kings summer group leader handbook 2015

UK AND USA SUMMER CENTERS

Summer 2015Group Leader’s Handbook

kingssummer.com

1082 12/14

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INDEX

1 Welcome

2 General Information

3 At the Airport

4 Your Duties

5 Group Leader Meetings

6 Dealing with Sick Students

7 Student Discipline

8 Fire Drills

9 Internet Access

10 The Academic Programme

11 The Activity Programme

12 Accommodation

13 Laundry

14 Student Money

15 Paperwork

16 Insurance

Appendix A – Contact Details for All Centres

Appendix B – Student Disciplinary Procedure

Appendix C - Complaints Procedure

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1. WELCOME

Welcome to Kings. We hope that the information in this handbook will be helpful but of course if

you have any questions at all during your stay, please speak to the Centre Management team,

who will be happy to help. This handbook should be read in conjunction with the Agent and

Parent Pre-Arrival Information document. If you have any questions prior to arrival, please

contact Kings Summer ([email protected]). Alternatively you may contact one of

the numbers at the back index of this manual

Group leaders form an important part of the Kings Summer Team and your feedback and

assistance is most valued so please do let us know if you feel any aspect of the programme

could be improved.

2. GENERAL INFORMATION ON KINGS SUMMER CENTRES

Contact details

Please see Appendix A, at the end of this document, for all contact details.

Documents prior to arrival

Before arrival we will send your agent the following documents:

Group Leader Handbook

This document.

Group Leader Policy To be completed by your agent and returned to Kings at

least 4 weeks before arrival.

Group Leader Contract To be completed by Group Leaders at centre.

Pre-arrival information for students

Please read in addition to this document.

Parental Consent and Emergency Contact Form To be completed by parents and returned to Kings at

least 4 weeks before arrival. Please bring copies with

you.

Provisional timetables Please note that all timetables are provisional and subject

to change.

Insurance information See section 16 below.

Centre structure

Each of our summer centres is unique and has management teams to support the type of centre

that we operate. Typically you will have contact with one or more of the following people:

General queries and operations: Centre Manager or Groups Manager

Academic Queries: Director of Studies

Activity and Queries: Activity Coordinator

mailto:[email protected]

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3. AT THE AIRPORT

Your group will be met at the Airport by a Kings guide or an appointed Driver. All our

airport guides will be wearing our Kings Summer uniform.

You should look for a sign which says “Kings Name of Centre Summer Centre”.

If you cannot find the Kings guide, for flight delays or other travel emergencies please

phone the Kings Summer Travel Emergency number (Appendix A - contact details).

We advise all students to travel with the following documents:

o Passport (with Visa if required), ID card is sufficient for EU students

o Kings Letter of Consent to Travel (to be completed by parents)

o Kings Booking Confirmation Letter

o Insurance documents

4. YOUR DUTIES

Group leaders are essential to the smooth running of the centre. We ask all Group Leaders to

sign a Group Leader Contract with Kings which clearly outlines their duties. Group leaders are

expected to:

Generally help their students to settle in to life at the Summer Centre and to ensure that

their students integrate fully with the other students, join activities, participate fully in

lessons and generally have an enjoyable and educational experience!

Be available at all times to assist with the supervision and discipline of their students.

Encourage students to speak English at all times.

Ensure that students are eating correctly and are looking after their own personal

hygiene.

Attend activities and excursions with their students (Group Leaders will be counted

towards the supervisory ratios of their own students).

Help ensure that all students behave well at all times.

Help ensure that their students abide by the school rules and the school code of conduct.

Accompany their students to the pharmacy, doctor, dentist, hospital, etc. if necessary.

Look after their students if they are ill.

Accompany their students to the embassy, police station, airline office, as necessary in

the case of lost ticket / passport, etc.

Liaise between parents / students / agents / the school, etc, in the case of health,

personal or disciplinary issues, etc.

Ensure that students don’t cause disruption after bedtime (residential courses) / Ensure

students get home safely from evening activities (home stay).

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5. GROUP LEADER MEETINGS

There will be a compulsory Group Leader meeting every week. You will be given the meeting

time and place on arrival. These meetings are a great place to get to know the staff and other

Group Leaders and important information is given out at each meeting. It is also your

opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

There will also be regular compulsory excursion meetings throughout the week to inform you

about the plans for each excursion.

