Venue Hire Terms & Conditions
Aletheia Academies Trust - Lettings Policy
1. Rationale
1.1 The primary purpose of academy buildings and grounds is the for the education
of pupils attending Aletheia Academies Trust. The overriding aim of Aletheia’s
Board of Trustees is to support the academies in providing the best possible
education for its pupils, the promotion of equality of opportunity and the
community cohesion of the local area. Any lettings of the premises will be
considered with this in mind.
1.2 Public lettings during the school day are not considered appropriate, as groups
of visitors onto the site are potentially disruptive to the educational environment,
particularly given the vulnerability of some pupils.
1.3 The Board of Trustees consider academy buildings and grounds as a marketable
asset within the wider community and will make every reasonable effort to enable
the facilities to be made available to local groups, when this does not conflict with
either the interest of its pupils or the work of its staff.
2. Policy Objectives
2.1 It is Aletheia’s policy that whenever it is reasonable and practical, use of the Trust’s
physical resources outside of the school day be permitted by members of the local
community. Lettings to local groups will be dependent upon payment of a fee
and acceptance of terms and conditions set out within this policy. The fees for a
letting will be set at a level to ensure that income taken covers the costs (lighting,
heating, staffing, etc.) of the activity. Any profit generated by such lettings shall
be used to benefit the education of pupils within Aletheia.
3. Definition of a Letting
3.1 A letting may be defined as any use of the Trust’s buildings and/or grounds by
parties other than the academy and its partners. The following are examples of
activities which fall within the corporate life of the academies; these activities are
not considered to be lettings and costs arising from these uses are therefore a
legitimate use of the academies’ budgets:
Local Governing Body meetings;
Extra-curricular activities for pupils organised by the Trust;
Academy events;
Open Evenings and Workshops; and
Academy fundraising and social events.
3.2 Activities promoting gambling are not considered to be appropriate for lettings
as they are not deemed to be compatible with the ethos of Aletheia.
4. Charges
4.1 The Board of Trustees has delegated responsibility for the setting of charges for the letting of academy premises to the Local Governing Bodies in conjunction with the Operations Officer. The scale of charges will be reviewed annually for implementation from the beginning of the next academic year. Details of current charges will be provided in advance of any letting being agreed.
4.2 The minimum hire period is set at one hour. Aletheia reserves the right to require a refundable security deposit over and above the hiring charge as a surety against damage to the premises (including equipment) or the premises being left in an unacceptable condition and therefore incurring additional costs for cleaning, caretaking and/or other expenses.
4.3 The Hirer will pay the full cost of repair or replacement of any fixture(s) or fitting(s)
that become unserviceable or unsuitable for reuse through damage caused by
any person attending the function, whether deliberate or otherwise.
4.4 Aletheia will seek to recover any unavoidable cost incurred which result directly
from the cancellation of a letting. The timescale and charges for cancellations are
at the discretion of the Operations Officer.
Conduct of Users
5.1 The Hirer is responsible for the behaviour of all persons organising or attending
the function, and to be liable for any costs incurred by Aletheia or its academies,
or any third party that results from any actions of any person organising or
attending the function.
5.2 The full expectations of users are set out within the Terms and Conditions for use
of academy premises, as shown in Appendix 1.
Management of Lettings
6.1 The day-to-day responsibility for the management of lettings has been delegated
to the responsible member of staff in each member academy. Where appropriate,
additional responsibilities, such as security and child protection, may be
delegated to the relevant Designated Safeguarding Lead(s).
6.2 If the responsible member of staff has any concern about whether a request for a
particular letting is appropriate or not, they will consult with the
Headteacher/Head of School and, where appropriate, the Operations Officer.
Considering Applications for Lettings
7.1 Organisations seeking to hire academy premises should contact the relevant
academy in the first instance. The responsible member of staff will decide on the
application with consideration to:
• The availability of facilities and staff;
• The academy’s Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and Safeguarding
policies; and
• The Health and Safety considerations of the particular enquiry, such as number
of users and restricted numbers, type of activity, qualifications of instructors, etc.
