable and reliable internet connection to allow for a conducive session. Please note that we reserve the right to cancel a session and ask you to pay in full to reschedule should you not be in a reasonable location or state to participate in your session (e.g. driving your car, shopping etc.). We also reserve the right to cancel a session and ask you to pay in full to reschedule if you are not able to focus on the session (e.g. taking multiple phone calls, writing emails etc.) Our coaches are entirely committed to your success and full engagement in the process is imperative on both sides.

Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy

We have a strict 2 business day cancellation/rescheduling policy in place. This offers a degree of flexibility to our clients as well as protecting our coaches and respecting their time. For the purpose of this policy, UK business days are Monday-Friday, except for public UK bank holidays. While there is a minimum 2 business day cancellation policy we appreciate you giving as much notice as possible so that we can try to refill your session.

For the purpose of this policy, and in order to protect our coaches, please note that sickness is regarded as a cancellation.

No Shows

We understand sometimes things happen, so that’s why we will contact you if you do not turn up to your session as planned. If we have not heard back from you within 20 minutes, we reserve the right to deny the opportunity to arrive late to the session, and request that you pay in full to reschedule. Our commitment to quality means that we are not able to reduce the session time by any more than 20 minutes.

Intellectual Property

Any intellectual property which lies within all materials, whether digital or printed, provided by LSW belongs to LSW and unless we agree otherwise you can only use those materials for your own personal use and you may not share them with third parties. If you are found to be in breach of this, legal action will be taken.

Validity

All courses are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. All sessions must be booked within this 12 month window. Thereafter, any unbooked sessions shall be considered expired. When paying in instalments, should payment of an instalment be delayed for longer than 3 consecutive months, sessions may be resumed but will be chargeable at the current business rate on the day of payment. When signing up for a repeat course, if payment is made after 3 months has passed, sessions may still be booked in but will be chargeable at the current business rate. We reserve the right to change our prices by amending our published price list.

Recordings

We may occasionally record sessions for in house training purposes. Please note, should we opt to record a session for this purpose, we will always ask for your consent which will be recorded in accordance with GDPR.

We do allow clients to record their course sessions for personal use only. Under no circumstances should recordings be shared, published, broadcasted or made available to other individuals by any means. Your coach reserves the right to pause the recording at any time if deemed inappropriate and an alternative solution will be explored (such as note taking).

Zoom Recordings will be kept on our system for a maximum of 6 months, during which time you may request access to the recording. After 6 months, these recordings will be deleted, and you will lose access to them. It is your responsibility to download the recordings upon receipt, as all cloud recordings will be deleted after a period of 6 months.

Refunds

As a consumer, you have the right to cancel a contract for the provision of services at any time before 30 calendar days have passed from the day after the package was purchased if no sessions are utilised. Any such cancellations must be provided to us in writing e.g. an email request to office@londonspeechworkshop.com.

a) If you purchased a course following a Taster session, and we have already started fulfilling our side of the contract, i.e. delivering the sessions and course manual we will deduct the price of individual sessions (at the full single session price as detailed below) from your total package price prior to calculating your refund, plus £100 to cover the course manual and administration costs.

The price of a single session is based on the charge for clients who purchase a single session outside of a package deal, and not the price the session equates to when bought in a package deal. The cost of a single session with a Senior coach is £270, a Principal coach is £340 and Head coach is £400.

b) If you purchased a course package that includes a Taster session (i.e. our 6/11/16 session packages), following your initial session you are eligible for a full course refund minus the cost of the Taster session. This must be requested in writing to office@londonspeechworkshop.com no later than 4 working days following your initial session. The cost of the initial session is £175 with a Senior coach, £240 with a Principal coach and £305 with a Head Coach. Please note, that in light of this refund policy, we will only deliver your course manual just before your second session. You’ll receive a Taster pack to work from for your initial session. If you request a refund at any point from session 2 onwards, the policy is as detailed in section a) above.

c) If you wish to receive a refund outside of the 30 days of purchasing your course, please email office@londonspeechworkshop.com to discuss this. Whilst we have a satisfaction guarantee on our Taster and course sessions, if we have managed to resolve any raised issues or concerns, we will not extend the offer of a refund outside of the 30 calendar day policy.

