Learner Handbook and Agreement

• This handbook explains what it means to be a learner at our centre: what we provide, what we ask of you, and what happens if something goes wrong.
• It applies to you if your course includes assessment by one of our assessors, or practical sessions with a tutor. That includes regulated qualifications such as VTCT, single units, and our own courses with practical work or assessment.
• It does not apply to short courses that are online only, with no assessment and no practical sessions. Those courses are covered by our Terms of Service (POL-TOS) and our Community Guidelines (POL-COMM).
• The centre is run by 1 VERAD GROUP LTD, trading as Taitam-D Academy London. In this handbook, "we" and "us" mean the centre, and "you" means the learner.
• This handbook works alongside our other policies. Where another policy covers a topic in full, we point you to it rather than repeat it. If this handbook and another policy seem to say different things, the policy written for that topic applies. Please tell us at info@taitam-d.com so we can put it right.

• Terms of Service (POL-TOS)
• Community Guidelines (POL-COMM)

• An induction before your first practical session at each venue. It shows you the fire exits, the assembly point, where first aid is kept, and who to tell in an emergency.
• Access to your course materials on the platform for as long as your enrolment allows.
• Tutors and assessors who hold the qualifications the awarding organisation requires. Section 3 of Assessment and Certification (POL-ASSESS) explains who decides your result.
• Feedback each time your assessor reviews your work, and a clear next step if it does not yet meet the criteria.
• Regular reviews of your progress with your tutor, where you agree the next steps together.
• Honest, impartial advice about which course or qualification suits you.
• Fair treatment, and adjustments when you need them (section 7).

• Assessment & Certification (POL-ASSESS)

• Attend the sessions on your timetable, and arrive on time.
• If you cannot attend, tell your tutor or the centre as early as you can, before the session if possible. We will help you plan how to catch up.
• Treat everyone with respect: other learners, clients and models, staff and visitors. We do not accept harassment, bullying or discrimination of any kind.
• Follow your tutor's instructions on safety, hygiene and the use of equipment.
• Hand in work that is your own (section 4).
• Keep your contact details and your legal name up to date in your profile, so that we can reach you and register you correctly.
• Tell us early if something is getting in the way of your learning. The sooner we know, the more we can help.

• You hand in your work on the platform. Each time you hand in, you confirm that the work is your own. If using the platform is hard for you, a member of staff can hand in for you, and the record shows that they did.
• Your assessor decides whether your evidence meets the criteria. An internal quality assurer checks a sample of those decisions, and the awarding organisation's external quality assurer may check our centre's work too. They may look at your work online or at the venue. They are checking our assessors, not marking you again.
• If your work does not yet meet the criteria, you will get feedback and the chance to improve it. This is a normal part of learning. Section 4 of POL-ASSESS explains resubmission.
• During a practical assessment, your assessor may stop the treatment if carrying on could put the client, the model or you at risk. Stopping is a safety step, not a final result. You will get feedback and another opportunity.
• An assessment decision can be corrected after it is made. The new decision is recorded beside the original, with the reason, and the original stays in your record. We tell you every time your result changes, and you can appeal against the new decision.
• If you disagree with an assessment decision, you can appeal. The steps and time limits are in section 7 of POL-ASSESS.
• Copying, having someone else do your work, or making up evidence is malpractice. Section 6 of POL-ASSESS explains what happens.
• Prepare for each practical assessment as your course page describes, including any equipment, and a model if your course asks you to bring one. If you cannot, tell your assessor beforehand so that you can arrange another time together.

• Assessment & Certification (POL-ASSESS)

• The awarding organisation's external quality assurer may ask to meet learners or to see their work. We tell you the date as soon as we know it.
• If you are asked to attend, please come. If you cannot, tell us as early as you can. We will look for another way, such as a video call or sending further evidence, where the awarding organisation allows it.
• At your induction, please tell us about any dates you already know you will be away.
• These quality checks can add time before your certificate is issued. Section 3 of POL-ASSESS explains why.

• Assessment & Certification (POL-ASSESS)

• Your safety, and the safety of clients and models, comes first. We follow UK health and safety law, including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and we give you the information, instruction and supervision you need.
• At your first session at each venue, your induction covers the fire exits, the assembly point, where first aid is kept, and who to tell in an emergency. We keep a record of your induction, signed by you and by the person who gave it.
• Follow your tutor's instructions, and use the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided for each treatment.
• Keep your work area clean before and after every client. Clean and disinfect tools as you were taught, and use single-use items only once.
• Tell your tutor straight away about any accident, injury, spill or hazard, including a near miss. We record it and follow it up.
• Check every client for contra-indications before you start. If you find one, stop and tell your tutor. Where needed, we ask the client to see their GP. Diagnosing is not part of a therapist's role.
• Keep your belongings in the place shown at your induction, and please leave valuables at home where you can.
• Each course page lists its own rules for practical sessions, such as what to wear. Some are our house standards rather than legal requirements, and the course page says which.
• If you feel unwell, or have a condition that could affect a session, tell your tutor before the session starts.

