Terms and POLICies

Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to all bookings at St George International (SGI), regardless of whether the course is booked directly or through an Educational Tour Operator. By submitting the booking form you are agreeing to the full terms and conditions. If enrolling a student under 18, you agree to the terms and conditions on their behalf. 

  • Payments  

1.1 To make your booking you must submit a booking form and pay 20% of your total fees, and the £80 registration fee, within 3 working days of submitting your form. Both payments are non-refundable.

1.2 Full fees as quoted on your pro-forma invoice must be paid at least 6 weeks before the course start date. We cannot guarantee to hold a place on the course/accommodation unless all fees are paid in full and on time. Students with unpaid fees will not be admitted to the course and may not be able to move into or remain in their accommodation. 

1.3 Payment can be made by bank transfer direct to SGI or through our online payment providers. In addition to the online handling fee, all card payments will be subject to fees levied by the card company. These fees are non-refundable. 

1.4 It is your responsibility to cover all bank charges and exchange rate differences for payments.  

2. Tuition fees 

 Tuition fees include: 

  • A placement test & needs analysis 
  • Advice and support from SGI staff 
  • Orientation/Induction for new students on their first day 
  • Free Wi-Fi in the school premises 
  • Free monthly social programme trips
  • Activities and trips offered on UK public holidays when no classes are running 
  • SGI end-of-course certificate
 

Unless otherwise stated, tuition fees do not include: 

  • A non-refundable registration fee of £80 
  • Examination fees
  • Course books 
  • Classes on UK public holidays 
  • Any social programme trips, events and entrance fees that are not marked as “free” on the monthly programme 
  • Airport transfers 
  • Courier fees
  • Accommodation and accommodation finding fee 
  • Insurance 
  1. Cancellations, changes to bookings and refunds 

3.1 Cancellations before the course start date must be made in writing. The original start date for a booking will be used as the date of reference. Once a booking has been confirmed, the following cancellation notice periods and fees apply: 

 Course cancellation fees:  

  • More than 2 weeks before the course start date: 20% of the total fee and the registration fee. 
  • Less than 2 weeks before the course start date: 20% of the total fee, the registration fee and 2 weeks of tuition fees.  

 

3.2 If you cancel your course, you will not be permitted to stay in any SGI arranged accommodation.  

 Accommodation cancellation fees  

  • If you cancel your accommodation in a homestay, house share or student residence at least 2 weeks prior to arrival: the £50 accommodation placement fee. 
  • If you cancel your accommodation in a homestay, house share, or student residence 1-2 weeks prior to arrival, you will incur a charge of 2 weeks accommodation fees and the £50 accommodation placement fee. 
  • If the student residence or homestay booked has different cancellation terms you will be subject to the terms of the provider. You will be notified of these terms at the time of booking.
 

For any notice period given, a ‘week’ counts as Sunday to Saturday.  

If you need to postpone your course, you must tell us in writing. If we are able to change your course or accommodation dates, the following fees apply:  

Course postponements  

  • More than 2 weeks before the course start date: no fee
  • Less than 2 weeks: a £20 administration fee

 

Accommodation postponements  

  • If you postpone your accommodation in a homestay, house share or student residence at least 2 weeks prior to arrival you will not incur any charges
  • If you postpone 1-2 weeks prior arrival, you will incur up to 2 weeks of accommodation fees 
 

3.3 If you cancel, or shorten your course, or change to a less expensive course on or after the course start date, we will not refund any tuition fees. It is not possible to transfer fees to another student or to 1 to 1 lessons.

3.4 When a booking has been confirmed, changes shall be permitted only at the discretion of the General Manager. Such permission, if granted, will be communicated in writing.

3.5   Students who decide to leave their SGI arranged accommodation, or move to a different type of accommodation, before the end of the booked period must give 2 weeks notice. If less notice is received you will incur in a charge of up to 2 weeks of accommodation fees. If the new accommodation is more expensive, additional fees must be paid before moving.  

3.6 We reserve the right to charge a £25 administration fee for any changes made to the original booking. 

3. Refunds  

3.7 Refunds are subject to approval and will not be considered if: 

  •  A student decides to withdraw or cancel his/her enrolment, in such situations where less than 1 week’s written notice is given to the school. 
  • A student is refused entry at immigration or if a student is asked to leave the country. 
  • It is found that the student has engaged in any fraudulent practice in order to obtain the necessary documentation from the school to apply for a visa. In such cases, the school will inform the relevant immigration authorities, and the student will be asked to leave the course. 
  • A student visa is refused due to documentation being different to that approved by SGI, or documentation that is out of date or fails to comply with visa requirements, as stated here.
  • A student has already begun their course of study. In cases of visa renewals, it is the student’s responsibility to check with the relevant authorities that their visa application will be approved. 

 

3.8 Any refunds must be made by the same payment method and to the same source as the original payment. Handling charges and fees levied by the card company on any card payments are not refundable. Fees are not transferable to other students.  

3.9 All refunds are subject to a £250 administration fee that will be deducted from the amount of the refund. Refunds might take up to 90 days from the date that the requisite paperwork is completed.   

3.10 In the event that SGI has to cancel a course, we will do our best to move the student to an equivalent programme. If this is not possible, we will refund all fees paid to English Studio. Please note that we will not refund any other payments, such as for flights.  

  1. Visas 

4.1 It is responsibility of the client to check the student’s visa requirements for entry into the UK, and if necessary, apply for and ensure the student is granted the appropriate visa for their period of study with SGI. Information on visas can be found on the UK Home Office website.  

4.2 SGI will only issue support documentation once all registration requirements are met and all fees due have been paid. 

4.3 If you have not received your visa 2 weeks before the course starts, you must inform us so we can work with you to make any necessary arrangements. If we receive less than 2 weeks notice of a visa delay and you wish to postpone your course we will charge you the £25 administration fees and 2 weeks’ accommodation fees if accommodation has been booked. All course and accommodation postponements are subject to availability.  

4.4 If a visa application is rejected and we receive notice in writing, along with a copy of the refusal letter we will refund the following: 

  • More than 2 weeks before the course starts: all fees except the £80 registration fee, the 20% deposit and any courier fee charges 
  • 2 weeks or less before the course starts: all fees except the £80 registration fee, the 20% deposit, any courier charges and 2 weeks’ tuition fees 
  • We will only offer refunds in cases for visa refusal where the student followed UK Home Office guidelines for their visa application
  • If a student arrives at one of our centres without the correct visa, we are required by law to arrange for them to leave as soon as possible. 

4.5 All decisions on visa applications made by UK Home Office are final.  

  1. Arrival and Departures 

5.1 Do not book flights or make travel arrangements until you have received the booking confirmation documents from us. 

5.2 Students who want to book an SGI arrival or departure transfer must submit their travel details as early as possible and pay the published rate. If travel details are received less than 1 week before travel, we reserve the right to charge an administration fee. Students who cancel their taxi transfer less than 1 week in advance will not be entitled to a refund. Students are responsible for any additional taxi waiting time charges if their flight is significantly delayed.  

5.3 If you have booked accommodation with us, please inform us of your intended arrival time at least 1 week before the arrival date. If you arrive at the accommodation outside the check-in hours, you will be asked to seek alternative accommodation at your own expenses.  

