TERMS & CONDITIONS
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Terms and Conditions for Delegates
Smile Academy UK Ltd, trading as Smile Dental Academy. Effective from [date]
1. About these terms
1.1 Who we are
These terms are between you (the "delegate") and Smile Academy UK Ltd, trading as Smile Dental Academy ("we", "us"), a company registered in England and Wales (company number 11683236). You can contact us at info@smiledentalacademy.com.
1.2 What they cover
These terms apply to our Level 7 Diplomas and our short courses. Please read them before you pay your Registration Fee. When you pay it, a contract is formed on these terms.
1.3 Our policies
Your studies are also governed by our academic policies and Student Handbook. These include assessment, attendance, extenuating circumstances, academic integrity, complaints and appeals. They are available on request and on our online platform. Our Level 7 Diplomas are awarded by EduQual, the regulated awarding body, and EduQual's requirements also apply.
2. Our courses
• Diplomas run over approximately 10 to 24 months, as a series of modules. To receive the Diploma, you must attend and pass all modules and assessments in line with our policies and EduQual's requirements.
• Short courses are stand-alone courses of one or more days.
• The course information you received before booking (content, dates, venues, faculty, fees and assessment) forms part of this contract.
2.1 Changes to a course
We may need to make reasonable changes to a course, for example to dates, venues, faculty or the order of modules, or to reflect changes in clinical guidance, regulation or EduQual's requirements. We will tell you as early as possible. If a change is material (for example, it significantly changes the content, the number of modules, the award, the location or the total fee), we will consult you first. If you do not accept a material change, you may cancel and we will refund the fees you have paid for any part of the course not yet delivered.
3. Eligibility
Our courses are for qualified dentists, dental therapists, dental hygienists and dental nurses, as stated for each course. Before you start, we will ask for evidence of your qualification and current registration with the General Dental Council (or the equivalent regulator where you practise). If your course involves treating patients, you must also meet the clinical requirements in the Student Handbook, including professional indemnity, immunisations and a DBS check.
4. Booking and the Registration Fee
• You reserve your place by paying a Registration Fee equal to the fee for the first course day (excluding VAT). The Registration Fee counts towards your total course fee.
• Once we receive it, we will confirm your place in writing and give you access to our online learning platform.
• We will also register you with EduQual. EduQual registration and certification costs are included in your course fee unless your course information says otherwise.
5. Fees and payment
5.1 Payment options
• Monthly: by standing order or Direct Debit over 12 to 24 months, as set out in your course information; or
• In full in advance: by bank transfer (BACS) or card.
Your total course fee and payment schedule are set out in your booking confirmation. All prices include VAT where it applies.
5.2 Funding
If a sponsor, employer or other organisation is paying for your course, you remain responsible for the fees if they do not pay.
5.3 Late or missed payments
• If a payment is missed, we will contact you. We may charge a late payment fee of £25 to cover our administration costs.
• If a payment is more than 30 days overdue and you have not agreed a payment plan with us, we may suspend your attendance at further modules until the arrears are paid, after giving you at least 14 days' written notice.
• We may withhold your certificate claim to EduQual until all tuition fees for your course have been paid. We will not withhold your certificate for any other kind of debt.
6. Your right to cancel (cooling-off period)
You have the right to cancel within 14 days of paying your Registration Fee, without giving any reason, and receive a full refund.
• To cancel, email info@smiledentalacademy.com before the 14 days end.
• If you ask us to start your course, or give you access to course modules on our online platform, within the 14 days, we will ask you to confirm this request. If you then cancel within the 14 days, we will refund what you have paid less a proportionate amount for any teaching or content already provided.
• We will refund you within 14 days of your cancellation, using the method you paid with.
7. Cancelling after the cooling-off period
7.1 Before your course starts
If you cancel after the cooling-off period but before your course starts, the following cancellation charges apply. They reflect the costs we cannot recover, such as faculty, venue and materials booked for you, and the place we are unlikely to fill.
When you tell us
Cancellation charge
More than 12 weeks before the start date
20% of the fees for the first year of the course
8 to 12 weeks before the start date
35% of the fees for the first year of the course
4 to 8 weeks before the start date
50% of the fees for the first year of the course
Less than 4 weeks before the start date
100% of the fees for the first [3] modules
If our actual loss is lower, for example because we fill your place, we will only charge the lower amount. Any fees you have paid above the cancellation charge will be refunded.
7.2 After your course has started
You may withdraw at any time by emailing us. You will pay for:
• all modules you have started or attended; and
• the next scheduled module after your notice, if it is within [8] weeks, because we will already have committed costs for it.
After that, no further fees will be due, and we will refund any fees paid in advance for later modules. If you have completed whole modules, we will provide a certificate of verifiable CPD for them.