Issuing a Lettings Contract
8.1 Once a letting has been provisionally approved, a Lettings Contract will be
provided to the Hirer.
8.2 The Lettings Contract should be completed, signed and returned to the issuer.
The academy must be in receipt of this documentation before a letting takes
place.
8.3 The person applying to hire the facilities will be invoiced for the cost of the letting,
in accordance with the current scale of charges. Invoices must be settled in full
before the letting commences unless expressly agreed by the member of staff
who has issued the Lettings Contract.
8.4 The income and expenditure relating to lettings will be clearly recorded by the
academy and audited as part of the annual audit, forming part of the Annual
Report and Consolidated Financial Statements.
8.5 Aletheia has the right to refuse an application, and no letting should be regarded
as confirmed until approval has been given in writing and payment received in
full. The reason for refusals should be recorded and fully explained to the
applicant.
Appendix One: Hire of Premises Terms and Conditions of use
All individuals, groups and organisations that make an application to use the premises
are required to read these Terms and Conditions and agree to abide by them by signing
the Lettings Contract. The Lettings Contract will be signed by the applicant or
nominated person from each group/organisation.
1. Interpretation
‘The academy’ means the Board of Trustees of Aletheia Academies Trust, its employees
and agents.
2. Purpose of use
The accommodation shall only be used for the purposes stated on the application and
within the hours agreed in the Letting Contract issued by the academy. The Hirer shall
be responsible for ensuring that these conditions of occupation are observed.
The Hirer shall not assign or sub-let the whole or any part of the benefit of this
agreement.
No interference is to be made with the academy property, equipment or premises which
do not form part of the Letting Contract.
3. Health and Safety
The Hirer is responsible for the effective supervision of the arrangements and activities
in the premises hired during the period of hire, and for the prevention of disorderly
behaviour to ensure that no nuisance or annoyance arises to the occupiers of adjoining
premises or neighbouring residents and shall behave reasonably at all times.
A copy of the academy’s Health and Safety Policy will be provided to the Hirer prior to
the period of hire in addition to information on academy fire, emergency and
evacuation procedures. The Hirer is responsible for familiarising themselves with the
location of emergency exits, fire alarms, first aid kit(s) and/or defibrillator(s) before the
start of their period of hire.
In the event of a fire or evacuation, Hirers are responsible for ensuring that all members
of their group are evacuated to the appropriate assembly point and are accounted for.
The Hirer will immediately inform the academy of any emergency, accident or serious
incident that occurs on the academy’s premises. This may necessitate the Hirer
contacting the relevant Site Manager/Premises Officer, whose contact details will be
provided at the point of hire. The Hirer will be responsible for reporting to the Health
and Safety Executive any accident that arises from activities that they have organised, as
necessary.
Hirers providing services to children, whether pupils at the academy or otherwise, must
have policies and procedures in place to ensure children’s safety and must provide
evidence of these to the academy, if requested, such as a Safeguarding Policy or
evidence of DBS checks.
Maximum numbers attending will be determined by the academy, taking consideration
of the facility to be hired and type of event taking place. The academy reserves the right to insist that the Hirer provides a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, at a cost to
the Hirer, in advance of any booking where the academy deems that the potential
number of attendees may directly increase risk in the event of a fire.
4. Payment of Hire Charges and Deposits
For short-term or one-off lettings, hire charges shall be payable in full 7 days before the
date of booking. For last-minute bookings, the scale of hire charges is at the discretion
of the academy.
Contracts for long-term lettings will be charged in termly periods. However, the
academy reserves the right to charge annually in advance.
If a security deposit is withheld or not fully refunded, evidence will be provided to the
Hirer, upon request, for the expenditure incurred as a result of additional costs (whether
notional or otherwise) by the academy.
Each academy sets its scale of hire charges, details of which will be made available to
the Hirer at the point of enquiry.
