What To Include On Your Studio Policy Sheet

Teaching as an independent music instructor is a highly satisfying job. There are tons of perks and benefits that come along with the job, such as choosing your own schedule, forming meaningful relationships with students, teaching really fun material and having creative control over your job.

But every job has its less glamorous moments, such as dealing with student cancellations, figuring out how to collect late payments or trying to motivate unmotivated students.

A studio policy sheet is a vital tool for all independent music teachers that will help you do your job more efficiently and help you handle messy situations more gracefully.

While it might not seem like a formal policy is really necessary, there will inevitably be a situation that arises where it will be nice to defer back to your policy sheet instead of confronting a client or engaging in difficult dialogue.

What is a policy sheet?

A policy sheet is a brief document that clearly informs your clients how you run your business. It lays out what they can expect from you and what you expect from them.

You would hand out a digital or physical copy of it anytime a new client signs on. If you already have students and would like to put together a policy sheet, it’s never too late to start using and enforcing policies.

Keep in mind that many people skim and read documents quickly, so keep your policy sheet short and concise. Don’t write more than a single page, use lengthy blocks of text or include overly-specific topics that don’t apply to all of your students.

It’s a good idea to update and share your policy each year with all of your existing clients.

How to decide what to include on your policy sheet

Policy sheets can contain a really wide range of topics. It’s up to you to decide which topics are most important and relevant to you. If you’re not sure what to include, start with topics that seem to come up frequently with your clients or issues that bother you. You can always adjust your policy sheet over time as new situations or topics arise.

Here are some topics you could include in your policy sheet:

How and when to contact you

Presumably, your new and existing clients have already been in contact with you, but it’s helpful to have all of your contact information in one place. Include details about your preferred method of communication and parameters for when to contact you. For example, you might specify hours when it is ok to text you or how quickly they can expect a response to emails.

Your role as the teacher

It might seem obvious that you are committed to teaching music lessons to your students, but it never hurts to be really specific about your role as the teacher. You could include a brief mission statement or objective of lessons.

Fees and student costs

This is probably the most common and important topic that will come up so it makes sense to address it near the beginning of your policy sheet. List out all costs that come with lessons and when and how they are expected to be paid. Here are some things to include:

• Tuition (yearly, per semester, monthly, week-to-week)
• Registration fee
• Books and materials
• Additional events such as recitals, festivals or competitions

Be clear about whether to pay online and how to set up automatic payments. If you prefer cash or check, let your clients know when it is due.

Also, be specific about what happens when your clients fail to pay on time. Is there a late fee? Are lessons suspended? This isn’t a very fun topic to think about, but on the rare occasion that it happens, it will be easy to resend your policy sheet with this section highlighted.

Many people are accustomed to thinking of music lessons as exchanging money for your time during their lesson. They don’t realize that you likely put in a lot of time outside of lessons preparing for each student, continuing your own education, handling admin responsibilities and a number of other tasks. Tell your students what is included in their tuition and help them see it as a payment for your overall service rather than for 30 minutes of your time each week.

Cancelation policy

This is another important topic to cover right away. Pretty much every student is going to run into a conflict during their lesson time at some point, whether it’s due to illness, a scheduling conflict, forgetting to come or any other issue. And, likewise, you will likely have your own scheduling conflicts that arise.

Make it clear about how these cancellations are handled. Will you make them up at another time, offer a credit, or just skip them?

Expectations for at-home practice and instruments

Many people who are just beginning music lessons need to be educated about what is expected at home between lessons. Tell your students what kind of instrument is ideal for practice and how much time to spend practicing. Give clear parameters for what is expected at each age and level.

Material required

Let your students know if they should purchase any books or materials for their lessons. Tell them how and where to get them. List out what you expect your students to bring to their lesson each week.

Behavior expectations

This is another topic that is nice to have in writing in the event that behavior issues arise. Lay out your expectations for how students are expected to behave during lessons and consequences for poor behavior.

Terminating lessons

It’s pretty common that music lessons end up being one of many activities that students participate in, so at some point, they will likely choose to stop lessons. Students who abruptly stop lessons because another activity popped up or they decided not to continue can really throw off your schedule and anticipated income. Create a policy surrounding how and when students can stop lessons. Do they need to give you advanced notice? Do they need to commit to a full term, session or school year? Make this clear upfront.

Similarly, you might find that a student isn’t a great fit for your studio. Address how you plan to handle situations where you might need to ask a student to leave.

Important dates

This section could be a separate calendar page if you have a number of important dates to share. Here are some dates your students will want to plan for:

• Recitals
• Holiday breaks
• Competitions or outside events
• Beginning and ending date of a term, session or semester
• Re-Enrollment dates
• Group classes
• Dates you are unavailable to teach due to travel or other commitments

The possibilities for what to include on your policy sheet are endless. If you have other topics that are relevant to you and your students, you will definitely want to include them. Just remember to keep your policy sheet succinct so that it is easy for your students to understand what you expect and easy for you to refer back to anytime you have to enforce your policies.

This post was written by Megan, piano teacher and author of Pianissimo: A Very Piano Blog. Visit her website for more piano related blogs for teachers, parents, students, and all things piano.

Published on February 14, 2023