6. DEALING WITH SICK STUDENTS

If a student is unwell and unable to come to lessons, please contact a member of staff as soon

as possible. If your student needs to see a doctor, please arrange this with the Centre Manager.

Many minor ailments can be dealt with by going to the pharmacy and you will probably be

asked to accompany the student to the local pharmacy before making a doctor’s appointment

(unless the student is clearly in need of urgent medical attention).

Please encourage your students to tell someone if they feel ill, even if the problem is

embarrassing! The Centre Management must be informed of all student illness.

Please note that Group Leaders are expected to accompany their students to the pharmacy /

doctor / hospital. Give medication to their students as required and liaise with agents /

parents.

If a student is ill on an excursion day, then Group Leaders are expected to remain with the ill

student on-campus/in home stay

7. STUDENT DISCIPLINE

Whilst recognising that the students are here on holiday and to have a good time it is very

important a certain level of considerate and respectful behaviour is adhered to and this should

ensure that everyone enjoys their experience in the UK or USA and should also ensure that

more serious behavioural issues do not develop.

Students will be inducted on their first day of lessons as to our campus rules and regulations

and will also be given a code of conduct to sign. However we also very much encourage Group

Leaders to actively promote good behaviour in their students

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At all times, please discourage the following by talking to the students concerned:

Running, pushing, shouting in the corridors, restaurant, etc., playing loud music, spitting,

swearing, general vulgar or offensive behaviour, racist or discriminatory comments,

standing on desks, leaning out of windows, littering, general rowdiness.

FIGHTING OR BULLYING SHOULD BE REPORTED IMMEDIATELY TO THE CENTRE

MANAGEMENT TEAM.

MOBILE PHONES MUST BE SWITCHED OFF DURING LESSONS AND ORGANISED

ACTIVITIES.

We will not tolerate students who are aggressive, bullying, rude or disrespectful to each other,

to members of staff or to members of the public.

Kings reserves the right to immediately expel a student who is found to be stealing, bullying,

fighting, drinking alcohol or who is constantly rude, disruptive or violent. A student who is

expelled will be sent home immediately at the expense of the parents.

Please see Appendix B, at the end of this document, for our full discipline procedure.

Below is a list of some of the rules at all our campuses:

Smoking Alcohol and Drugs

SMOKING is NOT PERMITTED ON THE PREMISES. Adults wishing to smoke will need to check

with each individual site as some of the campuses we use do not permit smoking anywhere on

their premises. Alcohol and drugs are not permitted at all on site for students and use of either

will lead to expulsion

Timekeeping

Please ensure that you and your students are on time for both lessons and activities. If your

students arrive more than 5 minutes late for class, they may not be allowed to enter class until

the next lesson begins. If students are late on a regular basis, a note will be made in the

register and your students may not receive a course certificate. It is extremely easy for

students to get into bad habits and start arriving late for lessons. Please encourage your

students to be in the classroom on time after breaks.

Food and drink

Food and drink (except for bottles of water) are not permitted in the classroom. Please be

ruthless with students who disobey this rule. Chewing gum is not permitted in the school.

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Telephones

It is not possible to speak to students during lesson times or during activity times. Students are

welcome to bring their own mobile telephones but they are responsible for looking after them.

If bringing a mobile phone, please remember to bring an electrical adaptor for the charger.

Please put the student’s name on both the phone and the charger.

Please ensure that your students phone their parents regarding their safe arrival in the UK or

USA and maintain contact with their family on a regular basis.

Please note they can often be a weak mobile phone signal at some Summer Centres.

Classroom tidiness / end-of-the-day routine

Please encourage your students to be tidy in class and to put their litter in the bin!

English-only policy

We operate an English-only policy throughout the school. Please encourage your students to

speak English at all times! ENGLISH IS THE ONLY LANGUAGE THAT CAN BE USED IN THE

CLASSROOM. Students who regularly use their own language in lessons may be excluded from

lessons and this will affect their attendance record. This policy is more relaxed in the school

restaurants / gardens.

Bedrooms

Students are expected to make their beds (and in the US change their bed linen weekly) and

keep their rooms tidy.

