Cancellations and refunds

In brief

You can cancel within 14 days of accepting your offer, without giving a reason.

Cancel a lesson at least 24 hours before it starts and you are not charged.

Cancel with less notice and the lesson is normally charged. A refund is at our discretion, and you can ask us to look at it.

If your child misses a lesson without cancelling, the lesson is charged.

If a lesson doesn't go ahead because of us, you get your money back on your card. That covers a tutor who doesn't join, is too late, stops early or cancels, a fault with our website or lesson platform, and a payment we took after a lesson was cancelled. If you'd rather keep it as lesson credit, just say.

Other refunds, like a goodwill refund, are lesson credit.

Credit from money you paid can go back to your card whenever you ask, even after you stop.

We never ask for your bank details.

Not happy with a decision? Ask us to look again.

When you pay

We take payment for each lesson about 24 hours before it starts, using the card on your account. If you have lesson credit, we use that first.

If a payment doesn't go through, we try again about 12 hours later and again about an hour before the lesson. We email you each time. If all three attempts fail, the lesson is cancelled and you are not charged.

Your 14-day right to cancel

When you accept your offer, you can change your mind. You have 14 days to cancel the whole agreement, without giving a reason. The 14 days start the day after you accept.

How to cancel. Tell us clearly before the 14 days end. Email [email protected], or use the cancellation form on your offer page. You can use the form, but you don't have to.

The "start straight away" tick. When you accept your offer, you can tick a box that says "Start lessons straight away. If I cancel in the first 14 days, I'll only pay for lessons I've already had."

If you tick it, your child can have lessons within the 14 days. If you then cancel in those 14 days, you pay only for the lessons already given, up to the moment you told us you were cancelling, in proportion to the full price. We refund the rest.
If you don't tick it, we don't book your first paid lesson until after the 14 days have ended. Your offer page shows the first date you can book. If you cancel in the 14 days, you pay nothing. The free "meet your tutor" session is not a lesson, so it can still happen in the 14 days.

We refund what you are owed within 14 days of hearing that you are cancelling, to the card you paid with.

After the 14 days, you can still stop at any time (see "Stopping lessons"). The rules below then apply to each lesson.

Cancelling a lesson

Why we have these rules. They are about being fair to everyone. We expect our tutors to turn up on time and to give you proper notice if they ever need to cancel. Your tutor sets aside that time for your child, so it's only fair that it works both ways.

24 hours or more before the lesson: you are not charged. Cancel it yourself on the lesson page in NSEMM Learn. Please don't rely on asking your tutor to cancel for you, as they may not see your message in time. If you're having trouble, message your tutor or us. Every message and request is time-stamped, so the time you contacted us counts as the time you cancelled. If we already took payment, it comes back to you automatically.

Less than 24 hours before the lesson: your tutor has kept that time for your child, so the lesson is normally charged. A refund is at our discretion. We look at what happened and let you know.

You can ask for a refund when you cancel and tell us why, for example illness or a family emergency. A member of staff will look at your request.

If you can't use NSEMM Learn, email or phone us and we will cancel it for you. The time you contacted us counts as the time you cancelled.

If a payment is taken after a lesson was cancelled, it is not yours to lose. It goes back to your card. If you'd rather keep it as lesson credit, you can choose that.

If your child misses a lesson or joins late

If your child doesn't join and you didn't cancel, the lesson is charged. Your tutor waited and kept the time free. If something serious happened, please tell us and we will look at it.

If your child joins late, your tutor still lets them in and teaches the time that is left. The lesson finishes at the normal time and the full fee applies.

If your tutor can't make it, is late or stops early

If your tutor cancels, or we cancel, for any reason, you are not charged. We tell you straight away and help you choose a new time. If you had already paid, it goes back to your card (or stays as credit if you choose that).

If your tutor doesn't join, or is so late that more than a quarter of the lesson is missed, you get a full refund to your card, whatever the reason. It doesn't count against your child. A member of staff checks the lesson and confirms your refund.

If your tutor starts a little late and doesn't make up the time, and your child loses 10 minutes or more, your tutor may make up the time at the end if you and they are both free. If not, we add lesson credit for the time lost. A member of staff checks every one. We tell you in your next round-up email and on the lesson page. This credit is money we owe you, so it can go back to your card if you ask.

