FAQ

Yes all our teachers are first aid trained. 

Yes all our teachers are DBS Police checked. 

When you enrol you have the option to “opt out” of permission for photos and videos. This means that nobody will be able to take photos or videos during your child’s class during watching week.

No, we take anyone over the age of 2 regardless of age, ability or experience. There is no need to audition. The only invitation only classes are our Pre-Majors ballet and Modern Theatre Performers Group. 

I have additional needs, special needs or a medical condition which may affect the amount I’m able to do in class. Will you still take me?

Absolutely! We welcome everyone to Welland School of Dancing, regardless of additional or special needs or medical conditions. Where possible our teaching assistants can work one on one within a class situation with anyone with additional needs or medical conditions. All our staff are first aid trained, and are made aware of students additional needs or medical conditions. Information on additional needs and medical conditions is kept strictly confidential and only shared within the teaching faculty.

Absolutely yes! All our classes are suitable for both boys and girls. Welland School of Dancing prides itself on having had lots of boys pass through all the way through to professional level. Boys are very welcome. 

If it’s your child’s first lesson and you are concerned that they are going to be shy or particularly nervous without you, then please check with the teacher and they are normally fine with letting you watch. Normally parents don’t watch as attention can be divided between parent and teacher, and this can be a distraction. We have special “Watching weeks” three times a year on the last week of each term where friends and family are invited to come and watch what the children have learned that term.

Because of the size of our school we do not have the provision to offer written feedback on a regular basis. However, if you want to discuss the progress of your child with the teacher please contact maggie@wellandschoolofdancing.co.uk and she will request feedback from your teacher. 

We take boys and girls from age 2 in ballet (Twinkle Tots Dance) and from age 3 in Tap and Modern (Mini Groovers) and age 7 for Hip Hop because of age appropriateness of hip hop dancing. 

Yes that’s fine. Whilst it is easier for a child to move once they are out of nappies, we do accept children who are still in nappies. 

Parents or guardians do stay and watch the Twinkle Tots dance classes. We ask that noise be kept to a minimum, and mobile phones switched onto silent. Once the child moves up to Pre-School ballet or Mini Groovers we ask the parent to leave as attention can be divided between parent and teacher, and this can be a distraction. Parents can either wait in the changing rooms or leave the premises and return at the end of class. We have your mobile phone numbers to hand in case of emergency.

Younger siblings can come into the studio with the parent for Twinkle Tots class as long as they remain in their buggy / pram or on parent’s knees. Please don’t let them crawl around the floor or roll toys across the dance floor as these are trip hazards. And if they become distressed, we do ask parents to take them out of the studio until they have calmed down.

From September 2016 we will no longer strictly offer trial classes for new or existing pupils. Instead, you will need to enrol and pay for classes via the online parent portal. However, we will guarantee a full refund after the second week of term if you don't get on with the classes.

No. We have six set enrolment periods throughout the year at the beginning of every term, and then directly after half term. This is to minimise disruption the class of having new people joining every week. 

You can wear leggings or shorts and a t shirt for your trials. We have some spare tap shoes that can be borrowed for tap trials. Bare feet is best for ballet and modern trials, and plimsolls or trainers for Hip Hop trials.

We really hope you will enjoy your classes when you enrol! But if you decide they're not for you then from September 2016 we guarantee to refund you in full after the second week of term if you don't wish to continue.

From September 2016, if you miss a class we will still only refund your term fees after the second week of term. After this point, term fees are not refundable.

We appreciate that most children prefer to be in a class with children of a similar age. Therefore where possible we will place you into a class with children of a similar age, and our teaching assistants will give you some extra help to catch up. With Tap which is particularly difficult to pick up at a later stage, we might start you off in a class with younger children, and “fast track” you through to students of your own age.

No. At Welland School of Dancing exams are not compulsory. If you wish, you can simply move up without taking an exam, as long as the teacher thinks you are ready. 

Exams cost in the region of £50-£70 for Graded examinations and £100-130 for Vocational examinations. This covers the RAD or ISTD exam fee, three exam coaching sessions, an admin and music and exam day costs. 

Generally, ballet exams are held twice a year in November and June. Modern exams are held once or twice a year in either November, March, May or June depending on which grades are taking exams. 

Yes. The exams are usually on a Wednesday or Thursday, although they can fall on any weekday and are usually within school time, so permission will need to be sought from your child’s school to be absent for a couple of hours. 

This is dependent on ability and experience rather than age. As a general rule, it’s about two years per grade, although some very able students will move more quickly. It’s a common misconception that students move up every year along with their school years. This is not the case for dancing, and generally it’s a much steadier progression through the grades in order to build a secure foundation. Please click here to see the guided and notional learning hours document provided by the RAD which shows the amount of studio time recommended for the average student in order to prepare for an exam.

Normally it’s a size and a half bigger than outdoor UK shoe size. If in doubt, please come into the school shop to be fitted. School shop is open Wednesdays 4-6pm and Saturdays 9-1pm. 

Except for our pre-school and adult classes, the Welland School of Dancing uniform is compulsory. We do allow pupils transferring from other dance schools to wear existing dancewear until they have outgrown it. And we advise new pupils to wait a few weeks until they are sure they are going to stick at it before purchasing the uniform. All Welland school of Dancing uniform can be purchased through our online shop here.