ID Cards

Students will be issued with an ID card on arrival and should be made aware to keep it with

them throughout their stay

8. FIRE DRILLS

During the course there will be a fire drill every 2 weeks. In the instance of a fire drill (or real

fire), please encourage all students to leave the building quickly and calmly and to go to the

nearest Assembly Point as quickly as possible. During a fire drill, you will be expected to

supervise your students.

Once at the Assembly Point, please help our staff by checking that all your students are present

and report to the Centre Manager. Up to date rooming lists are always kept in the residential

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centre offices or in the case of home stay up to date records are kept with our Accommodation

teams.

9. INTERNET ACCESS

Students will have access to email and internet at least 3 times per week and can receive and

send emails using hotmail, yahoo, etc.

10. THE ACADEMIC PROGRAMME

Most of our students have studied English before and the course material is intended to revise

and extend previous knowledge with the emphasis on oral/aural skills. Teachers try to

avoid lessons where students are silently studying texts, answering questions or doing exercises

for long periods, and encourage pair and group work.

All students are tested on arrival and placed in one of 5-6 levels ranging from beginner to

advanced.

Excursion lessons and weekly tests have been programmed into the timetable. The

excursion lesson is a chance for the students to learn more about the destinations on offer that

week. The weekly test is a chance for students to show what they have learned, and for

teachers to check the students are in the right level. Students do not receive homework on

this course. Please note that certificates are only given to students who attend at least

90% of lessons.

Shifts

Lessons are likely to take place some mornings and some afternoons (and in some cases

mornings only). Lesson shift pattern is allocated pre arrival.

Course books

Students are not given course books to take home; these are available on a loan-set basis only

to be taken to class at the beginning of every lesson and collected in later. Please note that as

we use loan- sets, students MUST NOT WRITE IN THEIR COURSEBOOKS – please ensure that

this is explained to them clearly.

Lesson observation

It may be possible to observe a small number of lessons – this is limited to 2 lessons per week.

Lesson observation must be arranged with the Director of Studies.

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Class changes for your students

You must consult the Director of Studies (DOS) if you feel that your students have been placed

in classes at the wrong level. Please do not give the student the impression that they will be

moved until the Director of Studies has formally agreed to the change. Decisions regarding

class changes are made after consultation with the Director of Studies, teacher, student and

Group Leader. Class changes are made once a week and can only be made if there is space in

the new class.

NOBODY CAN CHANGE CLASS WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING THE DOS. STUDENTS CANNOT

CHANGE CLASS SIMPLY TO BE WITH THEIR FRIENDS!

11. ACTIVITY PROGRAMME

General

Depending on the type of course the activity programme may vary. The information below gives

you a general overview of the day-time, evening and excursion programmes. However it is

important to check individual centre timetables for further clarification.

Day-time activities (Residential Summer Centres and Vacation Extra courses)

Each activity morning or afternoon is usually divided into 2 separate activity sessions and each

session lasts approximately 90 minutes. Students have a short break between each activity

session. All students are offered a choice of activities per session so everyone should be able to

try everything during their stay. Attendance at activities is compulsory for students under the

age of 18. The weekly activities schedule will be shown on the weekly timetable.

Evening activities

Residential Summer Centre programmes include an evening activity every day in all Centres. In

Bournemouth and London, 2 or 3 evening activities take place. For other locations details of

the evening activities are shown on the weekly timetables. Students under the age of 18 are

expected to attend evening activities.

Excursions

The Residential Summer Centre and Vacation Extra programmes include a minimum of a weekly

full-day excursion and a half day excursion and usually more - please see the weekly timetables

for further details on this. Entrance fees are included for some (but not all) full-day and half-

day excursions.

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There may be a choice of excursions so please speak to the Centre Manager as soon as possible

if you would like to reserve spaces on a particular excursion for your group. Excursion

departure times can vary from week to week – please check the departure times on your

weekly timetable and please ensure that your group is on time. The coach will not wait for

students who are late!

Students will be provided with a packed lunch on full-day excursions and some half-day

excursions.

Please note that you will be expected to supervise your group whilst on excursions. Please

ensure that your students:

Listen to instructions

Arrive back at the coach ON TIME!

Do not leave litter on the coach.

Do not leave their personal belongings on the coach.

Carry their student card at all times.

12. Accommodation

Residential Accommodation

Boys and girls are usually housed in different boarding houses or parts of the buildings (unless

in single ensuite bedrooms). Boys are not allowed in the girls’ areas and vice versa.

