In February 2013, The English Studio received a monitoring visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). We are very proud of how they have recognised the quality of our courses, teachers and management.
First of all, what is the ISI?
Below is an explanation from ISI themselves of who they are and what they do.
The ISI is an approved Educational Oversight body authorised by the UK Border Agency to inspect privately funded further education colleges, including English language schools in England and Wales offering courses on the Qualifications and Credit Framework. It is designed to improve the quality of education on offer to international students through Tier 4 of the points based system for student visas.
The report speaks particularly highly of our teaching and our commitment to helping students to achieve their learning goals. They also note our commitment to constantly develop and improve the school. Here are a few examples:
With regard to developing our own teachers.
The school has made excellent progress in supporting inexperienced teachers. Senior teachers provide support at regular meetings focusing on how to meet the curriculum goals of the academic programme. They monitor weekly plans and results from assessments and examinations in addition to student feedback
With regard to students with Special Educational Needs.
The school has made excellent progress in identifying and supporting students with SEND. Students are asked to self-declare any special needs at enrolment. An academic manager now has special responsibility as special needs co-ordinator, demonstrating an exceptional determination by the school to support such needs.
Monitoring our students’ progress.
The school has now reached a point where data on student progress can be recorded effectively and useful reports generated. The proprietor and senior managers now use these in conjunction with student feedback to monitor performance at all levels. While the system has become fully operational quite recently, targets set against earlier data drawn from student feedback have already been achieved.
