TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR STUDENTS LIVING IN HOMESTAY

The following terms and conditions apply to all students who stay in homestay accommodation.

By submitting the application to stay in homestay you are agreeing to the our full "terms and conditions for students living in homestay".

Students who want to stay in homestay accommodation must have the right to study in the UK.
When you arrive to study at ELH and to take up your place at homestay you will need to show us your passport with the correct visa which allows you to study.
English Language House will only be able to offer you homestay accommodation only during the dates of your course.

---

RULES FOR STUDENTS WHO STAY IN HOMESTAY ACCOMMODATION

STUDENTS IN HOMESTAY 

• will stay with an English speaking family 
• will have their own bedroom 
• will use the facilities available in the house 
• will be part of the family for the duration of their stay  
• should be willing to take part in everyday family life with the family 
• should follow the family rules and requests regarding use of the telephone and wifi, use of the bathroom, use of the kitchen, shower times, curfew times, dinner times, quiet times,  etc 

When living in homestay accommodation students must: 

• be flexible and understanding with their host family. A host family is not a hotel so you must be willing to become part of the family and not expect your host to do everything for you  eg pick up your clothes from the floor of your room, make your bed every morning, take the plates and glasses you used for breakfast or dinner to the kitchen etc 

​

• Behave with consideration and respect to your host family in the same way that you will if you are visiting in the home of one of your friends or family members. This means you must be polite, respectful and be willing to follow the rules of the family eg about mealtimes, watching TV, curfew etc. Also saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ is very important in England so you must use these when asking for something. Your host is someone who is there to support and encourage you to improve your English, but homestay is not a hotel. Hosts are professional people who are welcoming you into their home; they are not "hotel staff" and you should not expect them to behave like "hotel staff" !  If you are "rude and demanding" and behave badly to your host family, ELH will ask you to leave your accommodation immediately.  

 

• Be on time for meals with the family. You should not use the kitchen, or take food from the kitchen, unless you have agreed this with the family. After meals, it is polite to offer to help with clearing the table and washing up.

 

• Tell your host family in advance if you are not going to join them for lunch or dinner or if you are going to be late. 

 

• Expect to spend at least 30 minutes or more each evening talking to your host family. You may like you to watch television with your host family; this is a good way to improve your English language skills. You can discuss the programme or ask your host family to explain things which you don’t understand. 

 

• Ask if you need extra blankets for your bed or extra heating in your room. 

 

• Not leave lights and electric heaters on when you are out. 

 

• Not hang clothes over electric heaters; this could cause a fire. If the house has central heating, the radiators will come on and off automatically. 

 

• Be on time for meals with the family. You should not use the kitchen, or take food from the kitchen, unless you have agreed this with the family. After meals, it is polite to offer to help with clearing the table and washing up. 

 

• Try to keep your room tidy and should make your bed in the morning before you leave the house. 

 

• Clean up after yourself and leave the bathroom clean and tidy after using it. If there is a shower over the bath with a shower curtain please make sure you put this inside the bath before you have a shower. And it is polite to ask whether you can have a shower, as the water may need to be heated first. 

 

• Be careful with the furniture and property in the house. If an accident happens and you break or damage something in the house you should inform the school immediately and please let the family know. Be prepared to pay to replace anything you damage. 

16 and 17 year olds who live in homestay accommodation must also: 

• Follow the curfew times for under 18s which means that you must be home before 11:00pm 
• Not stay out all night 
• Not stay over at anyone else's house overnight 
• Not invite anyone else in the house when your host is away 
• Not smoke or drink alcohol 
• Not make excessive noise after 11:30pm  
• eg by talking loudly on the phone, playing video games, having a bath or shower late at night etc   
• Aways ask the host family's permission if you want to use electrical equipment in the house, especially if you need to use a travel adapter plug  eg to use your own hairdyer, laptop etc  

House Rules and Advice: 
Students who stay in homestay will need to agree and follow the house rules and advice of your host family. 

House rules and advice may include but not be limited to: 

• use of the kitchen, tv, garden, garage etc 
• clothes washing 
• change of linen in your bedroom 
• keeping your bedroom tidy and safe 
• how to use the shower, bath etc 
• use of computers and IT 
• visits from friends 
• overnight stays elsewhere (this is not permitted for under18s, unless parental request for this has been received and granted by ELH and the host family knows about this) 
• times of breakfast, lunch and dinner 
• what to do with used plates, cups, plates etc 
• quiet time and bed time 
• use of keys and locking and unlocking the house; very important for safety and security 
• what to do if there is an accident and you break something in the house 
• travelling to ELH every day 
• curfew times for under 18s  
• staying safe in the area 
• what to do in an emergency 

If there is something you do not understand you can ask your host or your teacher to explain. Be considerate and respectful of the things that belong to your host family and always ask if there is something you are not sure about. 

Remember that it is always polite to check with the host first before you:  
(i) finish the last bit of milk in the fridge, (ii) use the washing machine to wash your clothes, (iii) use the kettle to make a hot drink (iv) help yourself to the washing powder, coffee, biscuits, cake that the host has bought etc.  
To check if it's ok you can say  
" Is it ok if I......?" 