• We treat every learner fairly, whatever their background, and we ask the same of you.
• If you have a disability, a health condition or another need that affects how you learn or are assessed, please tell us as early as you can, ideally when you enrol. You decide how much you share.
• A reasonable adjustment changes how you are assessed, not the standard you must reach. Examples are extra time, a quieter room, breaks, or paperwork in a different format. This follows the Equality Act 2010.
• We agree the adjustment with you before the assessment. We record what it is, why it is needed and who approved it. Afterwards, we check with you that it worked.
• Sometimes we cannot agree to an adjustment, because it would change what the assessment measures. If so, we tell you why in writing, and you can appeal by the same route as for assessment decisions (section 7 of POL-ASSESS).
• Some adjustments need the awarding organisation's approval first. In that case we follow its current policy and tell you how long it is likely to take.
• If something happens just before or during an assessment, such as an illness, tell us. We will look at what we can do.

• Assessment & Certification (POL-ASSESS)

• Treat everything you learn about clients and models as confidential. Keep client records accurate and up to date, and store them only where your tutor shows you. Share them only with people who need them for the treatment or for your assessment.
• Ask each client to check and sign their consultation record before the treatment.
• In the UK, personal data is protected by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Sharing a client's details without good reason can harm them, and we treat it as a serious conduct matter (section 9).
• We share your own personal data only as our Privacy Notice (POL-PRIV) describes. For a regulated qualification, that includes the awarding organisation, which needs your details to register you and to issue your certificate. Section 5 of POL-PRIV lists everyone we share data with.
• Before we register you with the awarding organisation, we ask for your consent to share your details. We ask for this separately from this handbook.
• Sections 7 and 8 of POL-PRIV explain how long we keep your records and your rights over them.

• Privacy Notice (POL-PRIV)

• Most concerns are settled with a conversation. We always start with the lightest step that can put things right.

The steps are:

1. A conversation with your tutor, and a simple plan you agree together.
2. A written note of concern. It says what needs to change, how we will support you, and by when.
3. A final written warning.
4. Ending your place on the course.

• We move to a later step only if an earlier one has not worked, or if the matter is serious. Serious matters include a deliberate risk to someone's safety, violence or harassment, theft, and a serious breach of a client's confidentiality.
• Before any written step, we tell you what the concern is, and you can give your side, in writing or at a meeting. We decide only after we have heard from you.
• If someone could be at risk, we may pause your practical sessions while we look into the matter. A pause is not a finding against you, and we keep it as short as we can.
• We give you every decision in writing, with the reasons. If you disagree, you can ask for it to be reviewed by someone who was not involved in the decision. Write to info@taitam-d.com and say why.
• Ending your place never takes away a unit you have already achieved. Those units stay yours, and we still claim certification for them from the awarding organisation. The only exception is a unit affected by malpractice, which section 6 of POL-ASSESS covers.
• If your place ends, what happens to your fees is set out in our Purchase, Refund and Cancellation Policy (POL-REFUND). Suspension of your platform account is covered by section 9 of POL-TOS.
• Malpractice in assessment has its own process, in section 6 of POL-ASSESS.

• Assessment & Certification (POL-ASSESS)
• Purchase & Refund Policy (POL-REFUND)
• Terms of Service (POL-TOS)

• Fees, payment, your right to cancel and how refunds work are set out in our Purchase, Refund and Cancellation Policy (POL-REFUND). This handbook does not change any of it.
• Sections 5 and 6 of POL-REFUND explain your right to cancel and how to claim a refund.
• Section 4 of POL-ASSESS explains how we handle any fee for reassessment.

• Purchase & Refund Policy (POL-REFUND)
• Assessment & Certification (POL-ASSESS)

• Appeals: if you disagree with an assessment decision, follow section 7 of POL-ASSESS.
• Complaints: if you are unhappy with how you have been treated, or with our service, please tell us. Start with your tutor if you feel comfortable doing so. Otherwise, or if that does not settle it, write to info@taitam-d.com. Say what happened and what you would like us to do. We will look into it and reply in writing.
• For a regulated qualification, if you are still not satisfied once our process is complete, you can take your complaint to the awarding organisation.
• If your complaint is about how we handle your personal data, section 11 of POL-PRIV explains what to do.
• Making a complaint or an appeal never counts against you.

• Assessment & Certification (POL-ASSESS)
• Privacy Notice (POL-PRIV)

• The versions of this policy in force are the English and Thai versions. Vietnamese and Chinese versions are not available at present. If you open this page in another language, the text you are reading is the English version. If any part of it is unclear to you, please contact us at info@taitam-d.com.
• The version number and effective date are shown at the top of this page. If we make a change that affects what you agree to, we will ask you to read and agree again. We do not ask again for small corrections.
• You agree to this handbook once, before you start your first course with assessment or practical sessions, by ticking the box and typing your full name. You can download the version you agreed to at any time.
• If using the platform is hard for you, a member of staff can record your agreement for you. They note how you told them: on a signed paper form, in person, or by phone. You can see that record in your account.