5. Responsibility of the Hirer for Good Order and Safety
The Hirer shall be held responsible for any damage to academy property, equipment
or buildings caused by them or their guests. The Hirer must report any such damage to
the academy immediately. The Hirer shall repay the academy on demand the cost of
re-instating or replacing any part of the premises or any of the property on the premises
which shall be damaged, destroyed, stolen or removed during the period of hire or
subsequent thereto if in relation to or by any reason of the hiring. Any such costs shall
be in addition to the specified lettings charges.
The Hirer shall ensure that all accommodation is left in a clean and tidy condition at the
end of the letting, using bins and recycling facilities as appropriate. It is the
responsibility of the Hirer to ensure that the premises are left in the same condition in
which they were found.
The Hirer must obtain express permission from the academy to leave any equipment on
the premises. The Hirer is responsible for any equipment they leave on the premises
and shall ensure that equipment is in good repair and after use, safely stowed away in
areas defined by the academy. Items no longer required by the Hirer or deemed by the
academy to be unsafe or beyond repair or else unsafely stored on the premises shall be
promptly removed by the Hirer on demand. If such a request is not complied with by
the Hirer within 7 days, the items may be disposed of by the academy and the Hirer shall
reimburse the academy for any expense which it incurs.
The academy shall not be responsible for any article brought or left in any part of the
premises, or theft or loss of, or damage to vehicles parked in any car park provided.
The Hirer shall comply with any reasonable instructions given by the academy for the
duration of their period of hire.
Alcohol is not allowed to be sold, resold or supplied on the premises unless express,
prior permission has been granted by the academy and a license obtained by the Hirer.
Hirers wishing to supply (to members of a private club) or sell alcohol will be required
to apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) from the relevant local council. A TEN is
also required in for the provision of entertainment, such as music, dancing or indoor
sporting events or for the serving of hot food and drink between 23:00 and 05:00.
Failure to supply evidence of a TEN will nullify the Lettings Contract immediately.
Smoking is not permitted within any of the academy buildings or grounds at any time.
Illegal drugs are not to be brought onto or consumed on the academy premises; any
such instances of this will be reported to the Police.
There shall not be brought onto the premises anything of an inflammable, dangerous
or noxious character.
No nails or fastenings shall be driven into any wall, floor, ceiling or partition of the
premises.
The Hirer shall admit any member of academy staff to any function at any time to ensure
that the conditions of this booking are complied with.
6. Indemnity and Insurance
Where the Hirer is required to have their own Public Liability Insurance, they will be
required to provide a copy of the Public Liability Insurance certificate when submitting
a completed Lettings Contract.
If the Hirer does not have Public Liability Insurance, or is not required to (such as for
informal sports training), they agree to indemnify Alethia Academies Trust, its
employees and agents against all actions, proceedings, claims, damages, awards or
costs in respect of loss, damage, personal injury or death during the period of hire or
before or after that time if such an injury or death occurs as a result of the negligence or
breach of the duty of the academy.
7. Advertising
No advertising shall be permitted expect without the prior written consent of the academy, including via social media outlets.
If permission is given, the Hirer must not indicate or imply in any way that the event is endorsed by the academy in any advertisements.
8. Cancellation
There will be periods of unavailability throughout the year due to arrangements that are of a priority to the academy, including periods of examinations, open evenings and any other academy event.
The academy reserves the right to cancel a booking at any given time without notice
and without assigning a reason but will endeavour to give as much notice as possible.
In such circumstances, the academy will refund any monies paid in respect of the letting
so cancelled but will not be responsible for any loss of expenditure whatsoever in
relation to the letting which the Hirer may have incurred or be liable to pay. The academy reserves the right to refuse any application for hire as it may deem fit or
withdraw permission for hire at any time.
The academy reserves the right to charge for a cancellation period of up to four weeks
in the event that a Lettings Contract is cancelled by the Hirer. If an event is cancelled
less than two weeks before the event, the full fee will be payable.
Applicants will complete all relevant paperwork in a true and accurate way. False
information may lead to an application being terminated.
The academy reserves the right to cancel a booking at any given time if it suspects that
any of the above conditions have been broken by the Hirer, or any person organizing
any function or event, or any conditions are likely to be broken by any person attending
any function or event or connect with the function or event in any way.