7.3 Transferring your place
Instead of cancelling, you may transfer your place to another suitably qualified person, with our agreement, for an administration fee of £25. You may also ask to move to a later cohort of the same course, subject to availability. Any difference in fees will be set out in writing.
7.4 Interruption for illness or other circumstances
If you need to pause your studies because of illness, pregnancy, caring responsibilities or other serious circumstances, please contact us. We will work with you to agree an interruption or move to a later cohort, in line with our Extenuating Circumstances Policy, and we will not apply cancellation charges while that is agreed.
8. If we cancel or cannot complete a course
• If we cancel a course before it starts, we will refund all fees you have paid in full.
• If we cancel or postpone a module, we will reschedule it at no extra cost to you, or refund the fee for that module.
• If we are unable to complete a Diploma, we will (a) arrange for you to complete it at a later date or with an alternative provider where possible, at no extra cost to you, or (b) refund the fees you have paid for modules not delivered. In either case, we will provide a certificate of verifiable CPD for the modules you have completed and, where EduQual allows, a record of credit achieved.
9. Assessment and certificates
• To receive your Diploma, you must meet the attendance requirements and pass all assessments in line with our Assessment and Feedback Policy and EduQual's requirements. You are responsible for submitting assessments by their deadlines.
• Certificates for Diplomas are issued by EduQual. Certificates of verifiable CPD are issued by us for modules completed.
• If you are unhappy with an assessment decision, you can use our Academic Appeals Procedure.
10. Your responsibilities
You agree to:
• follow the GDC Standards for the Dental Team and our Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure;
• keep your registration and professional indemnity current for any clinical work you carry out as part of your course, and tell us straight away if either changes;
• obtain valid patient consent and anonymise all patient information you use in your coursework;
• give us accurate information.
11. Copyright and course materials
All course materials, including slides, videos, handouts and recordings, belong to us or our faculty. You receive a personal, non-transferable licence to use them for your own study and professional development. You must not share, copy, sell, publish or present them as your own, or use them for teaching or promotional purposes, without our written permission. Recordings of sessions must not be made without our consent.
12. Clinical responsibility and our liability
12.1 Clinical responsibility
Our teaching and materials support your professional development but do not replace your own clinical judgement. You remain responsible for the treatment you provide to your patients, and you must hold appropriate professional indemnity for it.
12.2 Our liability to you
• We will provide our courses with reasonable care and skill, and as described in the course information.
• We are not responsible for losses arising from the treatment you provide to your own patients, or for loss of profits, business or income.
• Except as set out below, our total liability to you is limited to the total course fees you have paid us.
• Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights.
13. Ending your contract for misconduct or non-payment
We may end your contract, or suspend you from the course, in line with our Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure if:
• you behave in a threatening, abusive or seriously disruptive way, or put patients, learners or staff at risk;
• you seriously breach these terms and do not put it right within 14 days of our written request; or
• you do not pay fees that are more than 60 days overdue, after we have given you written notice and the chance to agree a payment plan.
You will have the right to respond and appeal as set out in that procedure. If your contract ends, fees for modules already delivered remain payable, and we will refund fees paid for modules not yet delivered, less any reasonable costs we have incurred because of the breach.
14. Events outside our control
We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather, transport failure, strikes, pandemic restrictions or venue closure. If this happens, we will tell you as soon as possible and reschedule affected sessions, or move them online where suitable, at no extra cost to you. If we cannot reschedule within a reasonable time, we will refund the fees for the affected sessions. If a faculty member is unavailable, we will arrange a suitably qualified replacement or reschedule.
15. Complaints
If you are unhappy with any part of our service, please tell us. Our Student Complaints Procedure explains how complaints are handled and how you can take a complaint to EduQual once our procedure is complete.
16. Your personal data
We use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy at www.smiledentalacademy.com and our Data Protection and Information Security Policy. We share your details with EduQual to register you and issue your certificate.
17. General
• Transfer: you may not transfer this contract without our written consent (except as described under "Transferring your place"). We may transfer our rights and obligations to another organisation that will provide the course to the same standard, and we will tell you in writing. If you do not agree, you may cancel and receive a refund for undelivered modules.
• Changes to these terms: we may update these terms for future bookings. If we need to change them for your current course, we will give you at least 30 days' notice, and if the change is significant and to your disadvantage, you may cancel and receive a refund for undelivered modules.
• Notices: send notices to info@smiledentalacademy.com. We will send notices to the contact details you gave us.
• Severance: if any part of these terms is found to be invalid, the rest will still apply.
• Waiver: if we do not enforce a term straight away, we may still enforce it later.
• Third parties: no one other than you and us has rights under these terms.
• Law: these terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts.