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HOME FAQ overview HOW IT WORKS BOOKING & FEES TERM DATES DOWNLOADS CONTACT US
FAMILIES SAY ... ASSESS A SCHOOL STUDENTS HOW WE TEACH SOFTWARE? OUR 3 CLASSES TIMETABLE TEACHERS PERSONAL SUPPORT EXAMS HOME EDUCATION USEFUL LINKS DOWNLOADS CONTACT US |
First College BOOKINGS
Here are the steps we go through with you as you join us. See further on for trying us out in your first month. 1. CONTACT! Often this happens by you emailing to us or phoning us. If your contact starts with email then we have a phone chat to answer all the questions you're bound to have. 2. QUESTIONNAIRE. We ask you to fill out and return our questionnaire to tell us about the student. A lot of this comes up in our telephone talks with you but it's so helpful to have it laid out in a document to help us really understand clearly. 3. MORE TALK! Usually there are more conversations for us to get to know each other. Sometimes this is with a second parent or other relative like a grandmother. 4. CONFIRM BOOKING. You email us to confirm you wish to book a place and that you have activated a payment of deposit + one month's fees. 5. STUDENT ACCOUNT SETUP. We do all the software things so the student can get in the various areas of the school. We give you the student's personal password. 6. ONE HOUR PERSONAL INTRODUCTION SESSION. We give each new student a one hour, one-to-one introduction to the school classrooms to show them around. This ensures that the student feels confidently familiar with what to do on their first day. This introduction is held by agreed appointment just before the student starts school. 7. FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL! Normally on Tuesday. Please see below about how your first month works as a "trial period." We'll tell you in an email which classes the student has on the first day before they start. Then at the end of the day we'll tell you where to find your full timetable. The next day we'll introduce you to the homework system and how to use it. This might possibly happen a bit later than Day 2 if the student needs longer to settle in. We do not give all this right at the start so as not to overwhelm the student with too much all at once. It has proved wisest to introduce things step by step. Do you offer new enquirers a "trial lesson"? No don't worry we certainly don't allow anything like that! You are entitled to privacy and safety in all school services, and we make very sure you have it. You can rest assured that your student's lessons are not going to be disrupted by complete strangers wandering in not knowing how to do things, needing a lot of extra attention from the teacher on how to cope, so your student doesn't get enough. (Registered new students receive training before going to class for the first time so their arrival is not disruptive to others and pleasanter for them too - see no. 6 above.) Nor would we ever use your student's lesson as a live demonstration for anyone from outside to observe. Your student is not there for someone else's benefit but for their own needs. Apart from respecting a class as serious (but fun) work time for your student we would not allow outsiders in the school because it raises a high security risk. The wrong kind of person would only need to ask for trial access to see what software is in use. It would then be fairly easy to hack into it. Some internet risks are exaggerated by the media but in the area we are very careful of the children's safety. How can a new family get an idea of how the school works, what it is like? We encourage enquirers to have as many conversations as you can with us by phone, email or MSN - to interrogate us very thoroughly and fully before booking a place. There is a LOT of detailed information to help you on the website, including information documents you can download to read offline/ print out if you prefer reading off paper documents. We can also provide examples of lesson records, and samples of homework set. We can also ask one of our families to talk with you directly about their experience with us. Families report that although an online school might be a new experience, they find on joining First College UK that they were well prepared as they had been given good, helpful information on what to expect. Can a family have a "trial period"? Yes this we can do. You register with us, going through our careful foundation discussions with you so we understand each other. Your student takes our careful induction training so they know what to do right from their first day. You pay the standard deposit £100 and first month's fees. You then need to give your trial a reasonable length of time for settling in, and you need to TELL us if there is any difficulty during those important first weeks. If by the end of the trial month, after discussing the matter with us, it is your decision not to continue, we will not ask you to pay the normal one month's notice so you can leave with goodwill, without paying the normal month's notice. We do however in this case, retain the deposit to cover the VERY high workload involved in introducing and settling in a new student.
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