5.4 Students who would like to book any extra nights’ accommodation before a course’s official arrival date or after a course’s official departure date must reserve in advance. Extra nights are subject to availability and at an additional charge.  

5.5 Delayed departure: should a student’s departure at the end of the period of study be delayed due to circumstances beyond the student’s control, SGI will continue to provide accommodation if possible, but will do so at the standard rate of fees.  

  1. The course  

6.1 All our courses have entry requirements, such as minimum age and language level. Please refer to the course details or contact us for further information. Students whose course is not General English and level of English does not meet the required standard will be redirected to an English language programme appropriate to their English language standard. Students will be allowed to commence their original first choice programme once they have reached the appropriate level.  

6.2 If any information provided at the time of application is later found to be incorrect, we reserve the right to make any changes considered necessary to the enrolment at the student’s own expense and, if appropriate ask them to leave their course and accommodation without refund of fees.  

6.3 All courses and course components are subject to student numbers, and we reserve the right to change course arrangements and prices without advance notice.   

6.4 We reserve the right to change teachers, times of lessons and locations of courses and to combine classes if: 

  • Numbers for any particular class are low. 
  • We have to attend to building or maintenance work. 
  • A teacher is sick.

6.5 In peak season, a number of classes take place in alternative premises nearby.  

6.6 We enrol students every week, so the composition of each class changes from week to week.  

6.7 If your course spans more than one term and/or level you will be required to buy the books for each term/level.  

6.8 On your confirmation letter, you will find a link to our placement test. Please take it at least 1 week prior to your course starting date so that we can place you in the correct level on your first day.   

  1. Exam entrance 

7.1 Examinations are held externally and are not included in the tuition fee, unless specifically mentioned in the course package. Students who would like to take external exams can register through SGI at an additional fee. Exam entrance fees range between £175 and £200, depending on the exam. As exam places are limited, we recommend that students who wish to enter for an exam provisionally book the exam through SGI before their course starts. To confirm the booking students will need to present their passport and passport size photos to reception.  

7.2 Students wishing to enter for an exam must bring valid passports for exam entry. National Identity cards may not be accepted in the UK. Students under the age of 18 might have to provide a separate consent form completed by their parent or guardian. 

 

  1. Accommodation 

8.1 We reserve the right to change accommodation arrangements and prices without advance notice.  

8.2 Late payments or short notice bookings cannot guarantee accommodation availability. 

We reserve the right to change the type of accommodation if we cannot provide what the student/ ETO requested when the payment is received.  Additionally, they are liable to pay any difference should the rate of the alternative option be higher than the original payment made.  

8.3 SGI does not charge a security deposit for accommodation. The student is responsible for any damage caused to accommodation and SGI is not liable.  

8.4 SGI use carefully selected partners to house students with suitable Homestay providers. We will do our best to meet all special requests, particularly relating to health and diet, but we cannot guarantee that this will always be possible.  

  1. Holidays 

9.1 The school is closed for public holidays and we will not extend courses to compensate. 

9.2 School will be closed for a week during the Christmas period.  

9.3 We encourage students to book their holiday at the time of enrolment. Students who arrange their holiday during their course must notify us at least 4 weeks in advance, and an administration fee may be charged. Holidays are Monday to Friday and the holiday period can be added to the end of the course of study, subject to availability and the visa being long enough to extend the enrolment. If it is not, students will lose the weeks taken as holiday. Holidays cannot be changed once scheduled.  

9.5 It may not be possible to place students in the same class or accommodation after a holiday.  

9.6 If you wish to remain in your accommodation during the Christmas period, please contact us for availability. In case staying in your accommodation is not possible, we can recommend alternative options. Students who are away over the Christmas period but wish to retain their homestay accommodation must pay a retainer fee of 50% of their standard weekly rate.  

9.7 During other holiday periods, including holidays scheduled by SGI as mentioned above, students who wish to retain their residential accommodation must pay the standard weekly rate. To retain homestay accommodation, the 50 % of the standard weekly rate is payable for any week of holiday.  

  1. Medical information 

10.1 You must inform us of any disabilities, medical dietary or other information that may affect the student’s ability to participate in the course at the time of the booking. If a student needs special assistance or arrangements and medical information has not been provided before the course, SGI may be unable to provide the necessary support and the student may be asked to leave the school and/or accommodation with no refund of fees.  

  1. Insurance 

11.1 We strongly recommend that you take out insurance for your own financial and personal security. You can take out your own insurance or alternatively you can request insurance when you book your course with us and we will arrange it for you.  

  1. SGI rules   

12.1 These rules are to ensure students benefit from their time at SGI and in the UK and apply to behaviour in School, on SGI activities and in SGI-arranged accommodation. Any students breaking these rules, or English law, or persisting in serious anti-social behaviour will be disciplined and may be asked to leave the school and their English Studio accommodation with no refund of fees.  

12.2 SGI accepts no responsibility for a student’s personal actions to another party while with us, or for the supervision of students out of lessons or scheduled activities.  

12.3 All students must: 

  • Attend all classes and complete homework and assignments unless they are ill 
  • Inform the school of any changes of address or circumstances while at SGI 
  • Obey SGI policies and procedures as explained at the beginning of their course 
  • Observe fire procedures 
  • Comply with all UK laws and visa restrictions  

 

12.4 Students aged 18 or over must: 

  • Behave appropriately towards students aged under 18 who are considered children in UK law 
  • Smoke only in designated areas 
  • Never buy alcohol, cigarettes (including electronic cigarettes) or tobacco for students under 18 or give alcohol to under 18s 
  • Not allow students under 18 to visit SGI accommodation for students aged 18 or over 

 

12.5 Students aged 16 and 17 are considered children in the UK and must: 

  • Return to their SGI accommodation by 23:00 every evening.
  • Inform their homestay in advance if they are taking part in any SGI trip or activity that will finish later than 23:00. 
  • Not buy or consume alcohol, cigarettes (including electronic cigarettes) or tobacco as the minimum age to purchase this in the UK is 18.
  • Have written permission from their parent or guardian to join day trips booked by SGI, but organised and run by an Independent travel company. 
  • Not be absent overnight or go on holiday without informing the school who will contact parents or guardians for written permission. 
  • Not move out from SGI arranged accommodation without written permission from their parent or guardian.
  • Not visit any SGI arranged accommodation for students aged 18 or over.

 

Please note: SGI does not book overnight trips for students aged 16 and 17 

12.6 We reserve the right to ask students to leave SGI immediately and with no refund of fees for these reasons:  

  • Not attending classes regularly 
  • Serious anti-social behaviour (e.g. verbal abuse or rudeness, drunkenness, sexual harassment, violence, assault) 
  • Bullying, intimidating or threatening behaviour of any sort 
  • Proof of or admission to an illegal act (e.g. theft, assault, drink driving, possession or use of illegal drugs or offensive weapons- such as knives, guns or other object with intent to cause harm etc.) 
  • Breaking any UK law 
  • Interference with fire or safety equipment and procedures 
  • Misuse of computers or downloading of any offensive material 
  • Any other act that brings the name of SGI in dispute 
  • Refusal to obey reasonable requests from a member of Staff 

 

12.7 SGI management may recommend that a student is not re-admitted to SGI. Reasons for this include the following:  

  • Lack of academic progress in spite of everyone’s best efforts 
  • Illness making it impossible for the student to get full benefit from the course 
  • Poor attendance and lack of commitment to the previous course 
  • A poor disciplinary record in class 
  • Behaviour in School or accommodation which is inappropriate, disruptive or disturbing to others 
  • Failure to pay fees 
  • Breaking any UK law 

 

12.8 Discipline: If the problem concerns behaviour in class your teacher will speak to you. If there is no improvement, a senior member of SGI staff will speak to you. A formal warning may be given to you, and your parents/ ETO will be informed. If there is a very serious problem you may be asked to leave SGI (excluded) without a refund of fees.  

