Immersion Behaviour Policy
Please think about the well-being of the group you are participating in.
Your phone should be turned off during class time unless you are using it to take notes, in which case it should be in aeroplane mode and silent.
Do not attend immersions if you are unwell; if in doubt, contact your school leader or mentor.
Please bring outdoor footwear and clothes, as you will spend time in the garden with the plants.
Ensure you get the directions to your school and arrive on time. Message your mentor, confirm your attendance, and remind the school you attend of any special requirements.
Course participants must behave politely and avoid interrupting the class with spontaneous questions or statements, as this disturbs the flow of the activities. We have received feedback about how disruptive this is to the learning process. Please signal if you need to and wait until the course facilitator asks for questions or comments. Use your notes to write down questions and comments to ask at the appropriate time.
Course participants must behave responsibly at all times during attendance and be mindful of their own and others' safety. Behaviour that puts others at risk will not be tolerated, and if requests to desist are ignored, this will result in expulsion from the course.
Poor conduct or offensive behaviour (by students or staff) towards staff or other participants will not be tolerated. In particular, racist, sexist or other discriminatory or offensive behaviour towards others will result in immediate expulsion from the course and permanent barring from attendance at any Plant Medicine School courses and events.
It is the responsibility of all course participants to ensure that they have let the School know in advance about any health issues (whether physical, mental, or emotional in nature) that they have, including relevant allergies (bee or wasp stings, food allergies, and so on) and other medical conditions that could affect their safety and, by extension, place the safety and well-being of other course participants into jeopardy.
All activities during any immersion are entirely voluntary, and if any student has any difficulty participating in anything, they must let the facilitator know immediately.
Under no circumstances should a complaint be made during a class, as we have had several reports about how disruptive this is to class morale. If you feel unhappy, please adhere to the complaints procedure outlined below. Failure to do so may lead to a request to leave the proceedings immediately.
The Plant Medicine School conducts its activities in accordance with local Health and Safety at Work regulations.
Payment agreements
How subscriptions work with the school and yourself.
It's like a direct debit but the date and amount are set and are not variable.
We need the refundable subscription pre-registration payment of €1 or £1 to register your card details on the school stripe account so that we can set the subscription to charge your card the agreed funds on the agreed date with your permission.
If your card is due to expire, stripe will send you an email one month before that date asking you to update your card information so that you won't miss a payment.
Each subscription is set up individually for each student, so it's vital for you to let us know if you need to change the proposed dates on your offer, informing us when you want the subscription to charge your card so that you have the funds in place.
On a monthly or bi-monthly subscription it's important to know if it is the beginning, the middle or the end of the month that suits you best. This is decided when we set up the subscription and can't be changed for individual subscription withdrawals, it will be the set interval agreed upon.
Stripe will send you an email notifying your subscription will renew seven days before the charge.
The subscription takes a set amount on the set date from your card account automatically and you get sent a receipt after a successful transaction.
If there are inadequate funds in your account to cover the withdrawal you will get a failed attempt email. Stripe will retry 3 days after each failed attempt for 3 times.
If, for some reason, your financial circumstances change and you need to adjust how you pay the school, you must contact us immediately so we can set up a new system that suits you. Please don't wait until a payment fails.
Failure to make payments constitutes a breach of the student-school agreement and will result in further action.
Complaints and Refunds Procedure
We care deeply about the quality of our course delivery and the experience of our students during their learning process, and are continually working to improve this.
If you are unhappy with the delivery of your course or the conduct of staff or fellow students, please report this to your course leader in private. We take all such matters very seriously, and we will arrange an online call so that you can explain your dissatisfaction.
We take the time to do this because the quality of exchange in a verbal discussion enables better communication and expression of the underlying issues, the context, and any misunderstandings that have arisen, much better than in a written text conversation.
If required, state your concerns privately to your school leader and attend a recorded online interview with school leaders and administrators for full clarification and evaluation. Fee refunds cannot be considered without adherence to this procedure and are granted on a case-by-case basis, based on individual circumstances.
Complaints about staff behaviour or any other issues about the School are always considered most seriously. If you are making a complaint, you must clearly state your concerns in a message to your school leader. The school leader and/or administrator will then arrange an online conversation for full clarification and evaluation. This will be recorded as a record. If a complaint about inappropriate behaviour is deemed truthful and accurate, it will be upheld, and appropriate measures will be taken.
If a refund is being sought, the same procedure will be followed. Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis depending on individual circumstances. By accepting the offer of a place on the course, you agree to pay the course fees in full, as this is how the school funds itself. We have a dedicated number of places available, and the budget is allocated accordingly.
If you cancel your place on the course before August 31st, you will be eligible for a refund of any fees paid, but not including the initial fee paid when you accepted the offer. You have access to the foundation course, and this also covers the administration of your application and acceptance procedures.
No refund will be given if course participation is cancelled after August 31st. If the course has been started, no refund is given unless there are exceptional or extenuating circumstances. As outlined above, this must be discussed with the school leader at a recorded video call.
The non-refundable first payment may be credited to your school account, for a maximum of one year, if you wish to defer for a year due to unforeseen circumstances.
If it is after 31st August, the same may apply to other fees you may have paid, and if you need to defer due to unforeseen circumstances, a credit for a maximum of one year may be applied depending upon agreement with the individual school.
Health and Safety Induction Sheet
The Plant Medicine School Health and Safety Induction Sheet
Suitable personal protective equipment must be worn correctly where required - this will be highlighted to you before any activity. Eg wellies and outdoor clothing, safety goggles for soap making, aprons food, gloves and so on. Your team will instruct you on what is needed for different tasks.
All accidents and dangerous occurrences must be reported to school management immediately.
If you think one of your fellow students has taken ill or is not well please let the management know immediately.
Access routes and emergency exits must be kept free of obstruction.
The assembly point in the event of fire is at the entrance gate
Use the pedestrian walkways provided, prohibited areas are cordoned off.
No individual is permitted to carry out a task without prior authorisation.
Handrails must be used where provided.
No running on site.
Do not stray away from your designated area while on site.
Obey all signage on site and if in doubt ask for clarification.
Do not use any equipment without prior authorisation and clear instruction. Inspect equipment before use and do not use any defective equipment.
Return all equipment, tools and books that have been used to their place after using.
No smoking, on site inside buildings. Smoking is permitted in the designated area only.
Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be required to leave the site.
If you are on any medication with could affect your or other people's health and safety while on site, please make management aware of it.
Notify your course leader of any allergies or sensitivities.
Facilities are provided for your use, please keep them clean.
Please use the correct bins provided on site.
There is a "Clean as you go" policy in place.
All individuals must make their presence known to management on a
daily basis from emergency evacuation reasons.
All items must be turned off when not in use.
Follow all instructions given at all times.
Review your surroundings regularly and care taken at all times while on site.
Never take any risks.
Respect your tutors and fellow students.
Do not touch pick or taste any plant or sample until it has been identified as safe to touch and ingest.
Respect the privacy of this private school and dwelling and your fellow participants - Do not post any pictures whatsoever on any form of social media or content that is shared on the Internet, without the express permission of the people in the photograph and the school.
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES: If an emergency arises, the alarm must be raised to the school management immediately and all individuals must go to their designated assembly point