If you have any students who are particularly homesick, please ensure that the staff are aware

of this.

Home stay accommodation

Students are generally placed in twin bedrooms during the busy summer period with students

of the same age group and sex. Students are usually placed with a student of another

nationality. In host families it is not unusual for students to share with their friends in the

group. Every attempt is made to house students in families as close as possible to the school

but in the busy summer period this may be up to 30 minute walk or a short bus ride from the

school.

It is important for you to ensure that students abide by the home stay curfew of 22.30 for

under 16 and 23.30 for 16 and 17 year olds.

Any accommodation or sharing requests should be sent to Kings at least 4 WEEKS IN ADVANCE.

We always do our best to fulfil accommodation requests but cannot guarantee this. Please note

that students cannot change room without permission from the Centre Manager or

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Residence Manager in the case of home stay. It is also Kings Policy to mix the students with

students of other nationalities as far as possible unless requested to do otherwise in advance of

the summer.

Students are expected to make their beds and keep their rooms tidy.

13. LAUNDRY

An optional weekly laundry service is included in the cost for students.

Dry cleaning and special treatments for delicate clothes are not available. All student clothes

should be labelled with their name.

Please note Kings shall not be liable for student property that is damaged or missing during the

laundry process. Student clothing is laundered by Kings at the students’ own risk.

14. STUDENT MONEY

Damage Deposits

At Residential Summer Centres a deposit of £50 or $100 per student is required on arrival in

case of damages. This will be refunded at the end of the course if no damages are caused.

Students at City Summer Centres who are staying in residential accommodation should refer to

their pre-arrival information for damage deposit amounts due on arrival.

Student bank

Kings operates a Student Bank where students can leave pocket money (sterling/dollars

only) and their passports and airline tickets.

The Bank is open at least 3 times per week for students to take out / pay in their money.

KINGS IS ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MONEY WHICH IS DEPOSITED IN THE

STUDENT BANK.

Kings cannot look after items such as cameras, i-pods, laptops, etc. and these

are the students’ responsibility at all times.

Foreign money

Please note that Kings is not insured to hold foreign currency in the Student Bank.

We cannot change foreign currency and students are responsible for changing their

money before they arrive in England.

PLEASE BRING POCKET MONEY ONLY IN BRITISH POUNDS STERLING/DOLLARS

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Sending extra pocket money

In an emergency, parents can send extra money to their children. To do this, please

email Kings Summer ([email protected]) for instructions.

15. PAPERWORK

In order to ensure we are giving the best possible service to you there are a few pieces of

paperwork we ask you to complete. We welcome all feedback from our clients and ask you to be

open and honest in your appraisal of our services.

Group Leader End-of-Week 1 Questionnaire

This is completed in your first week and gives us an idea

of your initial impressions and lets us know of any areas

we need to improve on.

Group Leader End-of-Course Questionnaire

This is very useful for our winter planning and our

feedback analysis at the end of the season.

Excursion Questionnaire

We like Group leaders to give honest feedback on our

destinations, transport, and staff on the excursions we

offer in an attempt to ensure we provide the right kind of

excursions for your groups.

Damage and incident forms

It is important for both you and for Kings to have a

written record of any incidents or damages that might

happen within your group so Kings record these or have

you record anything you may feel needs to be

documented.

Should you ever wish to make a more formal complaint please see Appendix C for our

Complaints Procedure.

16. INSURANCE

When you travel you need to feel confident that everything is done to ensure you and your

students are safe and protected.

We have developed an insurance policy which is specifically designed for international students

and suggest that this insurance is taken out by all, to protect against loss of possessions as well

as accident or emergency. You can of course have your own insurance for your group (or your

agent may have organised insurance for you) but it is mandatory especially in the case of the

USA insurance documents must be shown at arrival at the centre if Kings insurance has not

been taken out.


