Job Discussion Forums

tinribs · Joined: 10 Jun 2006 Posts: 5

Bit of a long shot this but have been offered a summer job with the above, anybody worked there before and if so what did you think?

Cheers

teflexpert · Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 21 Location: Rochester, UK

Don't touch them with a barge pole. I once worked for Concorde in Canterbury and would never go back to them. They are disorganised, chaotic and expect blood from their staff. The centre I worked at was supposed to have kids from 9 - 18 years, but when two six year olds turned up we were expected to incorporate them and their two-minute concentration spans into the classes. One of the six year olds had severe behavioural problems and made the teachers' lives a nightmare - none of them could cope with her. She actually bit me and I had to go to hospital for a tetanus. When I tried to stand up for the teachers (I was DOS) and refused to have the kid in classes on the grounds that she was far too violent and disruptive, I told I was no longer required, and the teachers had to continue to teach the kid, no matter how violent she acted towards them or other students.

On top of that, you cannot be certain that they will honour the number of hours/length of contract you are initially offered, even if you don't step out of line. If they decided to sack you on a whim, you have no recourse as you won't have been employed for a year, the minimum length of time you have to work before you have any rights.

Avoid them like the plague - they're a bunch of cowboys.

SueH · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy

Pity I wasn't there with my friend Amanda. In those circumstances we'd have shown solidarity with you and walked out if they hadn't addressed the issue. Think that's part of the problem, labour conditions in other industries were only ever improved through action but getting any unity amongst TEFL teachers is difficult. They don't see the longer term benefits, and some are so hand-to-mouth that every week's wages are vital.

teflexpert · Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 21 Location: Rochester, UK

Thanks for your support. There really should be a tefl workers' union. I suspect that the international nature of tefl would make that difficult, however.

tinribs · Joined: 10 Jun 2006 Posts: 5

Cheers teflexpert but Im not sure if the school your talking about is related to Concord College Shrewsbury. Correct me if Im wrong.

LS · Joined: 04 Jun 2006 Posts: 4

Hey Teflexpert, you are referring to Concorde International, right? I'll be teaching at Everesley College in Folkestone next month. Yikes...

And I accepted the job offer because of 2 good teacher referrals and 'teacher-pairing'! The manager gave me a very dry idea of the summer schedule. So, what happens if I don't like the job? How will I cut the 'contract' in half? Folkestone is a nice little beach town, so maybe I'll swim to Calais.

Smile

teflexpert · Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 21 Location: Rochester, UK

Hi! Just to be a bit clearer - I was talking about Concorde International - there may well be a completely different college in Shrewsbury which is totally unrelated to the shoddy summer school outfit - I hope so!

Re: Eversly College in Folkestone - I used to work there teaching Japanese students for Shumei schools/Hilderstone College and it was great. If you are working for Concorde International there, well, all I know about them comes from my bitter experiences in Canterbury.

However, as for spending a summer at Eversley, it's not bad. Check out the nearest pub ( there is only one!) - the first impression is that it is a 'local' place where you get stared at if you are a stranger in town, but that's not the case at all - they're really friendly there. Also make sure you check out Sandgate (you can walk there by following a little footpath from behind Eversley) - it's a cute little seaside place. There used to be a great bar there called Gate 28 - I don't know if it's still there! Also, make sure you do a day trip to France as it's on your doorstep (though not quite swimming distance!)

Re: getting out of a contract if you don't like it -you could always just leave! No one is going to take you to court for breaking a summer school contract! You never know, it might be fine. Let us all know how it goes - I'm sure we'll all be interested to see.

Have a good summer anyway!

Frontline · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 25

SueH, you've put your finger bang on the button. We are not acceptable in the NUT and we will never afford a union of our own because we daren't rock the boat because then maybe we won't be able to eat next week. Top post.

lolwhites · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 158 Location: France

No unions? NATFHE (now UCU) got involved when Evendine College went under, and tefl teachers have been known to join the GMB. Even if no union is recognised in your workplace, they are still a useful source of advice and usually provide enough deals such as cheaper insurance, preferential credit card deals etc that you can usually recoup most of your annual subscription. But they can only do any good if people actually belong to them!!

See also my thread on Health and Safety; I'm sure the HSE would have something to say about kids with behavioural problems in a class without qualified supervision - it would put staff and other students in danger. And, crucially, H&S law applies from day one - none of this "no rights for the first 12 months" bs.