  1. 13. Students under the age of 18  

The minimum age for students joining SGI adult courses is 16. Students under the age of 18 are considered children by law and we require additional information and a parental consent form to be able to accept these students onto our adult courses. In addition to the above rules, the following applies to students aged 16 and 17:  

13.1 We strongly recommend that students aged 16 and 17 stay in SGI arranged accommodation.  

13.2 By choosing not to book SGI accommodation you are giving permission for the student to live independently in the UK. 

13.3 If a student is not staying in our arranged accommodation we must receive full contact details of where the student is staying. We accept no responsibility for accommodation not booked through us. 

13.4 We strongly recommend that students aged 16 and 17 book SGI’s taxi transfer service.  

13.5 By choosing not to book SGI’s taxi transfer service, you are giving permission for the student to travel to the UK independently. We cannot be held responsible for the safety of under 18s who have not booked our taxi transfer service. 

13.6 Some airlines do not allow students under the age of 18 to travel without an adult. Please check the airline’s guidelines before booking flights.  

13.7 Students aged 16 and 17 are usually able to join all social activities arranged and supervised by SGI staff. If one of the activities is not considered appropriate for them, this will be marked as for over 18 only.  

13.8 Students aged 16 and 17 can travel independently within the UK on day trips, providing they notify the school and return to their SGI accommodation by 23:00 hours. 

13.9 SGI must receive written permission from parents or guardians for students aged 16 and 17 who wish to: 

  • be absent from lessons or leave school during lesson time 
  • travel independently and be absent overnight 
  • arrange a holiday during their course 
  • move out of SGI-arranged accommodation  

 

13.10 If a student under 18 needs urgent medical attention and their parents/guardians cannot be contacted, SGI will act in loco parentis and will arrange for a doctor to give any medical treatment considered necessary, as well as authorise the administration of an anaesthetic and operation. 

  1. Complaints procedure  

14.1 We are committed to providing the highest level of customer care. If you are not satisfied with our service, please see the complaints procedure.  

  1. Privacy Policy 

15.1 By making a booking with SGI you are agreeing to the storage and use of the information you supply for SGI’s purposes only.  

15.2 SGI will share your personal details only with third party providers who are contracted to provide a specific service on behalf of SGI and require the information to perform their function (i.e. transfers, accommodation). SGI will pass on your details to UK government agencies if requested by them to do so.  

15.3 We may take photographs of students at the beginning of their course for student cards.  

15.4 We will take photographs of social events, lessons and activities, which may be used in promotional materials or social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Please indicate on the booking form if you are not happy for your photographs to be used for these purposes.  

  1. Intellectual property 

16.1 All intellectual property rights in SGI’s name and logo, website, promotional and marketing materials and all course and examination content and materials belong to SGI. Anyone seeking to use, publish or copy any of SGI’s materials needs to seek our permission in order to do so.  

  1. Liability

17.1 SGI will only be responsible for loss or damage suffered by a student, which occurs as a foreseeable result of SGI breach of the terms and conditions or its negligence.  

17.2 Nothing in the terms and conditions shall limit or exclude SGI’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.  

  1. Force Majeure 

18.1 SGI is not liable for any failure or delay in providing our services that occurs as a result of any event outside our reasonable control, such as but not limited to war, disease outbreak, natural disaster or terrorist attack. In such cases, we will immediately notify you in writing and shall be excused from performing our obligations for the duration of the force majeure event.  

  1. Legal enforcement 

19.1 These terms and conditions are governed by English law. English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes that may arise out of the terms and conditions.  

Information is correct at time of publication but may be subject to change.  

These terms and conditions apply to SGI 16+ courses only. 

  1. Payments

1.1 To make your booking you must submit a booking form and pay 20% of your total fees, and the £80 registration fee, within 3 working days of submitting your form. Both payments are non-refundable.

1.2 Full fees as quoted on your pro-forma invoice must be paid at least 6 weeks before the course start date. We cannot guarantee to hold a place on the course unless all fees are paid in full and on time. Students with unpaid fees will not be admitted to the course and may not be able to move into their accommodation.

1.3 Payment can be made by bank transfer direct to SGI or through our online payment providers. In addition to the online handling fee, all card payments will be subject to fees levied by the card company. These fees are non-refundable.

1.4 It is your responsibility to cover all bank charges and exchange rate differences for payments.

  1. Tuition fees

All SGI young learner summer courses fees include:

  • A course book
  • Student learning journal and pen
  • Lanyard and student card
  • End of course certificate
  • Full supervision by qualified and experienced staff
  • At least 15 hours a week of lessons

Some courses have entry requirements, such as minimum age and language level, and additional services included in the price. Please refer to the course details or contact us for further information.

SGI Young Learner summer courses fees do not include:

  • Travel card
  • Accommodation
  • Weekend or evening activities
  • Arrival and departure transfers
  1. Cancellations, changes to bookings and refunds

3.1 Cancellations must be made in writing. Once a booking has been confirmed, the following cancellation notice periods and fees apply:

  • More than 6 weeks before the course start date: you must pay 20% deposit of the course total fees and £80 registration fee.
  • 1-6 weeks before the course start date: you must pay the outstanding 60% of the course total fees and £80 registration fee.
  • Less than 1 week before the course start date, non-arrival or early departure from the course: No refund will be made.
  • For any notice period given, a ‘week’ counts as Monday to Friday.

3.2 We reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £25 for any changes made to the original booking. 

Refunds

3.3 Refunds are subject to approval and will not be considered if:

  • A student decides to withdraw or cancel his/her enrolment, in such situations where less than 2 weeks’ written notice is given to the school.
  • A student is refused entry at immigration or if a student is asked to leave the country.
  • It is found that the student has engaged in any fraudulent practice in order to obtain the necessary documentation from the school to apply for a visa. In such cases, the school will inform the relevant immigration authorities, and the student will be asked to leave the course.
  • A student visa is refused due to documentation being different to that approved by SGI, or documentation that is out of date or fails to comply with visa requirements, as stated here.
  • A student has already begun their course of study. In cases of visa renewals, it is the student’s responsibility to check with the relevant authorities that their visa application will be approved.

3.4 Any refunds must be made by the same payment method and to the same source as the original payment. Handling charges and fees levied by the card company on any card payments are not refundable. Fees are not transferable to other students.

3.5 All refunds are subject to a £100 administration fee that will be deducted from the amount of the refund. Refunds might take up to 90 days from the date that the requisite paperwork is completed.

3.6 In the event that SGI has to cancel a course, we will do our best to move the student to an equivalent programme or the same course at a later date. Please note that we will not refund payments made for other services, such as for flights.

  1. Visas

4.1 It is responsibility of the client to check the student’s visa requirements for entry into the UK, and if necessary apply for and ensure the student is granted the appropriate visa for their period of study with SGI. Information on visas can be found on the UK Home Office website.

4.2 SGI will only issue support documentation once all registration requirements are met and all fees due have been paid.

4.3 If you have not received your visa 2 weeks before the course starts, you must inform us so we can work with you to make any necessary arrangements.

4.4 If a visa application is rejected and we receive notice in writing, along with a copy of the visa refusal letter, we will refund the following:

  • More than 2 weeks before the course starts all fees except the 20% deposit and the £80 registration fee and any courier charges.
  • 2 weeks or less before the course starts: all fees except the 20% deposit, the £80 registration fee, 1 week’s tuition and any courier charges.
  • We will only offer refunds in cases for visa refusal where the student followed UK Home Office guidelines for their visa application.

4.5 If a student arrives at one of our centres without the correct visa, we are required by law to arrange for them to leave as soon as possible.

4.6 All decisions on visa applications made by the UK Home Office are final.

  1. Arrivals and departures

5.1 Do not book flights or make travel arrangements until you have received the booking confirmation documents from us. If you have booked accommodation with us and cannot book flights for the official arrival and departure dates, you must check with us before booking flights for another date.

5.2 For students that are not travelling with their parents or guardians and have booked accommodation with SGI, an airport transfer must be booked at the published rate. Travel details must be submitted at least 1 week before the arrival date.

5.3 If you choose to make your own travel arrangements and you have booked accommodation with us, please inform us of your intended arrival time.

  1. Insurance

6.1 We strongly recommend that you take out insurance for your own financial and personal security. You can take out your own insurance or alternatively you can request insurance when you book your course with us and we will arrange it for you.

  1. Medical Information

7.1 you must inform us of any medical, dietary or other details which may affect the student’s ability to participate in the course before the course starts. Any student arriving with a serious medical condition not previously reported, which requires regular staff supervision, may be sent home with no refund.

7.2 In case of medical emergency, if the student’s parents/ guardians cannot be contacted. SGI will act with a duty of care and will arrange for a doctor to give any medical treatment considered necessary, as well as authorise the administration of an anaesthetic and operation.

  1. Emergency contact details

8.1 It is your responsibility to inform SGI of an emergency contact telephone number where a parent/guardian/agent can be contacted 24 hours a day, including the student’s arrival and departure days.

  1. The Course 

9.1 All courses and course components are run subject to demand.

9.2 We reserve the right to change course arrangements and prices without advance notice.

9.3 On your confirmation letter, you will find a link to our placement test. Please take it at least 1 week prior to your course starting date so that we can place you in a class appropriate for your language level and age on your first day.

9.4 We offer a wide range of activities in our courses. These activities are all supervised by suitable staff. By agreeing to these terms and conditions you are giving permission to your child to participate in all activities.

9.5 Certain SGI Young Learner courses have a minimum language level. Please refer to the course details or contact us for further details. If the language level provided at application is later found to be incorrect, we reserve the right to make any changes considered necessary to the enrolment at the student’s own expense.

  1. SGI rules for young learners 

The following rules apply to behaviour on our courses, including during study tours and in accommodation.

  • Students cannot leave the school during their lessons.
  • Students must attend all lessons and any additional course components.
  • Students must observe the rules relating to IT software.
  • Students booking accommodation with us must stay in their accommodation after the end of their daily lessons/activities.
  • We will not tolerate any bullying. In serious cases students may be sent home.
  • Mobile phone and other electronic devices must be switched off during lessons and activities.
  • No smoking is allowed on any SGI Young Learner courses at any time. Electronic cigarettes are not permitted.
  • Students found to possess, use or supply alcohol or illegal drugs will be sent home with no refund of fees.

Any students breaking these rules, or English law, or persisting in serious anti-social behaviour will be disciplined and may be sent home early with no refund of fees. If a student is expelled from the course, parents/guardians will be responsible for departure travel arrangements. SGI will arrange the transfer to the departure point and transfer charges will apply.

  1. Complaints procedure 

11.1 We are committed to providing the highest level of customer care. If you are not satisfied with our service, please see the complaints procedure.

  1. Privacy Policy

12.1 By making a booking with SGI you are agreeing to the storage and use of personal information you supply about the student and yourself for our purposes only, which may include issuing confirmation documents, processing payments, managing course arrangements and helping students in need of medical attention.

12.2 SGI will share your personal details only with third party providers who are contracted to provide a specific service on behalf of SGI and require the information to perform their function (i.e. transfers, accommodation).

12.3 We will take photographs of students at the beginning of their course for student cards.

12.4 We will take photographs of social events, lessons and activities, which may be used in promotional materials or social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Please indicate on the booking form if you are not happy for your photographs to be used for these purposes.

12.5 Please see our website for cookies and privacy policy.

  1. Intellectual property 

13.1 All intellectual property rights in SGI’s name and logo, website, promotional and marketing materials and all course and examination content and materials belong to SGI. Anyone seeking to use, publish or copy any of SGI’s materials needs to seek our permission in order to do so.

  1. Liability

14.1 SGI will only be responsible for loss or damage suffered by a student which occurs as a foreseeable result of SGI’s breach of the terms and conditions or its negligence.

14.2 Nothing in the terms and conditions shall limit or exclude SGI’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent.

  1. Force majeure

15.1 SGI is not liable for any failure or delay in providing our services that occurs as a result of any event outside our reasonable control, such as but not limited to war, disease outbreak, natural disaster or terrorist attack. In such cases, SGI will immediately notify you in writing and shall be excused from performing our obligations for the duration of the force majeure event.

  1. Legal enforcement 

16.1 These terms and conditions are governed by English law. English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes that may arise out of the terms and conditions.

Information is correct at time of publication but may be subject to change.

These terms and conditions apply to SGI young learner courses only.

All photographs and testimonials taken of students while attending a programme at St George International may be used on our website and on our promotional materials including brochures, banners, flyers, posters etc.

Please indicate on the booking form if you are not happy for your photographs to be used for these purposes.

Policies and notices

SGI policies are designed to ensure that all students get the most out of their time with us.  These policies cover a range of areas, including: Health and Safety, Inclusion and Equality, Behaviour and Discipline, Child Protection.  Below, we have put together summaries of these policies and procedures with all essential and relevant information.

We are committed to providing the highest level of customer care. If you do have a complaint, please report this as indicated below.

 

Stage 1

 If you are unhappy about any aspect of our service, please contact the following SGI staff:

 

Students currently studying in our adult courses

Please contact the school and ask to speak to the General Manager.

 

Students (or parents of students) currently studying in our Young Learner courses

Please contact the course office and ask to speak to the Centre Manager or the General Manager.

 

Students who have not yet arrive or who have already left SGI

Please contact our student services team by email or telephone: +44 (0) 207 299 1700.

 

We will respond immediately to any complaints from students who are currently studying with us. In cases where the student is not on-site or the complaint has come from a parent, we will send a written reply within 48 hours.

 

Stage 2

Most problems are resolved quickly and informally but if students (or parents) are dissatisfied with the outcome of their concerns, they should write to:

 

The Chief Executive, St George International, 10 Great Turnstile, London WC1V 7JU

 

In the case of exclusion, students/parents have the right of appeal. An appeal can only be heard after the student has been removed from the school.