It is your responsibility to report any dissatisfaction at the earliest opportunity. If at any point throughout your course you would like a deviation from your course roadmap, you must alert your coach as soon as possible.

To avoid any risk of fraud and to uphold best practice, any refunds that are actioned are refunded to the original card the taster/course was purchased on. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this. If a bank account has been closed, the money will be returned to us and issued to the alternative bank account provided.

Refund Requests if course purchased through our financing partner

If you have purchased a course via Dopple, our finance partner, there is a 14 day cooling off period in which you can decide to cancel the financing commitment you have opted for. If this is the case, and you wish to cancel the loan but would like to proceed with your course and pay another way, please just let us know.

After this date, the information in section “Refunds” still applies. We will also increase our administration fee to cover Dopple’s non-refundable 10% merchant fee. The cost of this will vary depending on the price of the course you have purchased. Once your refund request has been approved, we will refund Dopple who will then adjust your loan according to the amount refunded. You will need to contact office@londonspeechworkshop.com to notify them of the refund request.

Disruption to Your Course

The course contract is with London Speech Workshop (LSW), if the client’s coach becomes sick or unable to coach, LSW will ensure the client is matched with a coach of the same level of experience. In these unlikely circumstances, where LSW has explored all avenues to ensure the client is able to continue their course with another coach, a refund will not be available. If LSW cannot service the client in the same way (e.g. there’s no other coaches available), then refund options will be available in accordance with our refund policy.

In Person Sessions

Occasionally situations arise out of our control; for example coach illness, train strikes, weather disasters etc. When these happen, LSW will ensure that the client is notified as soon as possible, and the session is cancelled, made remote or rescheduled with good notice. Whilst we endeavour to ensure that there is no disruption to your course or sessions, for circumstances entirely outside of our control, no refunds will be available. We will always find a suitable time for your session to be rescheduled should you wish not to conduct the session online.

Safeguarding and Duty of Care

We are committed to maintaining a safe environment for all clients. As part of this commitment, we may take action to safeguard you if you are at risk, in compliance with applicable laws and best practices.

Disclosure of Information in Safeguarding Situations

In cases where we reasonably believe you may be at risk of harm (e.g., abuse, neglect, or self-harm), we reserve the right to share relevant information with appropriate authorities or organisations without prior consent, in accordance with our legal obligations and duty of care. This may include sharing details with law enforcement, social services, healthcare providers, or other relevant bodies.

While we respect your privacy, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in safeguarding situations where an individual’s welfare is at risk. You understand and agree that, in such cases, we may need to disclose information to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those involved.

Support and Reporting

If your coach has any concerns about your welfare they have the right to let the office team know immediately. We will handle all reports sensitively and with the highest level of care.

Disclaimer

You acknowledge and accept that:

1) Our coaching services are not a substitute for professional mental health care or medical care and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any mental health or medical conditions.

2) Coaches are not and do not act as mental health or medical professionals. You agree that you are solely responsible for your wellbeing when using our coaching services and that it is your responsibility to consult with the relevant professionals if you have concerns about your health.

3) You acknowledge that coaching does not involve the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorders as defined by the Mental Health Act 2007 and that coaching is not to be used as a substitute for counselling, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, or other professional advice by legal, medical or other qualified professionals and that it is your exclusive responsibility to seek such independent professional guidance as needed.

4) London Speech Workshop (as a company and as a representative for our communication coaches) are not responsible for and shall have no liability to you or any third party relating to your earnings, the success or failure of your personal or business decisions, the increase or decrease of your finances or income level, or any other result of any kind that you or a third party may have connected to your use of our coaching services.

5) You understand that in order to enhance the coaching relationship, you agree to communicate honestly, be open to feedback and assistance and to create the time and energy to participate fully in the programme.

Nothing in this clause restricts or limits our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.