Our Policies

English in York (EiY) offers courses for adults and does not provide an exclusive environment for under-18s. All students are treated as independent, mature individuals. However, we acknowledge that students under the age of 18 are legally children, and we have put in place a safeguarding policy which is known to all staff and Homestay providers.

The school will normally deal directly with a student, and not with parents. English in York will correspond with parents only when the student’s welfare and progress is considered at risk and the matter cannot be dealt with between the school and the student.

English in York recognises the need to safeguard younger students so follows the policies and guidelines of the current UK legislation relating to the care of young people. All students in school under the age of 18 years are identifiable by their purple student lanyard, and the Safeguarding Officer has a specific role as principal point-of-contact for all student welfare issues.

The parent or guardian of any student who is under the age of 18 must provide 24-hour contact information for the duration of the young person’s course at EiY. The parent or guardian should in turn retain the school’s contact details.

It is expected that students will respect the wishes of their Homestay family regarding such matters as behaviour, care for their home and mealtimes. The student must keep the Homestay informed of their whereabouts and the times at which they will return following school or other activities. English in York assigns the time by which young students are expected to return to their Homestay each day (normally 10.30pm).

There will be a special induction on arrival at EiY, which will give guidance to students on behaviour outside school hours, and on what they can expect when living in Homestay accommodation. This will include such details as laundry arrangements.

Lunch is not provided by the host on weekdays, and students are expected to purchase their own.

English in York organises various social activities and excursions. These usually take place outside normal school hours, either in the evenings or at weekends. They form an important part of the student’s time at EiY, offering the opportunity to socialise with other students and staff, and the chance to visit places of interest in the area. There will be a charge to cover such items as admissions and transport.

All students are invited to join in the social programme**, which is supervised by EiY staff to appropriate ratios.

In signing the English in York Consent Form, parents/guardians consent to a student aged under 18 taking part in organised events, except where UK law forbids it.**

** Occasionally, evening events may be appropriate for students age 18+ only (e.g. pub /club nights). Students aged under 18 will not be permitted to attend in these circumstances.

Alcohol and tobacco
UK law states that it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase alcohol and tobacco. The school will take reasonable steps to seek to ensure that the law is not broken but cannot undertake to supervise individual students.

Relationships with staff
Under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, it is a criminal offence for any person in a position of trust to engage in sexual activity with someone under 18 years. All staff at English in York have had police (enhanced DBS) checks.

Child protection
Child protection is a matter of law in England, a person under the age of 18 years is a child. The School has a Duty of Care to protect those under the age of 18 from abuse and will report any suspicions or allegations of abuse of children to the appropriate authorities. Any such suspicions or allegations will be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Team within the school initially.

The three members of staff who make up the Designated Safeguarding Team are:

• Richard Gresswell (Assistant Director of studies and Designated Safeguarding Lead);
• Miriam Regan (Accommodation Officer and Designated Safeguarding Person); and
• Katy McDonald (Operations Manager and Designated Safeguarding Person).

English in York’s Safeguarding Policy is available on our website.

English in York understands its responsibilities under the Counter Terrorism & Security Act 2015 to reduce the likelihood of people of all ages being radicalised or drawn into terrorism and seeks to meet its obligations. To read our Prevent Policy in full please click here.

English in York aims to create an environment where all staff and students feel happy and safe. Please respect and enjoy the diversity of the English in York community. We have a duty to protect each other from abusive behaviour. All staff and students have a responsibility to report abusive behaviour, whether they have observed it themselves, heard about it from the victim or an observer, or are the victim.

Abusive behaviour is any behaviour intended to hurt or upset someone physically or emotionally, either face-to-face or online (cyberbullying).
The following list contains some examples of abusive behaviour:

• physical violence or inflicting of physical pain or discomfort of any kind;
• sexual harassment, including physical and verbal abuse;
• threats of any kind;
• name calling or laughing at someone;
• spreading rumours about someone;
• refusing to work or interact with someone in the classroom.

If behaviour like this is repeated, it is called bullying. If you feel you are being bullied, please talk to someone about it as soon as possible.