 

We are committed to providing high quality tuition and pastoral care. Our school in the UK is regularly inspected by the British Council. English UK will act as a third party adjudicator for any unresolved dispute.

Context

This policy applies to the main SGI School, in central London. Separate safeguarding policies apply to SGI YOUNG LEARNER summer centres when different buildings are in use.

The majority of SGI’s students are 18 or over, however we do also accept students aged 16 and 17 in our adult classes. 

All year round we accept students under the age of 16 (12-15 years old) only as part of a closed group. Students aged 15 or under do not attend classes with anyone aged 18 or over who is not part of their group, and they will study on a separate side of the building.

During our summer programme we are able to take students from the age of 8. Students under the age of 14 during our summer school will be under the supervision of their parents/legal guardian/group leaders except when the students are studying or when on an excursion.

The school offers a range of accommodation options including homestays, student houses and studios. Under-18 students are only offered half-board homestays accommodation, unless they are travelling as part of a group or with their family.

Terminology

The following terminology is used throughout this and other school policies. It is important that all members of staff are familiar with the terms used, and where a term refers to a named person, they know who that person is and how they can be contacted.

Safeguarding- It is the process by which we protect children and vulnerable adults’ health, wellbeing and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm and abuse of all kinds both face-to-face and online.

Child Protection- this is part of safeguarding, and it can be described as the activity undertaken to protect children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.

Duty of care- It is the school’s obligation to look after the wellbeing of all students, with particular attention on vulnerable adults and children.

Children- A child is a person under the age of 18 (U18) (The Children Act 1989).

Vulnerable adult (VA)- A person is considered to be vulnerable if they are substantially dependent upon others in performing basic physical functions or their ability to communicate is severely impaired and as a result they would not ne able to protect themselves (Section 115(4) of the Police Act 1997).

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) – A named member of the staff trained as Specialist safeguarding for Designated Lead (formerly Level 3), who has the overall responsibility to ensure that SGI meets the aims of this policy. The DSL is Lynette Cooper. There are posters around the school advertising her identity. She meets students on their arrival at the school and has a meeting with all underage students at the end of their first week. When Lynette is not working, Arianna Pedrini will support.

Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO)- A named member of the staff trained as Advanced safeguarding for Designated Staff (formerly Level 2), who is the first point of contact for all staff and students to go to for advice if they are concerned about a child or vulnerable adult. Arianna Pedrini is the DSO for SGI, in her  absence, the DSL will cover.

Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP)- The Children Act and Social Work 2017 requires each local authority to establish a Safeguarding Partnership instead of what was the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB). This is a statutory multi-agency partnership board with the relevant agencies in each area. Those agencies will co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in that area and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do. The SGI is under the Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP).

Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)- The officer or team of officers involved in the oversight and management of allegations against people that work with children.

Statement

We believe that all our students including under-18s and vulnerable adults should be safe and protected in the school and that their welfare and well-being is of paramount importance.

We aim to create an environment where students and staff feel safe and protected, where they are listened to and their views respected.

All under-18s and vulnerable adults have the right to protection from abuse, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or belief.

This policy applies to all staff and volunteers working in the school setting, and to all the visitors of the school.

Staff Responsibilities

All adults have the responsibility to safeguard underage students and vulnerable adults. They should be vigilant and know how to report concerns and allegations, even if they are small. They should also know whom to contact inside and outside the organisation. All staff must be trained to the basic level of safeguarding awareness; all Designated Officers must be train to the Advanced Safeguarding for DSO and the Designated Lead to the Specialist Training for DSL.

The following members of staff form the Designated Safeguarding Team:

Role

Staff Member

Location

DSL

Arianna Pedrini

London



DSO

Stephen Bell London

Regular meetings are held between the DSL and academic/pastoral staff to discuss training and ongoing welfare and safeguarding issues. Yearly meetings are held by the Designated Safeguarding Team to review the policy and procedures. 

The following contact information is for agencies outside the organisation and they should be used to report a concern about a child.

London Borough of Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership

Email: cscp@camden.gov.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 2079 746658

NSPCC

Tel: 0808 800 5000

NSPCC Camden Service Centre

Tel: +44(0) 2037 729905

Charing Cross Police Station

Tel: +44(0) 2072 401212 or 101

Legal Framework

This policy aim to follow relevant legislation and guidelines:

The Children Act 1989

Police Act 1997

Local Government Act 2000

The Sexual Offences Act 2003

Children Act 2004

Protection of Freedom Act 2012

Counter-Terrorism and Security Act  2015

Children & Social Work Act 2017

Keeping Children Safe in Education- Statutory Guidance for Schools and Colleges Sept 2019

Policy Review & Availability

This policy and procedures will be regularly monitored and reviewed:

In accordance with, changes in legislation and guidance on safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults or any changes within SGI.

Following any issues or concerns raised about the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults within SGI.

In all other circumstances, at least annually.

This policy is available on the website and on our internal HR system. A condensed version of this policy is available as part of the Group Leader Handbook.

Other related policies

The school has other policies closely related to this one. These policies are:

Safer Recruitment Policy

Social Programme and substitution policy

Summer School and closed groups safeguarding provisions

Prevent Policy

CODE OF CONDUCT

Statement of Intent

The SGI has the responsibility to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for all students and staff but especially for vulnerable adults and students under the age of 18.

The SGI is committed to maintaining strong ethos of care and an appropriate culture of trust and responsibility, which ensures and promotes the safeguarding of these learners who are involved in courses or activities, which come under the responsibility of the school. Staff should behave as suitable role models at all times.

Guidelines for SGI Staff

All SGI Staff are expected to demonstrate exemplary behaviour in order to protect themselves from allegations of misconduct. We expect staff to behave appropriately at all times and to show cultural sensitivity at all times. Lanyards must be worn at all times, so that students and visitors can easily identify staff members.

The SGI Code of Conduct, as well as the safer recruitment policy are in place to protect students under 18 and vulnerable adults in our care. We respect everybody, irrespective of age, gender, nationality, marital status, beliefs or sexual orientation.

Staff must act within the law at all times, in particular with regard to the taking of drugs or alcohol and sexual orientation.

Dress

There is no formal dress code other than a guideline that staff should be clean and tidy and dress appropriately as professionals and representatives of the school. Jeans are acceptable provided that they are not ‘distressed’. Do not expose too much flesh; tattoos and piercings are acceptable provided that they are not overly on display. Staff may be expected to dress more smartly if there is a special group.

General Interaction

Build professional relationships with students that are based on trust and positive communication. Be ready to offer guidance to help students interpret their new cultural situation. Praise students fro appropriate behaviour and attitudes.

Establish and maintain an environment in where people feel secure, encouraged to talk and are listened to.

Consider your own behaviour towards students aged under 18 as that of a responsible parent.

Be punctual for your class or activity.

DO NOT put yourself in a compromising situation and report any inadvertent, inappropriate or accidental conduct as soon as possible, to your line manager.

DO NOT accept gifts of high value from students at any times. Small gifts of low value from students are acceptable when a student or staff member leaves.

DO NOT take any action where you could be accused of favouritism towards any student.

DO NOT do things of personal nature for an under-18 or vulnerable adults that they can do themselves.

