Policies and Procedures

Purpose

This policy and the related procedures detail how a student can complain and how this complaint is dealt with by both staff and management. This is to ensure that complaints about courses are treated fairly and transparently and students who complain receive help and information courteously, consistently and expeditiously.

Policy Statement

Liverpool School of English does its utmost to ensure that all students are completely happy with their course and that it meets expectations, as advertised and sold to them across all areas of the course.

Responsibilities

• The Operations Director (or Centre Manager at summer school) is responsible for the management of this policy.
• All members of staff are responsible for the effective operation and implementation of this policy and procedure.
• All students are expected to comply with this procedure.

Complaint

A complaint is defined as any instance, be it written or verbal, in which a student implies that they are not happy with any area of the course.

Every student will receive information in their Student Handbook which explains how to complain and who to complain to.

Procedure

• A member of staff receives a complaint from a student about any area of the course.
• That member of staff discusses the complaint with the student.
• If the member of staff has been able to resolve the issue and the student is happy at the end of the discussion the staff member should inform the relevant member of the Management Team and this should be logged on CLASS (or OneNote if at summer school).
• If the student would like further action the matter should be referred to the DoS/Academic Manager.
• If the student would still like further action they should be taken to see the Operations Director.
• We aim to resolve the issue within 10 working days.
• If the student is still not happy with the decision made by the Operations Director then the Operations Director will consider whether the school has met its obligations to this student and whether to discontinue the course for the student and offer some sort of remuneration.
• If you feel that the school has not dealt with your problem effectively then you can report it to your agent, English UK or the British Council

Contact Details

English UK: info@englishuk.com +44 20 7608 7960

British Council: Accreditation Unit, British Council, Bridgewater House, 58 Whitworth St, Manchester, M1 6BB

accreditation.unit@britishcouncil.org +44 161 957 7755

Purpose

This document outlines our policy on harassment and bullying. It defines harassment, sexual harassment and bullying and illustrates the types of behaviour that constitutes bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. The document sets out the procedures to be followed in the investigation of a complaint.

Policy Statement

It is School’s policy that every employee has a right to carry out her or his duties free from any form of harassment, sexual harassment or bullying. Harassment, sexual harassment or bullying are totally unacceptable forms of behaviour, are in many instances illegal, in breach of civil service policy and will not be tolerated in the service. Liverpool School of English will ensure that all complaints of bullying, sexual harassment and harassment are investigated fully, fairly and transparently.

Responsibilities

• The Operations Director (and the Centre Manager at summer school) are responsible for the management of this policy.
• All members of staff and students are responsible for the effective operation and implementation of this policy and procedure.
• All members of staff and students are expected to comply with this procedure.

What is bullying?

Bullying can be defined as offensive, abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, or abuse of power constructed by an individual or group against others, which makes the recipient feel upset, threatened, humiliated or vulnerable, which undermines their self-confidence and which may cause them to suffer stress.

Bullying is behaviour which is generally persistent, systematic and ongoing.

The following is a list of behaviour which might be characterised as bullying.

• Manipulation of the victim’s reputation by rumour, gossip, ridicule and/or innuendo;
• Preventing the victim from speaking by using aggressive and/or obscene language;
• Social exclusion or isolation;
• Intimidation;
• Manipulating the nature of the work or the ability of the victim to perform the work for example by withholding information or setting meaningless tasks;
• Physical abuse or threats of abuse;
• Aggressive behaviour or shouting, usually over quite unimportant matters;
• Swearing or other forms of demeaning name-calling;
• Insulting or unnecessarily commenting on the appearance of another person;
• Making an individual, his or her beliefs or opinions, the butt of jokes or uncomplimentary remarks which are likely to cause offence;
• Physically attacking, threatening to attack or acting in a menacing way towards another person;
• Deliberately ignoring or excluding an individual on a persistent basis;
• Unwarranted or disproportionate criticism unsupported by facts of an individual’s work performance

What is harassment?