EiY Policy for dealing with abusive behaviour

Bullying is unacceptable and we take it very seriously. The process described below would be an example of step 3 of our ‘Discipline 5 steps’:

• complaints of abusive behaviour should be reported to the Director of Studies / Management. If you feel more comfortable doing so, you can speak with any member of staff, who will refer your complaint to Management
• Management will investigate by discussing the incident with all the people involved
  the incident will be recorded in writing and the bully will be asked to apologise to the victim
• if the bully and/or bullied is under 18, the parents / guardians will be contacted immediately and informed of the behaviour
• designated Safeguarding Staff will be kept fully aware of the situation throughout
• if the abusive behaviour involves dangerous physical harm or where UK law has been broken, the police will be contacted. The alleged perpetrator(s) may be suspended immediately until police enquiries have been carried out. ‘Discipline step 5’ could be immediately reached in this circumstance.

English in York strive to give language learners a rewarding international experience.

If you are not satisfied with any part of your stay with us, including with the quality of the teaching you are receiving, we will always welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns. To raise a complaint, you should follow the procedure given here.

Problems with your course

• If you are unhappy with anything in your class, try to speak to your teacher first, to give them a chance to fix the problem. Your teacher may be able to make some changes to the lessons which improve your experience.
• If, after you’ve spoken to your teacher, you don’t feel like things have improved, you should raise your complaint to the Director of Studies, Elizabeth Newton, or the Assistant Director of Studies, Richard Gresswell . They will try to resolve your complaint in a way that is suitable for you.
• If you feel your complaint has still not been resolved after this, you should contact the Director of ELT, Bob Dignen. He will carefully consider your complaint and try to take appropriate action to resolve it.

Problems with your accommodation, or other issues

• If you are unhappy with your accommodation, social programme, or you have any administration issues, you should speak to the Accommodation Officer, Miriam Regan, or the Admissions Manager, Katie Jackson.
• If they are not able to resolve your complaint, or you are still unhappy, then you should speak to the Operations Manager, Katy McDonald . She will try to resolve your complaint.
• If, after this, you are still not satisfied, then you should contact the Director of ELT, Bob Dignen. He will carefully consider your complaint and try to take appropriate action to resolve it. If, after this, you are not happy with how your complaint has been dealt with, you can contact one of the following organisations for help.

You can make a complaint to one of the following organisations if you are unhappy with our response (you must give us an opportunity to resolve your complaint first).

Please see below information from EnglishUK about how to raise your complaint with them:

If you are studying English at an English UK member centre, there is a system for dealing with complaints. You must start by talking to someone at your centre. If you are still unhappy after talking to your centre, you can email EnglishUK and explain the problem. We will talk to you and your English language centre to try to find a solution that everyone is happy with. Most complaints are solved at this stage.

Please write your email in English and send it to [email protected]. The email must be sent by you, not your company or agent.

If you feel the problem has not been solved, we will send your complaint to an independent person called an ombudsman. The ombudsman will listen to both sides and decide what should happen. They will look at all the information about your complaint, including everything you and your centre have written to each other about it. They may also ask you and your centre some questions. Your language centre must act on what the ombudsman says.

You can usually use this complaint system if you are studying English at an English UK member centre. In very rare cases, you may be studying on a course at an English UK member centre which is not accredited. If so, you will not be able to use this complaints system. We usually only act on complaints from individual students. We can take complaints from agents if a booked group has experienced a problem, but we have the right to ask for complaints from individual students instead.

You can see more information about the EnglishUK complaints procedure by going to: https://www.englishuk.com/complaints.

Please see below information from IALC (International Association of Language Centres) about how to raise your complaint with them:

A customer or agent of a Member School who is dissatisfied with the service of the Member School should first do everything possible to resolve the problem directly with the Member School. Member Schools must respond promptly to any complaint from a student or agent and seek a satisfactory resolution or compromise. Complainants must contact the Member School immediately the complaint arises, to give the Member School time to resolve the complaint.

• If a complaint cannot be resolved directly using the school’s documented complaints procedure, the complainant may inform the Association, provided that the complaint:

          ◦ Is made in writing to Seek-Mui Sum, Chief Operating Officer at [email protected]    

          ◦ Gives full details of the history of the case

          ◦ is factual

          ◦ Includes copies of all relevant documentation

          ◦ Includes evidence that the Member School was made aware of the complaint when it arose

          ◦ Is pursued solely through the IALC Complaints Procedure.