Language

Use neutral and appropriate language at all times.

DO NOT swear in front of students, on or off school premises.

DO NOT teach swear words to under-18 students and challenge inappropriate language from students.

Choose teaching material (including DVDs and online resources) appropriately and sensitively for underage or vulnerable students.

Communication

Advise students to communicate with you and the school via The SGI email address and Facebook or Instagram page.

DO NOT give your personal email address or phone number to under-18 students or communicate with students via email, text, phone or social network sites.

Please note that students under the age of 16 are banned from using Whatsapp in the UK or EU.

Internet

DO NOT access inappropriate Internet content on school computers or the Wi-Fi network.

Physical Contact

In first aid emergencies, contact an appointed First Aider.

DO NOT make physical contact of any kind. Remember that may be difficult to define inappropriate physical contact in a multi-cultural environment.

Staff MUST NOT engage in a romantic or sexual relationship with any student under the age of 21. Staff are reminded that they are in a Position of Trust and that any sexual contact with a student under the age of 18, even if the student is 16 or 17, is a criminal offence. NB. Any member of staff entering a relationship with any students over the age of 21 should inform their line manager immediately).

Smoking

The SGI prohibits the use of all smoking devices throughout the building. If staff wish to smoke during break times, they should leave the building. Please do not smoke or vape directly outside the school.

DO NOT buy cigarettes for under-18s or allow them to smoke with you. DO NOT promote smoking.

Alcohol and Drugs

Do not promote the drinking of alcohol and the use of drugs and take every opportunity to remind all students:

that the taking, selling and buying of drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin and amphetamines is illegal

not to buy or take any substance offered as a ‘legal high’, as this can be extremely dangerous.

DO NOT buy alcohol for under-18s or allow them or vulnerable adults to drink alcohol with you.

There might be school events, in which drinking alcohol in front of students, have been approved by Senior Management, and in such cases only in moderation.

Privacy

Never put yourself in a position where you will be alone with an under 18. Make sure someone else is present. If you need to talk to a student privately, use a quiet corner of a public space (e.g. reception or student room).

Teaching one-to-one

In a classroom situation where there is a one-to-one teaching environment the classroom door should be left open and the teacher should be in full view from the door. Managers should make occasional ‘walk by’ checks.

General wellbeing

The following applies to all student but staff need to consider how the below can affect under-18s or vulnerable adults.

All students should be appropriately dressed for school and should no wear any clothes that might be considered offensive, because of the images or the slogans on them. If you notice that someone is wearing inappropriate clothes, please speak to them or ask another member of the staff of the same gender as the student to speak with them.

Bullying is clearly against the school rules. Staff should ensure that students treat others with respect and don’t allow students to talk to one another in an inappropriate way- even if they say that it’s just a joke or they don’t really mean it.

Keep an eye on how under-18s are interacting with other students. Do they appear uncomfortable with the people around them?

All new students that have booked accommodation with the school will receive instructions on how to get from the accommodation to the school, and staff check with them on their first day that they are confident on how to get to school. Vulnerable adults and under-18 students who haven’t booked accommodation with the school are asked the same on their first day.

Students in the classroom

All students are expected to attend classes and be on time every day. This is extremely important with under-18s and vulnerable adults as they are under our duty of care during school hours. For this reason if a vulnerable adult or an under-18 is missing this must be reported after 15 minutes from the beginning of the lesson and from the end of the break, so that the Designated Safeguarding Team can follow up with the host family, legal guardian or parents.

When using authentic material, teachers should consider whether it could be offensive for their students with particular attention to under-18 students and vulnerable adults.

Online classes

Safeguarding is just as important when teaching online. The points below are guidelines for teachers and should be used in accordance with this policy. At The SGI we understand that working via any online audio-visual applications raises some additional safeguarding issues to consider.

The teacher will only use the company account.

The teacher will send the parent/guardian an invitation to the lesson as well as to the student if he/she is 16 or 17 years old.

Students are not allowed to record the lesson, the teacher must record the lessons when underage students are in their class, and the recording must be kept for up to 1 year.

The lesson should not be locked.

The Academic Manager may observe the lessons from time to time.

Teacher will use appropriate images and background and will not share any personal information with the students via chat.

The student must take the lesson in a room with an open door and a parent/guardian should be in the premises whilst the lesson is taking place.

School accommodation

The SGI places its students with homestay providers that are accredited with the British Council so that  safeguarding and accreditation standards are followed.

Transporting students by car      

In the unlikely case that a member of staff has to accompany under-18s by car (for example to the hospital), they should have another member of the staff with them. If this is not possible the child or young adult should be seat at the back of the car.

Whistleblowing

It is a legal obligation on staff to report a concern. The SGI staff is required to report any behaviour by colleagues that raises concern regarding under-18s, regardless of the source and understand that their concerns will be taken seriously.

They should also feel comfortable in raising potential failures in the school safeguarding policy and procedures and know that the senior management will take their concerns seriously.

Staff proven to be in non-compliance of the code of conduct may face disciplinary procedures.

CHILD PROTECTION

SGI is committed to protect under-18 students and vulnerable adults with the implementation of this safeguarding policy, the safer recruitment policy, as well as by following child protection procedures, which includes protection form abuse.

All members of staff at The SGI accept and recognise the responsibility to develop awareness of issues

Types of Abuse

Abuse is a term to describe a range of ways in which people, usually adults, harm children. Often the abuser is a person who is known and trusted by the child. All children are vulnerable to abuse, but some may be more at risk than others. Child abuse includes:

Grooming

It is defined as showing interest in and/or forming an attachment with a young person with the ultimate aim of sexual gratification. Grooming of under-18s is a criminal offence.

Sexual Abuse

This is defined as any sexual activity with a child or young adult. It can have a long-term impact on mental health. Victims of sexual abuse can be male or female.

Signs to look out for:

Nightmares, sleeping problems.

Acting in an inappropriate sexual way with objects and peers.

Personality changes, seeming insecure.

Changes in eating habits.

Becoming secretive.

Physical signs such as sexual transmitted diseases and/or unexplained soreness around genitals.

Unaccountable fear of particular places or people.

Becoming clingy.

Emotional Abuse

Also called psychological abuse, it is defined as persistent emotional maltreatment of a child or young adult. It can have severe and adverse effects on a child’s emotional development.

Signs to look out for:

Sudden speech disorders.

Shows signs of passivity or aggression.

Delayed physical or emotional development.

Rocking, hair-twisting, self-mutilation (neurotic behaviour).

Overreaction to mistakes and continual self-depreciation.

Physical Abuse

When a child is deliberately physically hurt. It can take many different forms including, hitting, shaking, pinching, poisoning, burning, drowning or suffocating, throwing a child. It cam happen outside or inside the family environment.

Signs to look out for:

Children with frequent injuries.

Children with unexplainable fractures, bruises, cuts, burns, scalds or bite marks.

Children wearing clothes to cover bruises and injuries even in hot weather.

Neglect

It is defined as the fail to care for a child properly, by not providing basic needs such as adequate food, clothing, hygiene, shelter or supervision. A neglected child often suffers of other forms of abuse.

Signs to look out for:

Badly dressed in clothes that need washing.

Often hungry. They might beg or steal food.

Lacks of medical and dental care.

Often tired.