Section 32 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 defines harassment. Harassment is defined as any act or conduct including:-

• Spoken words
• Gestures
• The production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other material which is unwelcome and could reasonably be regarded as offensive, humiliating or intimidating. The Employment Equality Act, 1998 prohibits harassment by reference to particular characteristics flowing from difference in relation to marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community.
• Harassment may be by a client, customer (including students) of an employer in addition to other staff members. It also provides that different treatment of a person in the workplace or in the course of employment, because of harassment constitutes discrimination.

What is sexual harassment?

Section 23 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 defines sexual harassment.

• Sexual harassment is defined as including all unwelcome and sexually, or otherwise on gender ground, offensive, humiliating or intimidating actions involving acts of physical intimacy, spoken words, gestures, or the production, display or circulation of written material or pictures, or requests for sexual favours.
• Sexual harassment may be by a client, customer or business contact of an employer in addition to other staff members. The Employment Equality Act also provides that different treatment of a person in the workplace or in the course of employment, because of sexual harassment, whether in the workplace, in the course of employment or outside the workplace, constitutes discrimination on the gender ground.
• It should be noted that for the purposes of the civil service procedures sexual harassment includes same sex sexual harassment. Same sex sexual harassment will, if proven, constitute a disciplinary offence.

Important Note Regarding Appropriate Monitoring of Performance

The monitoring, review, and evaluation of performance is an essential part of the management function. The Operations Director of Liverpool School of English is required to monitor effectively the performance of the staff. It is the duty of management to be open with staff about performance, attendance or general conduct. Effective management may require critical comments to individuals about issues relevant to their official duties. However, such criticism will not be personalized but directed against the conduct or performance of a member of staff. Bullying does not arise where critical comments are made in an honest and constructive manner, are backed up by clear facts, and are imparted in a reasonable way.

Important Note Regarding Appropriate Monitoring of Performance

A member of staff/student who considers that she or he is being harassed, sexually harassed or bullied should:

• Where possible, make it clear to the offending party that the behaviour is offensive; keep a record of each incident of harassment, sexual harassment or bullying as it occurs and request witnesses, if any, to note them also – a person who considers that she or he has been harassed, sexually harassed or bullied may, of course, make a complaint after the first occurrence;
• Report the matter to the Operations Director (or the Centre Manager at summer school) or, if the Operations Director/Centre Manager is the person against whom the complaint is being made, report the matter to the School Director.
• The Centre Manager/Operations Director/Director shall, where appropriate and with the consent of the complainant and the person against whom the complaint is made, seek to resolve the matter locally.
• If it is not possible to resolve the matter locally in a manner which is acceptable to the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made, the Centre Manager/Operations Director/Director shall investigate to determine the facts and credibility or otherwise of a complaint.
• If the complaint is upheld the Centre Manager/Operations Director/Director shall decide whether the matter should be pursued as a disciplinary issue. In the case of harassment and sexual harassment a complainant who is not satisfied with the conduct of an investigation may also wish to note the provisions of the Employment Equality Act 1998, in relation to appeal procedures and time limits for submitting complaints.

Purpose

Liverpool School of English declares its commitment to protecting the environment in the day-to-day running of the business.

Responsibilities

• The Director and Operations Director are responsible for the management of this policy.
• All members of staff and students are responsible for the effective operation and implementation of this policy and procedure.
• All members of staff and students are expected to comply with this procedure.

What is Liverpool School of English’s Commitment

We have identified and continue to comply with all environmental legislation related to our business activities. We are committed to preventing any unnecessary pollution and reducing any negative impact on the environment by taking the following steps:

• The use of interactive whiteboards (or projectors/monitors) in all classrooms minimises the use of paper.
• A system is in place to recycle a wide range of waste including papers, plastic containers, ink cartridges, computer monitors, garden waste and electrical equipment.
• Energy consumption is reduced by turning electrical equipment off when not in use, using sleep features, purchasing lower energy replacement equipment, putting timers on heaters, using sensors to control lighting, using energy efficient bulbs, and sourcing energy from renewable energy providers.
• Staff and students are encouraged to travel to school by public transport or on foot/bike. Bikes can be safely stored at LSE.
• Water saving devices are used in our toilets.
• The use of resources is reduced by printing double sided, using e-invoices and buying recycled paper, cardboard, packaging, pens, pencils, furniture and construction materials.

