Safeguarding
At Kent School of English, we recognise that the care and welfare of our under-18 students is our overriding responsibility. Children have the right to protection from all types of harm. All adults in the KSE community have a statutory duty of care towards the children at the school, including a responsibility to protect them from abuse.
KSE is committed to safe recruitment, to training and to promoting an atmosphere of awareness, openness and cooperation.
Click on the button below to read our full safeguarding policy.
The KSE safeguarding team
All KSE staff and Homestay Hosts have undertaken safeguarding training and are aware of their responsibilities towards the children and young people who come to KSE. Our Safeguarding Team are always available for students who need to talk to somebody about a problem they have. Their names and locations are shown on notices throughout the school.
Parental permission
As the parent or guardian of a junior student, we will ask you to sign a form to say that you are happy for your child to take part in all aspects of the course, which includes some limited time without adult supervision. Click on the button below to see the English version of the form, which is also available in other languages.
Town and crossing patrols
Every morning before school, we have Teachers and Activity Leaders positioned on road crossing points near the school to help our students get to school safely.
We also have a lunchtime patrol in the town and a night- time minibus patrol to ensure students get home safely.
KSE Lessons on S15 and S21 courses (for juniors)
In 2022, we have worked hard to cut down on the amount of paper we use and a key part of this effort was to digitise our teaching materials. This has meant that we have been able to make our lessons more engaging and fun by integrating more audio and video content. We ask students to use their own devices to access materials via the KSE App in the classroom. If a student should leave their phone at home or for any other reason be unable to use their own device (smartphone or tablet) KSE has a stock of devices that students can use.
Free WiFi is available throughout the school for students.
Where your child will stay when at KSE
Homestay Accommodation
Your child will be staying in homestay accommodation arranged by KSE. Special requests can be made on the KSE registration form which we ask the group organiser to complete. Please provide the group organiser with all the information they request - that will help us to match your child with the right family.
Homestay accommodation is all within a reasonable distance of the school and the great majority of our students walk to school.
Broadstairs is a small town with streetlights on all residential roads and students at KSE are expected to walk to school for classes and meeting points for afternoon and evening activities. For safety reasons KSE recommends that students under the age of 16 stay with a friend from their group so that they can walk to and from school and all activities together.
Some homestay providers offer two twin rooms for KSE students. This may mean that there are four KSE students staying in the same homestay. For example, there may be two German 14-year-old girls from one group in one bedroom, and two 13-year-old Spanish girls from one group in another bedroom. Students aged 16 and 17 years old may request to share a twin bedroom with someone of a different nationality to themselves. Bathroom facilities are usually shared. All KSE homestay providers are vetted by a member of the KSE accommodation team, have to produce an annual gas safety certificate and undergo a criminal record check.
The maximum distance that we expect students to walk is around 2.1 km (around 30 minutes). If homestay accommodation is located more than 2.1 km from the school, KSE provides a free minibus shuttle service.
A typical day for a KSE student will start at about 8.30, when they leave their home for school. It will normally end when they arrive home from their evening activity, between 9.30pm and 10pm.
Students are unsupervised when walking from home to school (KSE operates a road-crossing patrol near the school at the start of the school day) and walking home; during lunchtimes (when there is a KSE patrol in town) and for some limited time on excursions: they may be allowed to go shopping with their friends but without a teacher or KSE staff member, for example. When this happens, KSE staff members and students' own group leaders will be in the vicinity and easily contacted.
Students are given an ID card with:
their homestay address and phone number
the KSE emergency phone number which they can call at any time, day or night
their Group Leader's phone number
Students also have access to the KSE App, which has their homestay details and access to a map.
Complaints
We are committed to providing a professional service to all our students and customers. When something goes wrong, we want you to tell us about it so that we can improve our standards.
Students who are members of a group are advised to contact their group leader or speak to their teacher if they have a complaint about any aspect of their stay at KSE.
If a group leader currently at KSE receives a complaint, or has a complaint of their own, they should firstly speak to the appropriate member of the KSE team (see 'where to find' us on the KSE App or the organogram displayed on noticeboards around the school).
If they do not get a satisfactory response in a reasonable time, they should complete and submit a KSE Complaint Form (see button below) OR contact the Principal of the school: [email protected]
KSE is a member of the British Council/ English UK Accreditation UK scheme: if you are not satisfied with our response to a complaint, you may contact the British Council directly at:
Customer Services, Accreditation Unit, Bridgewater House, 58 Whitworth Street, Manchester M1 6BB, UK.
Email: [email protected]