Might use/abuse drugs or alcohol.

Poor personal hygiene and appearance.

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

It involves situations, contexts and relationships where under-18s receive something (e.g accommodation, food, money, gifts, affection, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs) as a result of them performing sexual activities.

Signs to look out for:

A much older boyfriend or girlfriend.

New possessions or unexplained gifts.

Misusing alcohol or drugs.

Associating with others involved in exploitation.

Missing classes or disappearing and coming back home very late.

Honour-Based-Violence (HBV)

A collection of practices used to control behaviour within families in order to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. It includes Female Genital Mutilation (FMG).

Peer-on-Peer Abuse

It is important to remember that abuse doesn’t only come from adults. Peer-on-Peer abuse includes:

Bullying and cyber-bullying

 Bullying is an international problem and it’s a deliberate hurtful behaviour. It is often repeated and it is difficult for those being bullied o defend themselves.

Cyber-bullying happens over digital devices. It includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false or mean content about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. It can cross the line into unlawful or criminal behaviour.

Cyber-bullying takes place on social media, SMS, Instant message or email.

Signs to look out for:

Appearing nervous when receiving a text, email or instant message.

Unwillingness to share information about online activity.

Unexplained anger or depression especially after being online.

Abruptly walking away from a device or shutting it off.

Sexual violence and harassment

Sexual Violence happens when the attempt of obtaining or the actual sexual act are violent or coercive. This is regardless of the relationship to the victim.

Sexual harassment is an unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that can occur both, online and offline. It can include but it is not limited to:

Sexual comments.

Sexual jokes or taunting.

Physical behaviour.

Procedure for reporting allegations or suspicious of abuse

The welfare of the child must be paramount, and any member of The SGI staff has a legal duty t report suspicions, allegations or actual incidents to the Designated Safeguarding Team, who will take the appropriate course of action as detailed below. If the allegation is about a member of the Designated Safeguarding Team, staff can go and report directly to a senior manager.

If the suspicion, allegation or actual incident involves a homestay host or other adult in the home, you should report directly to the DSL Arianna Pedrini, who will start an investigation liaising with the accommodation provider.

Once the initial report has been made, the DSL might decide that the case should be reported to the relevant safeguarding agencies.

It is NOT for staff to decide whether or not a suspicion or allegation is true. All suspicions or allegations of abuse must be taken seriously.

WHAT TO DO IF ABUSE IS SUSPECTED OR DISCLOSED

WHAT TO DO

WHAT NOT TO DO

Stay Calm

Don’t panic. Don’t over-react. It is unlikely that the child is in immediate danger.

Listen, hear and believe.

Don’t probe for more information. Questioning the child may affect how the child’s disclosure is received later.

Give the child time to say what they want to say.

Reassure and explain that they have done the right thing in telling you.

Don’t make assumptions, don’t paraphrase and don’t offer alternative explanations.

Don’t make the child repeat the story unnecessarily.

Explain that only people whose job it is to deal with these situations will be informed.

Don’t promise confidentiality, or to keep secrets or say that everything will be OK (it might not be).

Act immediately in accordance with the procedure in this policy.

Don’t try to deal with it yourself.

Record in writing what was said as accurately as possible.

Report to the Safeguarding Designated Team.

Report to your Homestay Organiser if the suspicion or disclosure involves a homestay host or other adult in the home.

Record your report.

Don’t make negative comments about the alleged abuser.

Don’t ‘gossip’ with colleagues about what has been said to you.

Record keeping

Written records of concerns about children should be kept in a secure place and only a limited amount of people in the Designated Safeguarding Team should have access to them.

When contacting a statutory agency the following information may be required

Staff name, address, telephone number, position/role at The SGI.

As many details as possible about the child(e.g.name, date of birth, address for the school, accommodation and home country), passport number, group leader name and telephone number.

What the reasons for the report (the suspicions, allegations, what has been said, details of times and dates, the child’s emotional state. Make it clear what is fact and what is opinion or hearsay.

What has been done so far.

Where possible confirm this in writing within 24 hours and record the name of the contact who took the referral.

The statutory agency will then give you instructions as to what to do next and will take responsibility for any further action.

TRAINING

It is the DSL’s responsibility to ensure that all staff members have appropriate training.

Basic Awareness (formerly level 1)- applies to teaching, sales and student services staff, volunteers and group leaders (through the use of the group leader guide).

Staff are asked to complete the online British Council awareness course, they will also receive a safeguarding induction as part of their on boarding process. Before high season or the arrival of closed groups, people involved in the successful delivery of the programme will have a safeguarding refresher with the DSL.

Refresher training occurs annually.

Homestay hosts received this training from their agency.

Advanced Safeguarding for Designated Person (formerly Level 2)- The training is conducted externally. The SGI usually booked this training with English UK.

The refresher is every two years or after changes in the legislation.

Specialist Safeguarding for Designated Lead (formerly Level 3)

The training is conducted externally. The SGI usually booked this training with English UK.

The refresher is every two years or after changes in the legislation.

All training sessions are recorded with the collection of certificates. If the course is internal, we will still create a certificate.

SGI will endeavour to meet and where practicable exceed, its ‘Duty of Care’ to all students. Where the student is under 18, the duty of care is likely to extend to taking the care that a reasonably prudent or careful parent would take of his or her children in the circumstances. SGI understands that under 18s from overseas may not have the same knowledge or experience of the UK as home students so may be more vulnerable to harm than home students of the same age. All children and young people have the right to protection from abuse, freedom from injury and a safe and healthy environment while under the care of SGI.

 

SGI is committed to providing as far as is reasonably practicable, an environment that is safe from harm for those under the age of 18. We will:

 

  • Incorporate good practice guidelines from accreditation bodies and government into existing procedures.
  • Ensure parents are provided with all necessary information to enable them to make an informed choice and understand the provisions made for their children on our courses.
  • Have effective systems in place to ensure that our facilities, processes and activities take account of students’ health, safety and welfare requirements;
  • Have controls in place to ensure the health and safety of students on all off site activities;
  • Ensure that there are clear rules appropriate to the ages of the students for what they may do outside scheduled activities;
  • Follow safer recruitment procedures to check the suitability of staff working with students under 18;
  • Have clear Codes of Conduct in place for students, staff and other adults who may come in contact with under 18;
  • Have Contract agreements with host facilities, subcontractors and other service providers to ensure that they confirm with SGI’s standards for health and safety and welfare provision for under 18s;
  • Check that all accommodation is suitable and safe for young international students to be placed there;
  • Provide appropriate staff training, guidance and procedures to meet the academic and pastoral needs of young international students;
  • Provide information, guidance and support for students under the age of 18 in such circumstances where a responsible adult is required;
  • Ensure suitable supervision, management and control systems to avoid the risk of physical, mental or sexual abuse;
  • Have clear procedures in place for recognising, responding and reporting concerns about child abuse;
  • Share information with external safeguarding agencies in the event of a safeguarding concern;
  • Encourage staff to share in confidence with a designated person any concerns they may have about another member of staff’s behaviour;
  • Monitor regularly and review all operations to confirm adherence to SGI’s and legislative requirements.

 

Where appropriate any breaches of policies and or allegations of misconduct concerning children/ young persons will result in a disciplinary procedure in respect of staff or students.

