Our Incredible ISI Inspection

Our Incredible ISI Inspection

Recently, ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) held out an inspection at Twin English Centre, in London. We are very proud to announce that, not only did we pass the inspection, [our] ‘language school exceeds expectations’.

As some of you may know, ISI are an approved Educational Oversight body that inspect privately funded further education colleges and English language schools, like Twin. Their inspection is designed to improve the quality of education on offer to international students who attend UK colleges.

Improvements from last year

In our previous inspection, on 14^th March 2017, Twin English Centre received two recommendations for improving the school, these were:

• Ensure the course syllabuses are sufficiently flexible to allow teachers to meet the needs of all students.
• Improve the attendance and punctuality of students.

Within the past year, we have been working very hard on these recommendations to ensure that our students receive English lessons that meet a high standard.

During the inspection that took place on the 13^th March 2018, two inspectors from ISI, Ms. Mareve Kilbride-Newman and Ms. Christine-Reba Edge, concluded that:

• ‘Teachers use the course syllabuses very well to meet the needs of the individual students.’
• ‘Excellent progress has been made in improving the attendance and punctuality of students. The school has introduced several strategies; students’ attendance rates are now stated on their certificates… Attendance has improved significantly since these strategies have been implemented’.

This meant that all our hard work paid off and these areas no longer need improvements.

A unique school

We want students to feel happy and comfortable in a safe and educationally-rich setting, to ensure that we meet our school’s aim, which is to improve students’ language skills in an enjoyable way. In this regard, our premises are unique in comparison to the rest of the industry and this was noted during ISI’s inspection.

‘There are sufficient washrooms provided in the school and maintained to a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene. Appropriate washrooms for wheelchair users are available in the building. Lighting, heating, sound insulation and ventilation in all parts of the school are of a high standard. All furniture and fittings are appropriate for the age and needs of all students.’

Your learning experience

At our Twin English Centre, we offer a range of English courses such as: General English, Conversation Classes, English for Work and courses that focus on the preparations of IELTS.

The recent inspection concluded that ‘the quality of the curriculum, teaching and learners’ achievements is excellent’ and that ‘the school has a clear statement of educational purpose which is successfully supported by long and short-term schemes of work and appropriate lesson plans to effectively meet the individual student’s needs. Consequently, students have an excellent learning experience.’

We care about our students’ welfare

The health and safety of our students is our number one concern and because of this, the inspection reported that ‘the school has effectively implemented appropriate policies to ensure the health and safety of its students. Fire prevention and first aid procedures are effective in making the school a safe place for learning.’

Not only do we take extra care with ensuring that the physical welfare of our students meets high standards, we also provide support to ensure that our students’ mental wellbeing is well looked after; ‘pastoral care is outstanding and students are very happy with the support they receive for personal matters and concerns.’

Alongside continuous support that the students receive, we also do all that we can to ensure the safeguarding of students under the age of 18 are up to a high standard. ‘The safeguarding of students under 18 years is excellent. All national guidelines are met and the school has implemented additional rules to further ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults.’

Our leadership and management

We pride ourselves on our ‘school’s leadership [that] provides [a] clear educational direction.’ As part of the ISI inspection, the inspectors evaluated ‘the effectiveness of governance, leadership and management [which] is excellent.’

Ms. Kilbride-Newman and Ms. Edge found that ‘highly effective systems are in place to ensure clear communications between all managers and staff’. They also learnt about our regular meetings, whereby members of staff are able to identify areas that need improving and plan on how best to prioritise and implement the decisions. ‘The impact of all action plans is effectively monitored and strategies modified as a result so that learning continues to improve. Students are extremely happy with the quality of their educational experience.’

Further improvements

Our inspection went really well this year and in order to keep on striving for the excellence that we believe our students deserve, we are dedicated to working towards the recommendation for further improvement that ISI provided for us:

• ‘Ensure that weaker students participate more actively in lessons.’

Without further ado, a big congratulations to everyone at Twin English Centres who helped us gain such a wonderful Educational Oversight inspection.

Check out our website to find your ideal English course.