• The Member School must provide the Association promptly with its position on the case, which must:

          ◦ Be in writing

          ◦ Give full details of the history of the case

          ◦ Be factual

          ◦ Include copies of all relevant documentation 

          ◦ Include confirmation to pursue the issue solely through the IALC Complaints Procedure

• The Executive Board will consider the evidence and make a recommendation to the complainant and Member School, and encourage them to negotiate a mutually satisfactory resolution or compromise.
• If the complainant and the Member School cannot find a resolution or compromise, the case will be referred to the IALC Ombudsman. The IALC Ombudsman will recommend a solution.
• The Member School must implement the Ombudsman’s solution or face disciplinary sanction up to and including expulsion from IALC. The complainant must accept that the Association has acted in its best judgment and done everything possible to bring about a satisfactory resolution.

You can see more information about the IALC complaints procedure by going to: https://www.ialc.org/contact-us/complaints/

Please see below information from The British Council about how to raise your complaint with them: 

Accreditation UK is committed to following up complaints about accredited organisations. Many of the accredited centres are members of EnglishUK, who are our partners in the Scheme. If your complaint is about a school or college that is a member we will pass your complaint to them for them to investigate.

If you have made your complaint to the centre and it has not been resolved, please send us by email:

• a written complaint from the student (or parent/ guardian in the case of a child). If it is not in English, it must have at least the main points translated into English.
• details of how the student/ parent/ agent (acting for the student) has already tried to resolve the problem with the centre directly. If so, we also require a copy of the response they have received.

Email your complaints to: [email protected]

Please note that the British Council is unable to follow up complaints about non-accredited organisations, or complaints from non-students concerning accredited centres (except in cases where there is a clear threat to student welfare).

You can see more information about the British Council complaints procedure by going to: https://www.britishcouncil.org/contact/complaints.

If you have any questions about the content of this policy, or any of the steps in the complaints procedure, please ask your Teacher or any member of staff, who will be happy to help you.

English in York expects a mature approach to attendance and timekeeping; and that students and staff will treat each other politely and with respect. Any behaviour which adversely affects the opportunity to learn, or which makes others uncomfortable, will be viewed seriously. This may include:

repeated or extended absences or lateness;
inappropriate behaviour or language related to nationality, ethnicity, age, disability or gender; or
damage to property.

We will investigate and act on any occurrences or complaints, as follows:

Discipline 5 STEPS:
Discussion
Verbal warning by Director of Studies / Management
Written warning by Director of Studies / Management to students. A copy will be forwarded to parents or sponsors where appropriate.
Final written warning by Director of Studies / Management to students. A copy will be forwarded to parents or sponsors where appropriate.
Expulsion. Please note that no refund will be given. Students or their parents must arrange immediate return to country of origin, at own expense.

In the event of gross misconduct, we reserve the right to terminate your course with immediate effect. If you break any UK laws, we will also inform the police.

In the following cases, we will move directly to Step 5 of the Discipline 5 STEPS (expulsion):

1. use, possession, or supply of controlled drugs
2. alcohol consumption on site
3. violence (threatened or actual)
4. theft
5. possession of weapons

English In York is committed to ensuring the protection and welfare of all students, staff and visitors. All students, staff and visitors have an equal right to a safe environment to learn, teach and visit regardless of age, gender, ability, culture, socioeconomic status, race, language, religion or sexual identity.

EiY prides itself on our informal environment, facilitating a student-led, adult approach to education. However, safety of our students, staff and visitors is a key priority and lanyards play a key role in keeping all members of the community safe at all times. Our use of identity lanyards allows staff and students to ascertain at a glance whether persons on site are members of the school community. This policy imposes a duty on all members of the community to immediately report any persons not wearing their lanyard to reception on site.

Wearing a lanyard with ID card around the neck at all times on school premises is one of our rules. It is critical for the safety of everyone that all members of the school community fully commit to this rule. The wearing of the lanyard and ID card is compulsory and must be worn at all times when on the premises. The lanyard should be worn around the neck, on the front of the body and on the outermost piece of clothing. If an individual is unable to wear the lanyard around their neck for medical, physical or other reasons, they will be provided with an alternative identifying mechanism.