Eco-friendly products including water-based inks, biodegradable packaging, products not tested on animals and Fairtrade products are used where possible.

• Life cycle impact is considered when designing and purchasing equipment.
• Suppliers are audited to assess their environmental policies.
• Donations to local charities are encouraged.

We at Liverpool School of English are committed to practise that which protects students under 18 from harm.

Staff and volunteers in this organisation accept and recognise our responsibilities to develop awareness of the issues which may cause harm to students under 18.

This policy is based on the following principles:

• The welfare of the child is paramount
• All students under 18, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse;
• All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
• All staff (paid/unpaid) have a responsibility to report concerns to the Designated Person with responsibility for safeguarding
• Staff/volunteers are not trained to deal with situations of abuse or to decide if abuse has occurred

We will aim to safeguard students under 18 by:

• Adopting safeguarding guidelines through procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers
• Sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with students under 18, parents/carers/guardians, staff and volunteers
• Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know and involving parents and students under 18 appropriately
• Carefully following the procedures for recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers
• Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through support, supervision, observations and training
• We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice regularly

This policy sets out agreed guidelines relating to the following areas:

• Responding to allegations of abuse, including those made against staff and volunteers
• Responding to allegations and dealing with students who are vulnerable to extremism
• Recruitment and vetting of staff and volunteers
• Supervision of organisational activities

Click here to read the full policy.

Purpose

This policy details the process for dealing with unacceptable behaviour amongst students at Liverpool School of English. This is to ensure that all issues related to students’ behaviour are treated fairly and transparently and are dealt with consistently and expeditiously.

Policy Statement

The Liverpool School of English does its utmost to ensure that all students behave in an acceptable manner while studying with us and that any deviations from this are dealt with consistently.

Responsibilities

• The Operations Director (or the Centre Manager at summer school) is responsible for the management of this policy.
• All members of staff are responsible for the effective operation and implementation of this policy and procedure.
• All students are expected to comply with this procedure.

Procedure

• The student will be asked to attend an informal meeting with the teacher (or Activity Leader if on an excursion) to discuss the problem and reasons behind the unacceptable behaviour. Ways in which the student can improve this behaviour will be discussed and agreed upon by both parties.
• If the unacceptable behaviour continues the student will be asked to attend a formal meeting with the Director of Studies or relevant manager at summer school. Details of the meeting will be written up and recorded on the student’s file. The student will be issued with a letter detailing the discussion. If necessary, ETOs, sponsors and/or parents will be contacted.
• If the issue persists the student will be asked to attend a formal meeting with the Operations Director. A written final warning will be issued to the student and ETOs, sponsors and/or parents will be contacted.
• If the student continues to behave in an unacceptable manner s/he may be asked to leave the school. Fees will not be refunded.

Emergencies/Critical Incidents

1. Definitions of a Critical Incident:

When a group is undertaking an off-site activity and any member of the group is involved in an incident where a group member has:

• Suffered a life threatening injury or fatality
• Is at serious risk
• Has gone missing for a significant and unacceptable period
• Terrorist Attack

2. An incident becomes critical when it goes beyond the normal coping mechanisms of the leaders.

Visit Leaders must carry a mobile phone at all times in order to remain in contact with the school (and vice versa) or the rest of the group if separated during the time off-site and two people (one of which must be Visit Leader) must carry an Emergency Procedure Card.

In the event of an emergency the school must be contacted immediately (or as soon as is practical) in order that the Operations Director can take charge of the management of the incident. This procedure will follow the schools Emergency/Crisis Plan – information that will be required by the Operations Director can be viewed on the Emergency Procedure Card.

Emergency Procedure Card for Staff and Group Leaders

REMAIN CALM and assess the situation, establishing the nature and extent of the emergency but ensuring that you do not put yourself at further risk.

Make sure all other members of the party are:

• Accounted for
• Safe
• Adequately supervised
• Briefed to ensure that they understand what to do to remain safe.

If there are injuries, take action to establish their extent and administer appropriate first aid.