 

+ Under 18s in adult courses

 

At SGI, all students will be treated as adults, including those that are under 18 years old. Students under 18 will regularly mix with older students – in the classroom and during social activities and excursions.

 

All students will receive first-class tuition in the classroom and outstanding support from SGI staff throughout their experience.

 

As students under 18 years of age are not yet considered adults by UK law, SGI works hard to provide an even greater level of care to these students.

HEALTH AND SAFETY STATEMENT

SGI is committed to creating a safe and secure working environment to support our goal of teaching and learning excellence. Our aims is not only to comply with best practice in health and safety but also to create a positive environment and culture that promotes being healthy, safe and secure. Effective management of health and safety is integral to achieving this aim.

 

In recognising our duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and other relevant legislation, we strive to:

 

  1. Manage and maintain our properties and grounds so that they are safe for users and visitors;
  2. Provide adequate control on health and safety risks arising from our activities, both on and off site;
  3. Provide adequate welfare facilities for all staff, students and visitors;
  4. Ensure that our procedures and systems take account of health and safety considerations through ongoing monitoring, risk assessment and staff consultation;
  5. Provide staff, students and visitors with appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision in order to avoid risks to their health and safety;
  6. Ensure that all accidents and near-misses are recorded, investigates and appropriate action is taken to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence;
  7. Provide and maintain safe plant and equipment for the safe execution of our activities;
  8. Ensure the safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
  9. Keep up to date with best practice in relation to health and safety and complying with all relevant legislation and guidance;
  10. Promote effective communication and co-operation between management, staff, students and our suppliers.

We undertake to continually review and develop our safety management with the overarching aim of conductive our activities in a manner which does not negatively impact on the health and safety of our students, staff, contractors, visitors and members of the public, or adversely impact the environment.

 

SGI is committed to meeting all statutory requirements of The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other relevant legislation, and we remind all our staff of their responsibilities for their own and other people’s health and safety.

 

Saint George International is committed to protecting your privacy online. We pledge to handle your data fairly and legally at all times. We also dedicated to being transparent about what data we collect about you and how we use it. Our policy explains how we will do this.

What information do we collect?

  • We collect email addresses.
  • Registration and Contact form: on some parts of the site we ask you to register, and if you do we ask for your name, email address, geographical address and other personal information.
  • From time to time we will ask you for further information, for example if you make a purchase or enter a competition.
  • We may also use cookies. For an explanation, see the section on cookies below.
 

Use of Cookies
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We use cookies, but most parts of our site can be accessed even if your cookies are turned off. But you may find there are parts of the site which you cannot access if your cookies are turned off.

How do we use your information?
We use the information to help us understand more about how our web site is used, to improve our site, and to send you information about us and our products which we think may be of interest to you, both electronically or otherwise.

In the case of our online publications available through subscription, your personal information may be used to enable us to verify you are a subscriber and to deliver the online publication to you.

Unless you have informed us that you do not wish to receive further information about our products and those of our affiliates and partners, we and they may send you direct mail.

When do we share information?
We do not sell your personal information to others.

We publish many journals on behalf of learned societies. Where you subscribe to a newsletter, we may share your subscription details with the society for whom we publish the journal, which they may use to invite you to join the society, or for other conferences and events organized by or for the society.

Some of our products are hosted by third parties but we agree with those third parties that they will keep your information secure and not use it for other purposes.

If you sign up for services that are managed or offered by other organizations, they will obtain your information.

A number of other people’s web sites have links on our site. If you link to their sites, they may collect information. Such sites are not within our control and are not covered by this privacy statement.

If we believe that your use of the site is unlawful or damaging to others, we reserve the right to disclose the information we have obtained through the site about you to the extent that it is reasonably necessary in our opinion to prevent, remedy or take action in relation to such conduct.

Security
All personal and credit card information is encoded using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology before being sent over the Internet. To protect your data further, your credit card information is always stored in encrypted form in a database that is away from our Web site database, so it isn’t connected to the Internet. Credit card transactions are issued a digital certificate, ensuring that your data can only be read by our transaction system as long as your browser shows its secure mode symbol (such as a key or closed lock).

Children
Some of our pages are specially designed for children. We do not send unsolicited direct email to users who have indicated on registering of those pages that they are under 13. Children under 13 should ask a parent, guardian or teacher for permission before sending us information online.


Cookies
This website uses cookies for performance and functionality:

Performance cookies – these collect information about your use of this website and enable us to improve the way it works. For example, performance cookies show us which are the most frequently visited pages on the website.

Functionality Cookies – in some circumstances, we may use functionality cookies. Functionality cookies allow us to remember the choices you make on our website and to provide enhanced and more personalised features, such as customising a certain webpage. These features help us to improve your visit to our website.

WiFi

When you use our free WiFi we may collect data about:

  • your device;
  • the volume of data which you use;
  • the websites and applications which you access; and
  • your usage by access time, frequency and location.  

Mailing Lists: As part of the registration process for our monthly e-newsletter, we collect personal information. We use that information for a couple of reasons: to tell you about stuff you have asked us to tell you about; to contact you if we need to obtain or provide additional information; to check our records are right and to check every now and then that you’re happy and satisfied. We do not sell or trade email lists with other organisations and businesses.

 

Legal Notice

Your use of this web site hosted by Saint George Holdings Ltd is subject to the following terms and conditions:

Copyright and Trademarks
All materials on this web site are the copyright of Saint George Holdings Ltd or are reproduced with permission from other copyright owners. All rights are reserved. The materials on this web site may be retrieved and downloaded solely for personal use. No materials may otherwise be copied, modified, published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written permission of St George International.

 

Disclaimer
St George International makes no warranties or representations of any kind concerning the accuracy or suitability of the information contained on this website for any purpose. All such information is provided “as is” and with specific disclaimer of any warranties of merchantability, fitness for purpose, title and/or non-infringement. St George International makes no warranties or representations of any kind that the services provided by this web site will be uninterrupted , error-free or that the web site or the server that hosts the web site are free from viruses or other forms of harmful computer code. In no event shall St George International, its employees or agents be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential damages resulting from the use of this web site. This exclusion and limitation only applies to the extent permitted by law and is without prejudice to any express provisions to the contrary in any written licence or subscription agreement from St George International in respect of the use of any online service provided via this web site.

 

Links
Links to other web sites are provided by St George International in good faith and for information only. St George International disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any web site linked to this site.

 

Interactive material
Portions of this site may allow users to post their own material. Materials posted by users do not necessarily reflect the views of St George International. By posting materials on this site, you represent that you have all necessary rights in and to such materials and that such materials will not infringe any personal or proprietary rights of any third parties, nor will such materials be defamatory, unlawful, threatening, obscene or otherwise objectionable.

St George International reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to review, edit or delete any material posted by users which St George International deems defamatory, unlawful, threatening, obscene or otherwise objectionable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, St George International expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability for any material communicated by third parties through this web site. 

Access to your personal information

If you have any questions about how we uses your personal data that are not answered here, or if you want to exercise your rights regarding your personal data, please contact us by any of the following means:

– phone us on: +44 0207 299 1700; 

– email us at: info@stgeorges.co.uk

We will review this policy in the light of comments we receive so please check the latest version. If you have any questions specifically about Privacy please contact us.