Normally it’s a size and a half bigger than outdoor UK shoe size. If in doubt, please come into the school shop to be fitted. School shop is open Wednesdays 4-6pm and Saturdays 9-1pm. 

The first time you are fitted for pointe shoes we suggest you go to The Dance Warehouse, 1A Occupation Rd, Peterborough, PE1 2DH. They are trained pointe shoe fitters and they have a wide range of pointe shoes to choose from. We suggest you don’t sew on any ribbons or elastics until your teacher has double checked the shoes in class, otherwise you won’t be able to return them. Your teacher can also advise you on how to sew on the ribbons in the correct place and how to stick on moleskin to the ends of the shoes.

Check the school noticeboard for a hoodie order list. Once we have 25 names we place an order. Hoodies come in Navy or Grey with the option of your name on the back, and cost £20 for children’s sizes or £26 for adult sizes. 

We do a big school production once every 2 years, normally in March. 

Pupils in Primary ballet and up, Grade 2 modern and up, Grade 1 tap and up and all the Hip Hop classes are involved in the show. Adult classes and General ballet are not included in the show, but if you wish to be involved then please ask and we can place you in a class. 

We normally do four performances Thursday evening, Friday evening, Saturday matinee, and Saturday evening at the Corn Exchange Theatre, Broad St, Stamford. Junior classes share shows appearing in two shows each. 

Welland School Dancing is one of the few existing ballet schools that still doesn’t charge anything for costumes. We believe strongly that every child deserves to be involved in the show, and don’t wish it to become unaffordable by charging for costumes. We have an extensive wardrobe of costumes collected from over the years which we reuse and adapt, many of which have been made by hand by school patrons Anne and David. Many families also generous donate the money earned from selling their old dance uniform in our second hand shop to our costume fund. 

Yes. Welland School of Dancing perform every year at the Stamford Festival Parade in June, the Stamford Family fun day in August at Burghley House, Dance On Board at the Cresset theatre in May, Can You Dance in Norwich in May, and we have a maypole dancing team which perform at Uffington Scarecrow Festival and Easton on the Hill Gala.  We also have an annual choreography competition every Christmas which gives pupils the opportunity to perform their own dances. Welland School of Dancing often get asked to perform in local productions with companies such as Peterborough Opera and the Stamford Gilbert & Sullivan society, and many of our students perform in panto with the Stamford Pantomime Players, and further afield in Peterborough.

Historically Welland School of Dancing does not do festivals or dance competitions, because we are conscious of offering a non-competitive environment in which to learn. However, in recent years a small group of select students has been formed who represent the school at local, regional and national level. This is because we recognise the importance of audition and competition practise for those students who wish to dance professionally. If you wish to be considered for festivals please contact maggie@wellandschoolofdancing.co.uk and arrange to audition for the teachers. 

Please do contact us as we have a small provision to help worthy causes, or we can also set up a flexible payment plan to help spread the cost of classes over several smaller payments. We also offer multi-class discounts in the effort to keep classes affordable. We have a second hand uniform department to help keep uniform costs to a minimum, and we don’t charge anything for costumes. 

Fees are paid termly in advance. We run our terms in line with the local Lincolnshire county council school terms. On average there are 12 weeks per term, however on occasions, a 13 week term can be followed by an 11 week term, but we always ensure there are 36 weeks per year. 

We will send out statements at thend of term in advance of the start of the new term. As existing pupils of Welland, we will automatically enrol you in classes for the following term unless we receive written notice that you would like to discontinue classes. We kindly ask for a half term's notice.

We charge your regsitered card via AutoPay on the first Monday of each new full term for term fees. You are required to enrol in AutoPay when joining the school before being able to enrol in any classes.

Initially you will be paying for classes via credit card on your online Parent Portal when you enrol in classes. Thereafter, you can sign up to AutoPay. You save your card details with stripe and your card is then charged for each enrolment session on the first Monday of each new term. We will send a reminder message out at intervals before processing the payment on the first day of each new term. As mentioned previously, we charge a half term's notice, so please make sure you give us timely written notice if you will no longer be attending classes.

We charge term fees in advance and will send out statements at the end of each term in advance of the next term. Youcan pay via credit card on yor online Parent Portal or by online bank transfer into the following bank:

Account No: 68099985

Sort Code: 08-92-50

Please put payment reference of your child’s name and surname so we know who it’s from.

We also accept cheque made payable to Welland School of Dancing, or cash. You can also pay by credit card over the phone by calling 07990 635970

Do you offer private tuition?

Yes. We offer private tuition on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and during the school holidays depending on studio availability. Please contact maggie@wellandschoolofdancing.co.uk for more details. 

Yes. We often have workshops and master classes running at weekends and holidays. Click here to see details upcoming Summer Schools. Please see our Parties page on the website for details of how to hire the studio for your Parties.

Yes. In the summer holidays we run week long summer schools for all ages; Twinkle Tots summer school for 2-4 year olds, Budding Ballerina’s summer school for 4-6 year olds, Junior Summer school for 7-12 year olds and Senior Summer School for 12-18 year olds. Non Welland School of Dancing pupils are welcome to join too. For more information on summer schools please see our Summer Schools Page.

Yes we offer Twinkle Tots Ballet parties at the studio, and Popstar parties. Click here for more information on Twinkle Tots Ballet parties, and click here for more information on Popstar parties.