PSC Terms & Conditions, Complaints Procedure and Data Protection Policy

Acceptance on the course

We reserve the right to not offer you a place on the Practical Sustainability Course.

Cancellation by you

Your deposit is non-refundable.

You may cancel your place on the Practical Sustainability Course up until 31st July 2024. Cancellation must be in writing to us by using this form.

If you withdraw from the course after 31st July 2024, you will be liable for the full course fee agreed.

Termination by us

We reserve the right to terminate your place before or during the PSC if we deem your behaviour as aggressive, abusive or disruptive, or if we consider your behaviour is posing a threat to the health or safety of yourself, other students, tutors or the public.

Termination Process:

1. A verbal warning
2. A written warning.
3. Termination of your place. No refund will be offered.

We reserve the right to advance through steps, if your behaviour warrants more immediacy in action.

Changes to the date/venue/tutor of a teaching session

Dates and venues are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances. You shall be informed of any changes via text and/or email.

The tutors for each course listed on the Shift Bristol website are correct at the time but are subject to change without notice.

Tutor biographies on the Shift Bristol website do not form part of a contract. 

Changes to the timetable

The activities on this course operate in a real-world context, so occasionally factors outside of our control may change our plans, for example extreme weather or illness, or some other event over which we have no control.

We reserve the right to change the timetable to adapt in these circumstances. We aim to minimise disruption, communicate changes promptly, move and/or replace the planned content of taught sessions to the best of our ability. We reserve the right to cancel taught sessions without substitute if an alternative is unavailable.

Force Majeure

We cannot be held liable for failure or delay in the performance of our obligations if this delay or failure is due to an unforeseeable act or event which is beyond our reasonable control ("Force Majeure Events").

Acts or events constituting Force Majeure Events include, but are not limited to, Acts of God, government intervention, a change in the law, epidemic and/or pandemic, or some other type of supervening event over which we don't have control.

If affected by a Force Majeure Event, we will notify you soon as soon as reasonably practicable. 

Coronavirus

Should we ever need to go through another pandemic then we will be required to work within the Government guidance and legislation around Coronavirus (or other type of outbreak).

Shift Bristol has a responsibility to adhere to the rules and keep everyone safe and healthy.

Should guidance and legislation change we reserve the right to;

• Temporarily restrict in-person activities, substituting these sessions with online content.
• Take measures to ensure participating students are not at risk of speading viruses; including taking temperatures, requesting hand washing and santising, physical distancing, wearing masks etc.
• Send students home if they are participating in course activities with any of the following symptoms.
• Ask students to inform us should they test positive on a flow or PCR test.
• Ask students to follow the latest Self-Isolation advice.

If students miss course time due to illness, shielding or self-isolation we cannot repeat or replace these taught sessions. We will provide handouts and notes where possible.

Accessibility

Glossary: 

• Course container: How we organise and facilitate the course activities; includes setting expectations and boundaries for course participation and holding Shift Bristol, the facilitation team, and the students accountable to meeting these expectations. 
• Course culture: How we support, encourage and function as a community within the course container that promotes authentic inclusion. 
• Course content: The course experience and activities. The taught information, practicals organised, tutors & practitioners involved, teaching venues and opportunities. 

Flexible Course Container & Culture

We understand that the world is majoritively set-up for able-bodied and neurotypical people, and that society expects us to be able to “function” 24/7, 365 days of the year; even when we may have additional challenges to contend with, such as chronic illness, other people who depend on us (and lack of support), demanding jobs, trauma in our past, systematic and societal oppression, bills to pay, fluctuating mental health and more. 

We understand that each student will have a unique set of challenges and that some may require more flexibility than others in how they participate within the course container. That flexibility may look like;

• Observing rather than participating in a course activity
• Sticking with a suitable task, rather than moving between tasks
• Sitting-out of the learning space during a course activity
• Showing up, moving around, or taking up space, in a way that is different to the majority way. The facilitation team builds a course container and culture that promotes flexibility into its experience. e.g. if you are someone who needs to move to feel comfortable we make it a norm that you can feel empowered to move; even if this poses some ‘discomfort/distraction’ for other students - we subtly and sensitively move the behavioural responsibility. 
• Having time away from the course to rest and recuperate
• Working with clan groups to learn how to meet needs that we don’t yet have a process for e.g. supporting the cooking clan in catering for someone with extreme allergies.
• Sharing course logistics in different formats; emails, voice notes, in-person, visual handbooks

We cannot be flexible about;

• Providing learning in a different format e.g. recording sessions for those not able to attend in-person
• Setting up zoom for sessions to be observed for those not able to attend in-person
• Students working on design projects as individuals rather than in groups
• Providing individual sleeping areas on field trips

We believe in the Power of Community; that by working together as a group we can support each other in achieving our learning goals and objectives through our blend of unique gifts and attributes. Every student will not be able to contribute and participate in every way (arguably no student can do this!) and so we meet and support each other where we are. Acceptance, understanding and celebration of the group is a huge part of the PSC experience, as is investing in a team of facilitators to support students throughout the journey of the course, and meeting people where they are in terms of their levels of course engagement.