Contact the appropriate emergency service(s) 999 or 112 providing:

• Name of group and visit leader
• Location
• Nature of emergency and number of injured persons
• Action so far
• Follow advice from emergency services.

If a group member is taken to hospital ensure that an appropriate adult attends the receiving hospital, taking with them parental consent forms and appropriate medical information for the injured persons.

Contact and advise school of the incident and action taken – 07970 753 134 or 07747 397 567.

• It is vital to keep an accurate, real-time record of all actions as they occur.

Direct contact with a parent or guardian of a group member from the scene of the incident should be avoided. This task should be carried out from school by senior staff.

News travels fast

• Do not admit anything.
• Do not sign anything.
• Do not talk to the press – refer them to your employer’s media contact.

Control other potential phone communications – eg. May need to speak to students family.

Ensure that the remainder of the party:

• Are adequately supervised throughout
• Are returned as early as possible to base
• Receive appropriate support and reassurance

Ensure that a school representative continues to liaise with the emergency services until the incident is over.

Recording an incident

Make an accurate record of all details as soon as possible – do not leave this until later when your memory of details may be confused.

Record the following:

• Time, date and nature of the incident;
• Accurate incident location;
• Names of casualties;
• Details of injuries;
• Names of others involved but not injured;
• Locations of all involved when moved from the site;
• Names and contact details of witnesses;
• Action taken;

Group Leaders Guidance Notes for summer and mini stay groups

Remain calm.

Wherever possible check using your group list that all in your group are present.

Contact the groups emergency number to notify LSE 07970 753 134 or 07747 397 567.

LSE will contact the centre manager.

Do not use public transport until advised by LSE head office/emergency services.

For those with Facebook please mark yourself as safe.

Do not speak to the Media.

LSE Staff Guidance Notes for year round school

Remain calm.

Wherever possible check using your group list that all in your group are present.

Contact the emergency number to notify LSE 07970 753 134.

Do not use public transport until advised by LSE head office/emergency services.

For those with Facebook please mark yourself as safe.

Do not speak to the Media.

Inform Educational Tour Operators that something has happened. List which students are safe or unaccounted for and respond to them as soon as possible. Keep them informed.

Purpose

Information for parents or guardians of students under 18 years old

Liverpool School of English accepts students aged under 18 on to some of our courses. In the UK, students under the age of 18 are children in law. Please note that our General English course is an adult course and will include materials appropriate to adult students. Liverpool School of English has a legal duty to safeguard and protect children studying at the school. Parents or guardians of children at Liverpool School of English must complete a parental consent form and agree to certain restrictions on their child as a condition of studying at the school.

These include the following restrictions:

• Students under 18 are not allowed to travel independently outside of the immediate Liverpool area without permission from the school. We will normally ask for full details of the student’s travel plan and we will check whether this is safe. If in our opinion the plans are not safe, we will try to find ways to make it safe, but otherwise we will not give permission.
• Students under 18 have to be at home with their host family at an agreed time, depending on their age.
• Students under 18 must follow the law in the UK at all times. This includes restrictions on buying and drinking alcohol and cigarettes.
• As part of their course, usually on the first day, all students under 18 will receive a briefing on staying safe. They will be able to meet regularly on Wednesdays with our Welfare Officer to discuss any difficulties or concerns they are having. We will require emergency contact details for all students under 18. In case of a real emergency, you can contact the school on +44 1517060730 in normal office hours, or on +44 07711009634 at other times. There are further details of our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures on our website in the Policies and Procedures section.

Responsibilities

The Operations Director is responsible for the management of this policy.

All members of staff are responsible for the effective operation and implementation of this policy and procedure.

Purpose

This policy and the related procedures detail how attendance of students will be monitored in order to identify students who do not attend classes on a regular basis.

Policy Statement

The Liverpool School of English will monitor students’ attendance to ensure that students who do not attend are identified at the earliest opportunity in order to assess appropriate support to help them to return to their programme of study so that the appropriate authorities are informed.

Responsibilities

• The Operations Director, and Centre Manager at summer school, is responsible for the management of this policy.
• All members of staff are responsible for the effective operation and implementation of this policy and procedure.
• All students are expected to comply with the policy. If a student is not able to attend, they are expected to make all reasonable efforts to contact the school.