If your tutor has to stop a lesson early, for example because they are unwell, you are not charged for the time your child lost. If less than half the lesson took place, you get a full refund. Otherwise you get a refund for the time lost. Either one goes back to your card, unless you choose to keep it as lesson credit.

Technical problems

Please test your device and connection before the first lesson. Our guide to supported browsers and devices helps.

If a lesson can't go ahead because of a technical problem, tell your tutor or us as soon as you can. We check what happened from our records.

If the problem was with our website or the lesson platform, you are not charged. If you had paid, it goes back to your card (or stays as credit if you choose that).
If the problem was at your tutor's end, you are not charged, and the same applies.
If the problem was at your end, for example your device or internet connection, we treat it like a cancellation at short notice. A refund is at our discretion, and we'll work with you to stop it happening again.

While we are checking, you are not charged. We aim to let you know within 5 working days.

If a lesson is stopped because of behaviour or a safety concern

If a tutor has to end a lesson because of serious behaviour, or because of a concern about someone's safety, the lesson is normally charged. We may waive it. We will always talk to you about what happens next, unless the law or keeping a child safe means we can't.

How refunds work

Refunds we owe you go back to your card. We owe you a refund when a lesson didn't go ahead, or didn't go fully ahead, because of us. That means:

your tutor didn't join, or was too late;
your tutor stopped the lesson early;
your tutor or NSEMM cancelled the lesson;
our website, the lesson platform or your tutor's connection failed;
we took a payment after the lesson was cancelled.

These refunds go back to the card you paid with. If you'd rather keep one as lesson credit, you can choose that on the lesson page before the refund is approved. If you paid for the lesson with lesson credit, it goes back as lesson credit.

Other refunds are lesson credit. These are refunds we choose to give, for example when we agree to refund a lesson you cancelled at short notice. We call them goodwill refunds.

Lesson credit is added to your account and used for your next lessons before your card is charged. It doesn't run out.

Credit from money you paid can go back to your card. Ask us at any time, including after you stop lessons. We do this by refunding your most recent card payments. If there is no card payment we can refund, we'll contact you to agree what happens next.

Goodwill credit is yours to keep while you have lessons, and you keep it if you leave. Sometimes we add credit as a gesture, not because of money you paid. We tell you when credit is goodwill. You can use it for lessons. It isn't refunded to your card, and we don't take it away when you stop. If you come back, it's still there.

The 24-hour check. When a member of staff approves a refund, there is a 24-hour check before the money moves. Credit then appears straight away. A card refund usually takes 5 to 10 working days to reach your bank.

We never ask for your bank details. Refunds go only to lesson credit or the card you paid with.

If you have help from the Community Education Fund, we refund what you paid. The Fund's share goes back to the Fund so it can help another child. Help from the Fund is never paid out as money.

How to ask for a refund

When you cancel: tick "Ask for a refund" and tell us why.
For any other lesson: contact us through NSEMM Learn or the help centre within 14 days of the lesson. Tell us the lesson date and what happened.
You don't need to ask if your tutor cancelled, didn't join, was too late for the lesson to go ahead, or if we took a payment after a cancellation. We start the refund for you.

You can see the progress of a refund on the Payments page in NSEMM Learn.

If you disagree with a decision

Reply to our message or contact us. A different member of staff will look at it again and reply within 5 working days.
If you are still unhappy, you can make a complaint, and you can ask us to look again within 14 days of our reply. Our complaints policy explains how.

Stopping lessons

You can stop lessons at any time by telling us. You don't pay anything to leave. Where possible, please give us two weeks' notice.

Before your account is closed, we cancel any lessons still booked, one by one, under the rules above. Lessons 24 hours or more away are not charged. Lessons booked less than 24 hours ahead follow the short-notice rules.

We don't refund lesson credit automatically when you stop. Ask us and we'll refund any credit from money you paid to your card, at any time, including after your account is closed. Goodwill credit stays on your account, and help from the Fund is not refunded as money.

If you have a place through the Community Education Fund, the Fund's own rules about reviews and notice also apply. See our CEF Access Policy. If lessons stop for more than 6 weeks, a member of our team looks at your place.

Code of Conduct for Students and Parents
CEF Access Policy
Complaints policy
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The National Society for Education, Mentoring and Media is a registered charity (number 1209673). This policy was last updated on 19/10/2026.