Helen Wallace-Batley

Lessons are charged at a rate of £30 per hour. This is the recomended rate by Derbyshire Music Partnership and is reviewed yearly. In School (Charged as a half term set) Individual 20 minute lesson - £10 per lesson Individual 30 minute lesson - £15 per lesson Private Lessons 30 minute lesson - £15 1hr. lesson - £30

Lessons in school are usually 20 minutes long. This may be extended to a full 30 minute lesson as you progress. Private lessons are either 30 minutes or 1 hour long.

Lessons are billed in half termly blocks. Payment is made by bank transfer. You will be given details on your first invoice.

Yes, for lessons in school. The Derbyshire Music Partnership offers an Assisted Bursary scheme that helps towards the cost of lessons. You need to fill in a form and provide evidence that you are in receipt of FSM in order for me to be able to claim the subsidy from the county. The amount I charge you per half term is adjusted to a lower amount as I claim the balance from county. As part of the sign up process you will be provided with a link to apply for the funding on the Derbyshire Music Hub website.

Shared lessons in school may be offered at my discretion to beginner students where there is a viable partner to work with. Sharing a lesson splits the cost between the students. If the partner stops lessons then you will be offered an individual lesson or change of group if possible. Shared lessons are not offered to private students.

In order to learn to play you will need access to an instrument that is in good working order and, in the case of woodwind instruments, is for your own, sole use. If you are learning in school, you are able to loan an instrument for a year from the Derbyshire Music Partnership at a cost of £30. As part of the sign up process you will be provided with a link to apply for an instrument loan and pay the fee to county. This fee is waived if you are continuing from a Wider Opportunities Scheme in your school. If you are having a private lesson, outside school, then you need an instrument to bring to your lesson and to practice on at home. In the case of piano, this could be an electronic keyboard or electric piano that you keep at home. I can advise you on the purchase of instruments as part of your lesson enquiry.

This varies. As the standard you work at goes up, so does the amount of practice required. I will advise you on practice routines but even for a beginner it needs to be regular and focussed. Setting a good regime at the start of your playing career will pay dividends in the long run.

Once you begin lessons you will be given a password to access the Student Area. You will find exclusive online content that is created just for HWB students including videos and piano accompaniment tracks. Content will be created as required, so at first it may look a little bare!