Hello and welcome to the team!  

We are so excited to have you, and to be getting our community moving! Thank you for joining us, and we hope that you will enjoy teaching with us as much as we do.

Creating a friendly, welcoming and inclusive space for community movement has always been our sole intention. Historically, Sam and Jess were always on site to open and close the classes and the studio, however those circumstances have now changed, and so we have increased our rate of pay (from £30 to £40 per class) so that as we invest in great teachers you also help us to invest in keeping the standard and the ethos of the studio alive.

Please have a read over the below and let us know if you have any questions at this stage. Obviously once you’ve taken your first few classes everything will be much clearer and, we hope, straightforward.

BSPORT SETUP:

First, we need to get you set up to use our system. If you don't already have a bsport account then you need to register here:  https://backoffice.bsport.io/login and hit 'forgot password' to set a password. You then need to download the bsport app and log into that. Once you're in (selecting 'teacher' access on the way) you should see all your classes with us in the system. 

This is now where you will access and track your classes and do the class check-ins, marking people as present as they arrive to class. Once you've completed your check-ins you always need to select 'validate the call' at the bottom right to submit the final count. This is a crucial step for us back-end so please do remember to submit this before you leave the studio.

CODES OF CONDUCT:

*Note that someone will be on hand for your first session to make sure that you understand how the studio processes work and are comfortable with how things run. We have written out the below so that you have a record of what is expected and a reminder for your reference :)

Please make sure that you arrive in good time to open the studio for your classes, and at least ten minutes before the class start time. Punctuality is extremely important to us and hopefully you can appreciate that as we are trusting you to let the classes in, we will not be able to tolerate lateness from our teachers. You will access the building using a code at the entry door on Dane Place. We will walk you through this in person, and the code will be changed and sent to you intermittently. It goes without saying, but please do not share this access code with anyone.

We ask you to please ensure that the studio is set up on time with the equipment that you need. You may allow clients to set up their own mats and equipment but please make sure you are prepared to guide them on spacing etc. Your bsport app will show you how many people are booked to attend your class, but be aware that people can book right up until the start time so you may get extras popping in! As people arrive, please use the app to check them into the class, and then hit ‘validate the call’ one you have completed the check in to submit the final count. We will use this data for monitoring and charging members who do not show up, so it’s really important that it is accurate. 

You will be buzzing people into the building via the entry phone in our reception. Once your class begins, you can silence the entry buzzer if you choose so that latecomers will not disturb you (but please only set it for 30 minutes so that it isn’t silenced for the next class!) Our terms & conditions state that people cannot access the studio after the class begins, so it’s entirely up to you whether you keep the buzzer active to admit anyone arriving late.

Once your class is finished please ensure that attendees clean down their equipment and that the studio is cleared. We would really appreciate if you can ensure the studio is left how you found it so that the next teacher doesn’t have to put the previous kit away etc.  

Our ethos is very much to encourage sustainability, and so we would ask you to please help us lead by example and not use throwaway bottles and cups on site. We have a water fountain available in reception but please bring a refillable bottle if you wish to have water while you teach.

TEACHING ETHOS:

Something we want to highlight as an area that is close to our hearts and has historically always received great feedback is how much attention we pay to form and technique in class. We want people to be able to move safely with us, and for our teachers to be actively looking out for ways to help people improve. This then builds people's confidence, as seeing their improvement is extremely rewarding. If people feel lost in class, it will have a negative impact on their visit, and we want people to walk away feeling empowered. 

You all have lots of experience and this is ultimately one of the reasons we want you on our team because we have seen you do this in practice! So we are just reminding you to please ensure that this is a key focus of your classes with us. We find a mix of demonstrations, verbal instructions/cues and hands on adjustments works well. If you are not comfortable with hands on demonstration or if it does not work for your class that is fine too. If you do want to offer hands on, please ensure you have asked for consent at the start of class or on a case-by-case basis. 

We also want to emphasise that we are not a studio that focuses on the aesthetics of exercise, and so please do not bring these conversations or cues into the studio. There are so many other benefits that come from regular movement, and so we have never wanted to focus on or mention diet, body shape or weight loss at all.  It has always been very important to us to avoid these topics, as our community has always been a mix of different ages, shapes & sizes and we are proud of that. We know that some studio environments can be intimidating for some people and so we have always wanted to be as friendly, welcoming and unintimidating as we can possibly be. We want move to be a safe space for people who do not want to focus on the way their body looks and who want to exercise instead for the community, mental and physical heath benefits that it brings. 

PAYMENTS AND SCHEDULING:

We will pay 40GBP for every class you teach, but we are not registering as employers so will take no responsibility for your personal tax obligations. We expect all of our teachers to be registered as self-employed.

We will make payment monthly, in the first week of each month for the preceding month. All of your class invoices can be found in bsport and will be available via your teaching profile in your web browser (note that invoices are not available via the app) so you can download your monthly invoice from the system. To find it: log in via the bsport webpage, go to the 'payroll' tab and select 'move' as an establishment from the drop down. Then enter the timeframe that you want the invoice for - eg for your October invoice you will select 'monthly', '1st October’ and then 'download pdf'.

Regarding contracted hours, we hope you will understand that we are a small emerging business and so while we hope that classes will be popular and therefore sustainable, if certain slots are consistently very low on numbers we will have to reconsider the schedule. We hope that you will also help us to spread the word of your classes so that we can maintain them and keep the studio thriving! 

HOLIDAYS:

Please let us know in good time when you book holidays or will need your classes covered. If you already have holidays booked in please send those dates over to us. Obviously sometimes things happen at short notice and you need cover, but again please just let us know as soon as you can so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

PRENATAL STUDENTS: 

There are a lot of young families in our area and we want to ensure our teachers are comfortable if and when pregnant students come to class, as we anticipate it will happen fairly often. If you are not familiar with teaching pregnant students please let us know, and we would also request that you do some home study and research/revision on how to safely instruct prenatal students. 

WORKSHOPS AND COURSES:

If you have ideas or proposals for possible workshops or courses that you would like to offer please send them over to us and we would be happy to try and find a place for them. We are also open to considering using the space for talks or gatherings around suitable and relevant topics (health and fitness, social responsibility, mental health etc) so feel free to suggest those too! 

WHAT WE NEED:

Could you please send over the following details for us (if you haven’t already) so that we have everything on file:

• Teaching certificate/s

• Public liability insurance (please also remember to send this each time you renew it)

• Bank details for monthly payment

• Mobile phone number and preferred contact email address

For our website: We will write a short profile for each of you so that our teachers page provides a sense of who you are and what you bring to your classes. We would therefore ask you to complete a short homework task and please send us a brief answer to the following questions. We will then do the rest and write the blurb for everyone so don’t worry too much about the wording as we will not copy it directly onto the site. Questions are:

• Please give a short overview of your teaching experience and training?

• Why do you teach?

• How would you describe your teaching style?

If you have any questions about anything we have outlined here, feel free to reach out any time. Thanks so much, we’re so excited to get moving with you!

Jess & Sam x