Specialist ELT centres for under-18s get together to help agents at StudyWorld
A group of English language teaching centres which specialise in courses for under-18s are getting together to create a village at StudyWorld 2018.
Young Learners English UK (YLEUK) has helped to develop guidelines on looking after under-18s in accredited ELT centres in the UK. It is keen to promote the care its members give to teenagers on its courses.
It is the first time YLEUK has created a member village at StudyWorld, and it expects lots of interest from agents seeking ELT courses for juniors. About eight centres will be part of the village this year.
Organiser Sarah Etchells says: “I am hoping we can show agents that they can send students to our centres in the knowledge that our staff are trained well. We promote the care of young learners and have very high safeguarding measures to make sure that the children not only enjoy their time, but parents can relax knowing their children are taken care of very well.”
UK leads the world on caring for under-18s studying ELT
Safeguarding is the name given to the UK ‘s rules on protecting under-18s. Sarah says she had the idea for the YLEUK village at StudyWorld after giving a presentation on safeguarding to agents at the event last year. “I realised that although it was important to agents, they didn’t know much about it.
“Agents are getting better but still don’t fully understand it. Safeguarding is definitely an advantage for UK ELT centres, as other countries don’t have the same expectations as we do.”
Safeguarding, under-18s and ELT
Young Learners English UK is a specialist group for fully-accredited English UK members which specialise in under-18s. The group worked closely with the British Council’s accreditation team in creating the new handbook which is used by inspectors when they check schools, and Sarah hopes it will grow more and offer more specialist training in the future.
Want to find out even more about safeguarding at StudyWorld? Join one of our specialist sessions