Private Arrangements: 
Your host family will try to make your stay in England pleasant and enjoyable for you and they may become your friends. However, you should not make any private arrangements to stay with them; if you do then we cannot help you if there are any problems. 

---

Students who break the above rules will be asked to leave the host family.  
​

---

If a suitable host family is available.
We will only place students who are 16 or 17 years old in homestay if the host family has been DBS checked

7.6 Homestay accommodation for under 16s is not possible.
We reserve the right to change accommodation arrangements and prices without advance notice.

HOW TO APPLY TO HOMESTAY ACCOMMODATION:
1.3 If you need us to help you find accommodation during your course you must:

• Read the information about Accommodation in Milton Keynes
• Read the information about Accommodation in homestay
• Read the information about Rules for students in homestay
• Read the T&CS for students living in homestay accommodation and agree to abide by these terms and conditions.
• Complete the Accommodation form

1.4 If you are a student who is under 18 years old your parents must:

• Complete the parental consent form when you apply.

After we receive these documents we will email you to let you know if we can place you in homestay and ask you to

• Pay the £45 Accommodation placement fee

After we find homestay accommodation for you we will ask you to pay the fees of £360 per week for your accommodation.

HOW TO CONFIRM YOUR ACCOMMODATION BOOKING:
After you make the correct payment/s to book your homestay we will email you with details of your host family and confirmation of the day and time they expect you to arrive.

1.6 To guarantee your homestay reservation you must pay the fees shown on your invoice by the due date*.
IMPORTANT: ELH cannot guarantee to hold your place if you do not pay your fees in full and on time. Students with unpaid homestay fees may not be able to move into or remain in their accommodation.

07. HOMESTAY BOOKINGS AND PAYMENTS:
You must apply 28 days or more before you intend to arrive in the UK in order than we can process your booking and payment for homestay.

02. CANCELLATIONS, CHANGES AND REFUNDS:

* you can see "the due date" on the top of your invoice.

HOMESTAY CANCELLATION OR POSTPONEMENT:
02.4 If you want to request to cancel, change your booking, and/or ask for a refund of your homestay accommodation:

• You can only do this 7 working days or more before the your accommodation arrival date.
• You must request this in writing eg email and explain why you are making this request
• If there are "exceptional circumstances" which you would like us to consider you must explain these fully in writing.
• You may have to pay a cancellation or postponement fee.

IMPORTANT: Your request to cancel, change your booking, ask for a refund:

• must be made in writing by email
• must arrive at the Elh office 7 working days or more before your homestay arrival date
• must include your reason/s why you are making this request.

CANCELLATION FEES:

02.5 When you request to cancel your homestay the following cancellation fees may apply:

• £50 cancellation fee if you cancel 2 weeks or more before your arrival date.
• £500 cancellation fee if you cancel less than 2 weeks before your arrival date.

​
POSTPONEMENT FEES:

When you request to change your homestay dates, you must tell us in writing. If we are able to make these changes, the following postponement fees may apply:

02.6 When you request to change the dates of your homestay the following postponement fees may apply:

• £50 postponement fee if you change your homestay dates 4 weeks or more before your arrival date
• £250 postponement fee if you change your homestay dates 2 weeks or more before your arrival date
• £350 postponement fee if you change your homestay dates less than 2 weeks before your arrival date

REFUNDS:

In addition to the information about refunds here please see our refund policy below:

Refund Policy:

• Students must request a refund by email 7 days or more before the start date of their course
• Students who want to request a refund of their accommodation fee must send their request by email 7 days or more before their accommodation arrival date.
• Refunds for accommodation students have asked us to book in a hotel, aibnb, B&B etc will be governed by the refund policy of the hotel, airbnb, B&B etc they have selected.

The following fees are non refundable:

• Registration fee
• Booking fee
• Visa admin fee
• Accommodation placement fee
• Fast track fee
• Examination fee

08. UNDER 18s:

Students under the age of 18: see our safeguarding policy for information about what we will do to make sure an under 18 year old is safe at ELH.

The minimum age for students joining an ELH adult course is 16. Students under the age of 18 are considered children by UK law and we require additional information and consent to be able to accept these students onto our adult courses. In addition to the above rules, the following applies to students aged 16 and 17:

08.1 Unless living with their family, we strongly recommend that students aged 16 and 17 stay in accommodation arranged and monitored closely by their parents or, if possible, with elh arranged accommodation.

08.2 By choosing not to book ELH arranged accommodation you are giving permission for the student to live independently in the UK.

08.3 If a student is not staying in Elh arranged accommodation, we must receive full contact details of where the student is staying. We accept no responsibility for accommodation not booked through us.

08.4 Unless travelling with their family, we strongly recommend that students aged 16 or 17 book the ELH taxi transfer service.

08.5 By choosing not to book the Elh taxi transfer service, you are giving permission for the student to travel to the UK independently. We cannot be held responsible for the safety of under 18s who have not booked the ELH taxi transfer service.

08.6 Some airlines do not allow students under the age of 18 to travel without an adult. Please check the airline’s guidelines before booking flights.