Identifying lanyards

At English in York, we aim to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and able to fulfil their potential. Everyone has a right to study and work in a safe and non-judgmental environment. We strive to create an inclusive trans-friendly culture, workplace and learning environment, which is free from discrimination, harassment or victimisation. All transgender (hereafter ‘trans’) people, people perceived to be trans, and people associated with trans people such as partners, spouses and other family members, are treated with dignity and respect. Our inclusive environment demonstrates respect and dignity for trans people, in terms of: gender identity; right to study and work; use of our facilities; name and personal identity; privacy and confidentiality.

We anticipate and respond positively to the needs of prospective, current and former students in relation to gender identity issues, providing a professional and consistent service so that all trans members of our community feel welcome, safe, valued and supported to achieve their potential as a member of our community. This policy applies to (but is not limited to) admissions processes; teaching provision; the provision of student support, school accommodation and other school facilities; health and safety policies; personal conduct; student complaints and disciplinary procedures.

Transgender Students

We recognise that there can be differences between sex assigned at birth and gender identity/expression and we at no time discriminate or victimise as a result of the gender in which a student presents. We offer active support throughout any transition process. Despite increasing public awareness of trans issues, a student may be worried about how we or fellow students will respond. Students who feel unsupported may:

• feel they cannot express their gender identity openly
• feel they have to leave without completing their programme of study and make a fresh start to coincide with their new gender identity
• experience higher levels of anxiety, emotional distress and have a higher risk of suicide attempts and self-harm
• be more likely to be the victims of hate crime; both in and outside school.

Each individual trans experience will vary depending on a range of factors. It is not necessary for an individual to be under medical supervision, or to undertake reassignment surgery, to benefit from the legal protection under the Equality Act 2010. Protection begins once a trans person first indicates an intention to transition.

Bullying & Harassment

We do not accept any form of bullying or harassment by, or of, members of school staff or students. It is the right of every individual to choose whether to be open about their gender identity and history. To ‘out’ someone, whether staff or student, without their permission may amount to a form of harassment and possibly a criminal offence.

Appropriate Language

Whilst all staff are expected to be sensitive and supportive to trans students and to ensure that they are not discriminated against or harassed, it is recognised that not everybody in the school community will be aware of the most appropriate, contemporary language to use in relation to trans identities. We consider the following points as the minimal level of good practice for all staff to adhere to:

• Trans students will always be referred to as their chosen name, not their birth name.
• A person who identifies as a certain gender, whether or not they have taken hormones or had surgery, will be referred to using the gender pronoun (he/she/they) that they prefer. If unsure what the correct pronoun is, the staff member will ask the student what they prefer. For example ‘how would you like to be addressed’ or ‘how should I refer to you when speaking to others’.
• It is inappropriate and outdated to use the terms ‘sex-change’ or ‘pre/post operative’. This is because it implies that the process of transition must involve some form of surgery, which may not necessarily be the case.
• If a trans person informs a staff member that a word or phrasing is inappropriate or offensive, then that staff member will take their word for it, and adjust their phraseology accordingly.
• Staff will not ask personal questions unless relevant and have sought the students permission first. Questions such as ‘are you taking hormones?’ can be considered personal.

Student Records

English In York student records usually recognise students by the name and gender given in their passport or other identity document. When we are advised that a student’s name and gender identity does not match that given in their passport, we will update this record to give the students preferred name and gender. The individual’s official, legal name and gender will be recorded in a confidential notes section of their student record, for legal and immigration purposes. Attendance certificates and reports will be issued using the student’s preferred name and gender, unless the individual specifically requests otherwise. There are some exceptions; for example where a document is required for official purposes, including immigration or other legal processes, it will be issued using the name and gender given on official identity documents.

Homestay Accommodation and School Facilities

In school, there is a gender neutral toilet located on floor -1, which trans students may prefer to use. However, trans students are not restricted to using this facility, and are free to use the male or female toilets according to their preference.

Students who require homestay accommodation will usually have their own individual bedroom, unless they are travelling in a group, where they may be sharing with one or more other students. We will accommodate trans students in a single occupancy room wherever possible. Where shared accommodation is offered, trans students will be accommodated with other students of their chosen gender.