Course Content and challenges to different Physical and Mental abilities

Some course activities require participants to have a reasonable level of mobility and physical fitness to participate safely:

• Sitting for periods in the classroom
• Walking on all terrains
• Being outside in inclement weather
• Being outside in hot/cold temperatures 
• Using stairs 
• Using compost toilets 
• Using hand-tools (hammers / saws etc) 
• Carrying heavy objects/loads
• Working at height
• Long days (some course days involve early starts, travelling, course activities, travelling, clan duties)
• Crash-pad or camping during overnight stays on some field-trips (using mats & sleeping bags)

The course can be challenging on both a mental load and an emotional level in the following ways:

• Spending time in a group of 30; learning, collaborating (and eating, sleeping, and travelling together on field trips)
• Attending each day of the course; avoiding cherry picking of preferred subjects
• Exploring emotionally challenging environmental and social issues and realities
• Engaging in practices such as meditation, visualisation, nature connection & deep ecology, breathwork and stretching 
• Reflecting introspectively to seek and develop skills in self-awareness
• Share feelings, opinions, and ideas as part of the ‘People-based’ modules with the group
• Collaborating in small teams on practical tasks and design projects
• Taking responsibility for checking the timetable, reading logistical & health/safety info, arriving on time, being fully equipped and prepared
• Communicating with facilitators absences from the course, and/or any personal challenges that arise
• Fulfilling Clan group responsibilities (tidying, supplies, cooking, organising transport, note-taking, authentic inclusion). Taking the time to communicate and coordinate within clans.
  

To arrange an informal chat to discuss your needs please email laura@shiftbristol.org.uk.

Complaints procedure

If you are dissatisfied in any way with your course experience, please tell us immediately. We investigate every complaint we receive and do our best to rectify problems as soon as possible. We pride ourselves on our transparent and clear communication.

How to make a complaint

Step one: Directly discuss the matter with Laura Corfield as soon as a problem arises. This can be either face to face, by telephone or by email. If you would feel more comfortable talking to someone other than Laura, we can put you in touch with another Director of Shift Bristol CIC who is not involved in the day-to-day running of the course. 

Step two: If you are not satisfied with the outcome of step one, please request and complete a formal complaint form – you can request a form here. We will acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days. Your complaint will be discussed at a directors’ meeting to see how the matter can be resolved. We will then write to you with details of our response.

Step three: If you are not satisfied with the outcome of step two, we can arrange a mediated meeting to discuss the matter between all parties.

Data Protection Policy

Statement of intent

When you supply any personal information to Shift Bristol CIC, we have legal obligations towards you in the way we deal with that data. Whenever you provide such personal information, we will keep it confidential and secure in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018.

Use and storage of your personal information

Any information you provide to Shift Bristol, in relation to your contract to undertake a course with us, will only be used by Shift Bristol. It will never be supplied to anyone outside of Shift Bristol without first obtaining your explicit consent unless we are obliged or permitted to disclose it by law.

What information will we hold? 

When booking a place for a Shift Bristol event, you will be asked to submit personal information about yourself (name, email address, postal address, phone number, date of birth). From the point your place on the course is confirmed with a deposit, we will hold your personal information including name, address, date of birth, email, and phone number.

What additional information will be held during the course?

On registration we will ask for information on any relevant health issues we may need to know about to ensure your health and safety on the course. During the course we will record information of accident or health issue information and details of any complaints or disciplinary measures taken.

How long will this information be held? 

This information will be held in a secure database for as long as you study with us, and then in a secure archive for a subsequent 8 years. Data is archived for safeguarding and insurance reasons in line with our responsibilities as an education provider. After 8 years we will delete your data. We hold and handle your data on the legal basis of ‘legitimate interest’ in order to provide a service to you.

If your application is unsuccessful or deferred. 

If your application is unsuccessful, we will not retain your personal data after the course applied for has started or if you request us to delete it sooner. If you defer your application, we will retain your data until the following year when we will ask for you to resubmit it.

Secure data

We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely and confidentially, in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and in accordance with best practice.

Access to your personal information

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information Shift Bristol holds about you at any time and to have any inaccuracies corrected. Please make your request via this form.

Mailing List

We will not add you to any promotional or alumni mailing lists without your express consent. The data we hold for you as a student is in no way linked to our mailing list.

Mailing List Data Protection Policy

·  No one will be added to the mailing list without their express consent.

·  You will be informed on subscription and in every email how to delete yourself from the mailing list.

·  Any requests to delete your data from the mailing list is met immediately.

·  We comply with any request from you to fully disclose all data we hold about you.

·  We never share data with anyone else unless we are required to do so by law.

·  We only communicate with you about our courses, events or projects or any job or volunteering opportunities.

·  We aim to contact you quarterly but may be in touch more frequently or infrequently at times

·  We keep all our mailing list data in a secure database managed by Brevo which is fully compliant with GDPR.

Their privacy policy is here.