BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

 The following Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) apply to all existing and new bookings from September 2025 onwards. These T&Cs supersede any previous T&Cs you may have received. 

 BOOKING INFORMATION – PRICING 

 As coach prices and other costs have continued to rise, the Open Centre (OC) wants to ensure that all children and visitors have the opportunity to experience different religions and cultures at least once in their lives. To support this, the OC offers at a tailored, affordable price. Our prices can only be offered at these levels if ALL children and visitors attend. 

 When booking your visit (or activity) with the OC, our staff will ask for the number of children we will be working with. The price quoted will be based on the number of children booked – full attendance is assumed. 

PAYMENTS 

•  The OC requires FULL PAYMENT 30 days in advance of any visit (or activity).  
• If you have booked a visit with LESS than 45 days’ notice, you must pay the full amount at time of booking.  All such payments will be expected to clear immediately. The OC reserves the right to cancel any visits /activities NOT paid in full 7 days ahead of such visits/activities. 
• Payment should be via BACS and payment information will be found at the bottom of your invoice. Please use your Invoice Number as your reference when paying in this way. 

  CANCELLATIONS  

• If the school (client) wishes to cancel their visit, the following charges apply: 

• More than 46 days’ notice – No Charge 

• 45 days’ (or less) notice of original booking – Full quoted total of visit  

• The OC reserves the right to cancel or rearrange any visit in exceptional circumstances. We will do our best to rearrange any such sessions. If we are unable to do this satisfactorily, a full refund will be made. 

 CHARGES FOR REARRANGING SESSIONS  

• If you need to rearrange a visit or session(s) within 45 days of the original booking an administration and staff charge is applicable.  

• We do charge a staff cost of £15 for each staff member, for each session, per 30 visitors (for 60 visitors it would be £30 per activity as we would usually have two staff members supporting a session) and an administration cost of £20 per booking is required to be rearranged. 

• Full payment of the above costs is required before we can confirm rearrangement dates. 

• The rearrangement needs to be booked within the same academic year otherwise a cancellation charge will be applied following the above terms. 

• Visits can only be rearranged once within the academic year.  

COMPLAINTS 

 Any complaints to the OC must be made in writing to the Strategic Lead – Samantha Hussain at manager@derbyopencentre.org All complaints will be dealt with as soon as possible.  

Please find below information regarding our booking procedures and additional information regarding visits. Please also see our booking terms and conditions document for additional information about our payment terms.

BOOKING INFORMATION – BOOKING FORMS

The OC will send a Booking Form as confirmation of a Provisional Booking. If you have not received a Booking Form, then your booking may not be confirmed. If you have received a Booking Form and don’t think you have made a booking, please contact us for clarification, otherwise a charge may be incurred.

• Once you have received your Booking Form, please check all the information carefully. It is your responsibility to bring any discrepancies to our attention.
• If anything changes about your booking prior to your visit (activity) please notify us at least 30 days in advance – this might include contact information, names, additional needs, allergies etc.
• You MUST notify the OC of any change to visitor numbers NO LESS THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE YOUR VISIT. If you do not, the full cost quoted on the Booking Form will apply (even if there are fewer attendees).

 PARENTAL SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS

It is recommended that parental reply slips for visits (and activities) are sent out a minimum of 4 weeks prior to the visit. This gives the school and the OC time to deal with any queries. Therefore, if full numbers do not wish to attend, the school can decide to bring fewer children OR the OC may arrange a visit to the school to discuss issues with parents OR make amendments to the original programme. A copy of our template letter (to parents) is available on our website or upon request.

• Please see our additional support guide for parental strategies or if you would prefer to talk to us, please ring 01332 360737.

 PRIOR TO ARRIVAL

If the group is running more than 10 minutes later than the agreed arrival time, the OC has the right to rearrange the timetable/programme in order to facilitate the visit. This may mean visits are shortened. If you anticipate that you are going to be late, please call us as soon as possible on 01332 360737. If a group is more than 20 minutes late with no contact from the school (or we are unable to contact the school), the OC reserves the right to cancel the visit.

 DURING THE VISIT

Teachers are legally responsible for the children in their care at all times.

• Teachers are responsible for the discipline and good behaviour of their children at all times. If OC staff think the safety of anyone in the group is at risk due to inappropriate behaviour, they have the right to curtail the session.
• Teachers must know the total number of visitors (including adults) at all times to ensure fire safety.
• The OC has carried Risk Assessments for each activity but it is also the school’s responsibility to carry out their own.
• Group leaders are responsible for supervising all visitors in the group during toilet breaks. Group leaders must check the toilets prior to departure to ensure they are left in an acceptable state. We have updated or Risk Assessments in line with COVID 19 guidance and these will be sent with your Booking Form. The OC will assume that you have read this Risk Assessment and understand all required actions. If OC staff feel that these actions have not been met, a conversation with the OC Manager will be required and as a result sessions may be curtailed or delayed.
• For schools staying for lunch, we ask that you take your waste and rubbish with you. The Open Centre will provide black bags to put your waste in.