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APPENDIX A

Summer Centre Contact Details 2015

Kings Summer

Kings Summer Office +44 1273 917 166

Kings Summer emergency contact number (UK) +44 7730 566 223

Kings Summer emergency contact number (USA) +1 323 977 1333

Kings Summer travel / transfer emergency phone (UK) +44 7421 420 020

Kings Summer travel / transfer emergency phone (USA) +1 323 977 1333

Email [email protected]

Kings Bournemouth

Main switchboard +44 1202 293 535

Travel / transfer emergency phone +44 7506 575 568

Accommodation office +44 1202 209 801

Accommodation emergency phone +44 7506 575 570

Residential accommodation emergency phone +44 7466 780 993

Kings London

Main switchboard +44 20 8650 5891

Emergency phone +44 7702 564 405

Bath (Downside) telephone numbers

Kings Centre Manager +44 7421 424 569

Kings Assistant Centre Manager +44 7421 424 570

Excursion mobile +44 7421 424 571

Emergency mobile +44 7421 424 569



Skype bathsummer.kings

Cheltenham telephone numbers






Cheltenham Email [email protected]

Cheltenham Skype cheltenhamsummer.kings




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Farringtons telephone number

Kings Office at Farringtons +44 20 8467 0222







Skype farringtonssummer.kings

Pangbourne telephone numbers

Xplore / Kings School Office at Pangbourne +44 1189 767 402


Kings Director of Studies +44 7421 424 576

Kings Emergency mobile +44 7421 424 575



Skype pangbournesummer.kings

Malibu telephone numbers

Kings Center Manager +1 310 919 5955

Emergency cell phone +1 310 919 5955


Skype malibusummer.kings

Los Angeles (Marymount) telephone numbers




Skype marymountsummer.kings

New York telephone numbers




Skype newyorksummer.kings






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APPENDIX B

UK Summer Centre Discipline Procedure 2015

Discipline

We will not tolerate students who are aggressive, bullying, rude or disrespectful to each other,

to members of staff or to members of the public.

The teachers are given discipline instructions regarding students behaving unacceptably in class

or outside the classroom. Students must understand that they will be sent home after they have

been warned 3 times and their parents and their agents will be notified.

Kings reserves the right to immediately expel a student who is found to be stealing, bullying,

fighting, drinking alcohol or who is constantly rude, disruptive or violent. A student who is

expelled will be sent home immediately at the expense of the parents.

Discipline Procedure

The Discipline Procedure is as follows:

1. First Warning – if a student behaves unacceptably, they will be asked to stay behind after

class / activity and they will be given a first official warning. Their behaviour will be recorded

in writing on a bad behaviour form.

2. Second Warning – if the student behaves badly again, the same procedure will be

followed. In addition their Group Leader will be informed and the student may receive a

punishment such as missing an activity or being given extra homework to complete.

3. Third Warning – if the student behaves badly once again, they will be sent to the Centre

Manager and they will receive a third written warning and may be given another punishment

such as missing an excursion or being moved to a new class or boarding house. Their Group

Leader and / or parents/ agent will be informed and the student will be informed that they

are now on final warning and that any further bad behaviour could result in expulsion or

transfer to another centre.

4. Fourth Step – at this stage the student may be expelled or transferred to another centre

(this will be at the discretion of the Centre Manager).

Please note that in the case of expulsion or transfer, no refund is given and all travel

expenses will be charged to the student / parent.

At every stage, the student will be given an opportunity to improve their behaviour but

continuous bad behaviour will not be accepted.

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APPENDIX C

Kings Summer Complaints Policy

We believe that Kings Summer provides an excellent service and that our staff work very

hard to build positive relationships with all our colleagues, students, parents and agents.

At Kings Summer Centres we will always endeavour to resolve a complaint promptly

and fairly.

Complaints procedures:

Any student complaints or concerns should be made directly to their Group Leader or the

Centre Management.

Any Group Leader complaints should be made directly to the Centre Management.

Any agency complaints should be made directly to the Kings Summer Management

team.

Any staff complaints should be made directly to the Centre Management or if necessary,

the Kings Summer Management team.

All complaints are heard and responded to on a case-by-case basis.

All complaints are recorded in a complaints book or logged by the Kings Summer

Management team and appropriate action taken.

If it’s felt that a complaint has not been heard or responded to fairly, then a written

complaint should be made and given to the Centre Management or sent to the Kings

Summer Management team.

All complaints, verbal or written, are responded to and dealt with as soon as possible.

In order to ensure stakeholders are aware of the complaints procedure and policy we:

Make clear in our student and Group Leader information who they should talk to in the

event they wish to make a formal complaint.

Make clear in our staff handbook who staff should contact in the event they wish to

make a formal complaint.

Note:

All complaints are treated confidentially and acknowledged within 24 hours.