For EngXcel, our students' welfare is of the utmost importance, inside or outside the classroom. We have various policies and practices in place to support all our students during their time with us, which you can read about on this page.
The welfare of any of our younger students who have travelled to the UK alone is of particular importance - see what we do to support those students aged 16-17 who are here without a parent or guardian further down the page.
To help your visit go smoothly, we can assist with all stages of your booking, including:
Our team is always around to help out with any questions or issues any of our students may have - just speak to one of our friendly staff members and they'll be happy to help out!
Welfare staff are available on all of our programmes - they're there to look after you, and you can go to them if you have any problems during your stay.
For any welfare enquiries, our main point of contact is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). If you are under 18 and are in the UK alone, you will have regular meetings with the DSL throughout your course to check you are ok.
All students in Cambridge are given our 24-hour emergency number, which they can call if they need any assistance from a member of the EngXcel team outside of our opening hours.
The policy applies to all members of the EngXcel community (including staff, students, volunteers, visitors, partners) who work both inside and outside of EngXcel premises. It sets out the roles and responsibilities, and guidelines to help keep everyone in the EngXcel community - especially children and vulnerable adults - safe. In brief, some of these measures include:
Students aged 5-15 must be in the UK with a responsible adult who will assume responsibility for them outside of school. This could be a parent, guardian, someone appointed by them (eg a family friend living in Cambridge), or a group leader. We are unable to accommodate children aged 15 or under travelling to the UK alone.
Students aged 16-17 can travel and study with us alone - they're still minors, so we make sure to offer extra support if they do, which you can read about below.
Studying English in the UK can be a great solo trip for 16-17 year olds, and for many it's the first experience they have of travelling abroad without their parents. At EngXcel, we want to make sure it's the best experience possible, and that it's safe and worry-free for both the student and their family. That's why we have extra measures in place to support our unaccompanied 16 & 17 year-old students.
Before arrival, we require parents/guardians to complete a parental consent form. This is also signed by the student to acknowledge the guidelines they should follow. This ensures that both the parent and student are happy with the day-to-day activities in which the student will be taking part, the guidelines the student should follow and the student's curfew.
We strongly encourage our 16-17 year-old students travelling alone to take our full-day programme of morning lessons plus afternoon activities. This is because for students taking morning lessons only, there will be large parts of the day and weekends when they would be unsupervised.
All unaccompanied 16-17 year olds must abide by a curfew. This curfew will be 22:00, unless an earlier one has been requested by the parent/guardian. Hosts are informed of the curfew, and will let the school know if the student has missed it. EngXcel may also perform random checks with the hosts to make sure the student is home on time.
Unaccompanied 16-17 year-old students will be accommodated in homestay; they may not stay alone in a serviced apartment or hotel.
Although there are a range of transport options from the airport to Cambridge, we strongly recommend unaccompanied 16 & 17 year olds book a private taxi transfer through EngXcel to ensure a smooth, safe journey right to their homestay's door.
To help ensure their welfare and wellbeing throughout their time with EngXcel, unaccompanied 16 & 17 year olds will have regular meetings with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, who will check that everything is ok and they are well.
If you become unwell during your course with us, and you're not sure what to do, let us know - you can talk to us at school or give us a call on our 24/7 emergency number if it's outside of school hours. We can help you to find a pharmacist or book you a doctor's appointment, and we have trained first aiders at school who can help with any minor injuries.
To help us give you the best support possible in the event of a medical emergency, we ask you to supply information during registration about any allergies you have, medicine you're taking or any other medical information we should know about. Please make sure to complete this information to the best of your ability.
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EngXcel Ltd is registered in England No. 13642156.