Scope

• This policy covers all students enrolled on all courses of study with LSE.
• This policy applies in all instances.

Absence

Unacceptable absence is defined as:

• Any absence that is not notified, explained or authorised.

Acceptable absence is defined as:

• A planned absence that is authorised by the Attendance Officer/Registrar/Operations Director or the Centre Manager/Accommodation & Welfare Team at summer school. This could be for unavoidable reasons such as visits to visa office or a doctor/dentist appointment.
• An absence where the student explains their absence retrospectively to the school office. This might be for reasons such as an accident, hospital visit or difficulty with transport.
• The student is sick and unable to leave their room on campus or in the home of their host family.

Absence Procedure

Main School

• All morning registers are collected at 11.20. All afternoon registers are collected at 14.30 and 15.30. Registers are cross referenced with emails received regarding absences and the back of the register is marked as Authorised (A) or Unauthorised (-).
• Tier 4 students who are absent are to be contacted directly. The reason for their absences should be recorded on the back of the register with the date and staff member’s initials.
• Any student who is absent for two consecutive days is contacted. If they do not pick up or respond by the third day the host family/residence will be contacted to ascertain their whereabouts.

After two days of absence the Welfare Officer and Attendance Officer will make contact with the student or host family of the student to ascertain if they are at home. The student will be given the opportunity to discuss any problems or issues they have with attendance. An intended return date will be discussed and agreed.

• If the student fails to return at the agreed time, the member of staff will once again contact the student and remind them of their responsibility to comply with the attendance policy. Contact will also be by letter, students will be given a date and time for a meeting with the Registrar/Operations Director to discuss their absence.
• If there is no response by telephone or other contact, or the student continually fails to attend, the Registrar will contact the agent, school or parents of the student to alert them of the situation and to ask for assistance to gain a reasonable explanation of the absences. Students will again be sent a letter requesting student attends an appointment at a specific date and time with Operations Director.
• If the student continues to be absent after all the above steps have been taken the Registrar/Operations Director will formally suspend the student and inform the Immigration and Nationality Department.

It is important that all staff are aware of the Tier 4 Visa rules. Generally speaking all students who have a visa need to attend 80% or more of a course to keep to the terms of their visa. Students who are being sponsored by their embassy need to have an attendance of over 80% to qualify for their funding.

The UKBA website has information about how to report non attending students. Students who have a CAS number from the school should be reported through the CAS system.

Summer School

• The Management Team must have up-to-date contact numbers for all Group Leaders and families/guardians of students for the duration of their stay
• Teachers must complete registers in the first fifteen minutes of their lesson. Completed registers are to be placed on the outside of the classroom door and a member of the welfare team checks these and reports any absences to the Centre Manager and to the Group Leader

Groups

• Students need to inform their Group Leaders if they are too ill to come to school
• One Group Leader must;
  • Stay with the student at their residence
  • Travel to the student’s homestay to look after them there (provided that this has been approved by the host)
  • Bring the student to a walk-in centre or hospital
• Other Group Leader(s) to accompany the remaining students to school as normal
• Group Leaders are to inform the Management Team of the student’s absence at the management meeting
• If there is just one Group Leader with the group, he/she needs to get in touch with the Welfare Officer first thing in the morning to make alternative arrangements

Individuals

• Individual Group Leaders must inform the Management Team and liaise with the Welfare Officers to arrange supervision for this individual
• Individuals staying with their own family/relatives (and not in one of our residences/homestay providers) must immediately contact their Individual Group Leader/Centre Manager before 8.30am to inform him/her that they will be absent
• If an individual staying with their own family/relatives fails to contact the Individual Group Leader/Centre Manager to notify them of their absence, the parents/guardians will be called on the provided contact numbers to inform them of the student’s absence
• If the parents/guardians do not pick up, the Individual Group Leader and the Management Team need to liaise with each other and they must immediately contact the local police to inform them of the situation. The number for St. Anne Street Police Station in Liverpool is 0151 709 6010 and the number for Lavender Hill Police Station is London is 020 7228 1212