A Better Private Teaching Contract
12 November
To view the actual press release as a PDF click here.
The ISM has launched a brand-new Agreement for Private Music Tuition, geared
to the complex issues facing private music teachers at the outset of the 21st
century.
The process began with a review of the ISM’s existing Agreement for Private
Music Tuition, to see whether its effectiveness could be improved – not only
legally, but also in terms of meeting the needs of the Society’s members and
their clients.
Following discussions in the Society’s Private Teachers Section committee, and
consultations with lawyers in London and Edinburgh, the Agreement has been
rewritten and redesigned, to make it as legally watertight as possible and give
it a less legalistic, more ‘user-friendly’ flavour. The ISM hopes this will
encourage an increasing number of members to use the Agreement, both for their
own protection and as the basis for a thoroughly professional relationship with
their clients.
The ISM strongly recommends that private teachers should use this standard
Agreement. A written contract, unlike informal oral arrangements, helps to
create a business-like environment for a professional teaching practice, and
makes it clear to the pupil or the pupil’s parent what contractual terms they
are bound by. If a dispute arises, it provides evidence of the terms agreed
between the parties.
The main changes to the Agreement, apart from a total redesign, relate to the
provisions concerning notice to terminate lessons. These have been rewritten to
make them clear and unambiguous, as well as ensuring as far as possible that
they will be legally enforceable.
ISM members ordering copies of the new Agreement also receive a detailed
information sheet explaining, clause by clause, how it operates and offering
assistance in completing it correctly.
ISM Chief Executive Neil Hoyle said: ‘This is a state-of-the-art contract for
the modern professional teacher, whatever their instrument or voice. It is one
of many publications – full of clear practical advice and solid good sense –
produced by the ISM to help musicians cope with the complexities of running a
private music teaching practice in today’s fast-changing and consumer-driven
world.’
The professional status of the new Agreement means it is available only to ISM
Full members. But as Neil Hoyle says: ‘Clients of private music teachers
should not hesitate to seek the reassurance which will be provided both by this
contract and by their tutor’s membership of the ISM.’
Ends 08 / 2004
Note to Editors: The ISM is the UK’s professional body for musicians. It
aims to protect the interests of all who work with music, to raise standards in
the profession, and to provide the best available services to its 5,000 members.
Contact : Susanna Thompson / Caroline Aldred tel: 020 7629 4413.
