Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions for West Sussex County Council Learning and Professional Development Events and Resources

We are committed to delivering the highest standards of Continuing Professional Development in order to improve outcomes for our customers. We aim to provide you with a positive learning experience and in order to facilitate this there is an expectation of mutual accountability during training events between delegates, trainers and their managers.

We continually review our service and welcome any suggestions for improvement.

  1. If your application for an event is successful your place will be confirmed and we will provide you with relevant course information, primarily using the Learning & Development Gateway. The delegate and their Line Manager are both able to logon to the Gateway and see the progress of applications.
  2. It is essential that you keep your account details up to date. For example, if you change your email address or employer. West Sussex County Council cannot accept responsibility for information that is sent but fails to arrive. Line Managers should also inform the Gateway administrators when staff members leave.
  3. It is assumed that Line Managers have the authority to act on behalf of their employer in authorising applications and complying with these terms and conditions.
  4. You are responsible for downloading any attachments and, if applicable, bringing them with you to the course.
  5. You will be expected to make any arrangements necessary to attend the whole course as indicated in the event details or you may be asked to re-book for another event.
  6. Events will start promptly at the advertised time. Delegates are advised to arrive at least 15 minutes before the course start time. It is at the trainer’s discretion to accept late entry up to 10 minutes after the start time; but after this a non-attendance fee may be applied and the delegate may be asked to rebook. If the delegate is unavoidably delayed please contact Learning & Development administration team.
  7. Ground rules will be established for all delegates at the start of the day, including issues of confidentiality and whistle blowing.
  8. The objectives of the course will be clearly stated and met through a variety of training activities to suit a range of learning styles.
  9. We will provide appropriate materials to support your learning.
  10. We will provide you with the opportunity to evaluate your learning via a course evaluation. In most circumstances, this will be sent and accessed via the Learning & Development Gateway.
  11. An attendance certificate for any event will be available to download from the Learning & Development Gateway. You must sign the attendance sheet provided by the trainer and complete the whole course and the evaluation form before the attendance certificate can be downloaded.
  12. All managers need to know about issues that affect service delivery so they can deal with the situation, act upon it, and facilitate changes and improvement. If a trainer or a delegate has concerns that arise during a learning event;
    1. Trainers have the authority to act on any issue/practice/situation/concern either about, or raised by, a delegate in a training context. Initially they will try and resolve this with the individual concerned. If this is not possible then the issue will be taken, via the Learning and Development Manager, to the delegate’s manager.
    2. Any such matters will be dealt with in a timely, factual way with the delegate being informed of the course of action to be taken.
    3. If inappropriate behaviour is demonstrated or is contrary to the agreed ground rules the delegate could be asked to leave the event, return to the workplace and their manager will be informed.
    4. If delegates have concerns about any issues they experience during the learning event they should discuss this with the trainer in the first instance. If not appropriate or unresolved then they should talk to their line manager who will contact the learning and development manager. We welcome feedback as part of monitoring the quality of our learning and development activity.
  13. We have a sliding scale of charges that are reviewed annually. Our aim is to support West Sussex and to make the best use of public funding. Different charges apply to different sectors and Gateway users will be assigned to one of the three pricing bands when their account is created. Discounts of up to 100% apply to partners and those organisations with which we have a Service Level Agreement. Any charges that apply will be displayed against the relevant price band and will be confirmed to the applicant when the booking is made.
  14. You will be informed of any charge that might apply either at the time of requesting a place via the Learning & Development Gateway, or separately via a specific email or telephone contact.
  15. Whilst the majority of courses are free of booking or attendance fees to key stakeholders in West Sussex, cancellation and non-attendance charges do apply. Confirmed places that are cancelled 10 working days or less (i.e. Monday-Friday) before the course takes place will be charged at the standard rate. This is currently £35 for a half day event, £70 for each whole day (i.e. £140 for a two day event). The charge is levied, because at this stage we would not be able to recoup the cost of the place. The same charge will also be made for non-attendance on the day without any notice, or late arrival. The rates and notice period indicated are subject to continual review, but any changes will be communicated via the Learning & Development Gateway.
  16. There are a small number of specific events which carry extra overheads and have no additional funding available and where we do charge a booking fee. In these cases the charge will be displayed with the course details and when you submit your application, and payment will be due when the event is confirmed. These charges override the standard cancellation terms (see above) and are only refundable if the event is not delivered.
  17. Should you not be able to attend we are happy to try to accommodate a substitute from your service, but please contact us first to agree this. Please bear in mind that the cancellation policy still applies if the substituted delegate subsequently cancels within 10 working days or fails to attend.
  18. Any applicable fees and charges will be invoiced to your employer and will be governed by West Sussex County Council’s debt recovery process.

All the Learning & Development team wish you a positive learning experience.