Frequently Asked Questions

Our students learn with us from all over the world. We don’t therefore follow any schedule of school holidays and are open all year round with the exception of a short closure in December. Classes go ahead on national holidays and weekends - although students can always request a holiday from classes - see our class cancellation policy. Our teachers also sometimes have a holiday, but we always provide the option of a replacement teacher (from within our organisation) for continuity of learning.

All of our teachers are British and have qualified as teachers in the UK through a degree or post-graduate education. In addition, and unlike most other online English tutors, our teachers have Qualified Teaching Status (QTS). This is the highest level of teacher training and is a legal requirement in order to teach in any government funded school in the UK. Therefore all our teachers have extensive experience teaching the British curriculum in both a classroom environment and online. To find out more about our teachers, visit our website here.

Once your class schedule is agreed, you will be sent a full confirmation email with all your log-in details. This will include a Zoom link to your online class. We recommend you bookmark/ save this link as it never changes and is the one you use to access every class. Our classes are accessible by desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone, but we recommend you use a desktop or laptop to get maximum functionality during classes. All our classes are hosted by Zoom Education.

We are an online school and all of our classes are delivered via the Zoom Education platform. Teachers are live at all time and classes are fully interactive. We believe strongly in the multiple benefits offered by online learning - students are fully engaged and can actively participate in all learning activities, whether in individual or group classes. Students build strong working relationships with their teachers and online classes allow for convenience - study wherever you are in the world with zero travel time or expenses. We find children learn best when they are happy and comfortable - where best to achieve this than in the security of home.

This will really depend on you/ your child. All of our teaching programmes are approved by the UK government and our classes are tailored to meet the learning needs and interests of each student. Our teachers are experienced at taking the most appropriate parts of each programme and putting together a bespoke reading, writing or speaking course specially designed for you/ your child. Please book a free 30 minute trial class with one of our Directors here so we can meet you/ your child and advise you on which programme to book.

The Phonics School believes in teaching students for real-life progression so what they learn, they remember and use for life. Therefore we do not issue our own certificates or qualifications. However, we often help students to pass certain exams and tests which are assessed by external bodies.

We only ask you to pay for a maximum of one month's classes so you are never locked into long contracts. You can leave with just one week's notice. All invoices are in Euros (EUR) and can be paid by debit/credit card, PayPal or bank transfer. With a bank transfer you also have the option of paying in Pounds Sterling (GBP) if arranged in advance.

We don’t require any student to complete homework outside of our class time. However, sitting alongside our live, interactive classes is an online world called ActiveLearn which all students get a free subscription to with a personal log-in. ActiveLearn allows teachers to allocate books, games and other learning resources at an appropriate ability level. Children can earn points by completing books and activities - which is a great incentive to study more. In addition, further homework is available on request and for a small additional fee. Teachers with The Phonics School are also happy to support children with work set by their school teacher to ensure continuity.

We know that life can get busy, that’s why we offer a flexible booking policy. With individual classes, the customer chooses a class schedule to suit them - if you can't make a class, don't worry! Customers can reschedule or cancel an individual class with a minimum of 24 hours advance notice. We invoice on a monthly basis in advance of classes. We only charge for those classes which are booked to go ahead - for example, if you cancel a class well in advance this won't be included in your invoice. If you cancel a class with 24 hours notice and have already paid your invoice, you can choose to take a refund or have the amount credited to your next month's class costs. In order to cancel a class, please send an email to: sophie@thephonicsschool.com For longer term cancellations we politely ask for seven (7) days notice to ensure our students and teacher get to have a farewell class in which they can also complete any outstanding learning. This also gives us time to replace a regular class for our teachers.

Our classes continue for as long as you want them to. There is no end date on your programme as we believe that learning English is continual and you should always be striving to better yourself! No mattter where you are starting from, you can always take your English to the next level. Some students may have a more natural end point as they achieve their goal of getting into an International school for example.