08.7 Students aged 16 and 17 are able to join all social activities arranged and supervised by ELH staff.

08.8 Students aged 16 and 17 can travel independently within the UK on day trips, providing they return to their accommodation by 23:00 hours.

08.9 ELH must receive written permission from parents for students aged 16 and 17 who wish to:

• be absent from lessons or leave school during lesson time
• travel independently and be absent overnight
• arrange a holiday during their course

Refunds will be issued only if students have followed the procedure outlined in the student terms and conditions.
Refunds are subject to cancellation fees as shown in our student terms and conditions.
If there are "exceptional circumstances" which a student would like us to consider they must explain these fully in
writing.

08.10 If a student who is under 18 needs urgent medical attention and their parents / guardians cannot be contacted, ELH will act in loco parentis and will arrange for a doctor to give any medical treatment considered necessary, as well as authorise the administration of an anaesthetic and operation.

08.11 Students aged 18 and over must:

• Behave appropriately towards students aged under 18 who are considered to be children in UK law
• Smoke only in designated areas
• Never buy alcohol, cigarettes (including electronic cigarettes) or tobacco for students under 18 or give alcohol to under 18s
• Not allow students under 18 to visit Elh adult homestay / residences for students aged 18 and over

08.12 Students aged 16 and 17 are considered to be children in the UK and must:

• Return to their homestay accommodation by 23:00 hours every evening.
• Inform their homestay Supervisor in advance if they are taking part in an ELH trip or activity that will finish later than 23:00.
• Not buy or consume alcohol, cigarettes (including electronic cigarettes) or tobacco as the minimum age to purchase this in the UK is 18
• Have written permission from their parent or guardian to join day trips booked by ELH, but organised and run by an Independent travel company.
• Not be absent overnight or go on holiday without informing the ELH Office who will contact parents for written permission
• Not move out of ELH accommodation without written permission from their parent

08.13 All students who are 16 and 17 years old:

• must not leave the school or be absent from meals in homestay without permission from the DOA.
• attend all lessons and activities.
• must observe the rules relating to IT software.
• must observe bedtimes, and silence must be maintained in bedrooms after lights out at night.
• must not enter into the bedrooms occupied by adults or students of the opposite sex. We will not tolerate any bullying. In serious cases students may be sent home.
• must not misuse school or homestay facilities including the activation of alarms without due cause. Fire escapes are for emergency use only.
• must switch off Mobile phone, iPods and other electronic devices during lessons, activities and after lights out.
• must not smoke! Smoking is not allowed on any ELH U16s courses at any time. Electronic cigarettes are not permitted.
• may be asked to hand in their airline tickets, passports, pocket money and credit cards for safekeeping to the DOA.
• may be asked to keep all other valuables safely locked away, or hand them in to the DOA for safekeeping.
• must never try to buy, get or supply alcohol or illegal drugs. Students who are found to possess, use or supply alcohol or illegal drugs will be sent home with no refund of fees.

09. ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE:

09.1 Please do not book flights or make travel arrangements until you have received a booking confirmation email from ELH.

09.2 Students who want to book an ELH arrival or departure taxi transfer must submit their travel details as early as possible and pay the published rate. If travel details are received less than 7 working days before travel, we reserve the right to charge an administration fee. Students who cancel their taxi transfer less than 7 working days in advance will not be entitled to a refund. Students are responsible for any additional taxi waiting time charges if their flight is significantly delayed.

09.3 If you have booked ELH accommodation, please inform ELH of your intended arrival time

09.4 Students who would like to book any extra nights' accommodation before a course's official arrival date or after a course's official departure date must reserve these in advance. Extra nights are subject to availability and will incur an additional charge.

9.5 Delayed departure: should a student's departure at the end of the period of study be delayed due to circumstances beyond the student's control, ELH will continue to provide accommodation if possible, but will do so at the standard rate of fees.

10. HOLIDAY AND BREAK WEEKS

10.1 ELH is closed during public holidays and for 2 weeks over the Christmas period. Outside this time students can take breaks from their studies by booking their break weeks in advance.

10.2 We encourage students to book their break weeks at the time of booking and in advance of their course start date. Students who arrange their “holiday” break weeks during their course must notify us at least 20 working days in advance, and an administration fee may be charged.

10.3 It may not be possible to place students in the same accommodation after their break week/s.

10.4 If you wish to remain in your accommodation during the Christmas period, please contact us for availability. In case staying in your accommodation is not possible, we can recommend alternative options. Students who are away over the Christmas period but wish to retain their homestay accommodation must pay a retainer fee of £60 per week.
​
10.5 During other holiday periods, including holidays scheduled by ELH as mentioned above, students who wish to retain their homestay accommodation will need to pay the standard weekly rate for the first week and 50% of the standard weekly rate for any subsequent weeks.

11. MEDICAL INFORMATION AND INSURANCE
Medical information:
11.01 At the time of booking you must inform us of any disabilities, medical, dietary or other information that may affect the student’s ability to participate in the course. If a student needs special assistance or arrangements and medical information has not been provided in advance, ELH may be unable to provide the necessary support and the student may be asked to leave the school and/or accommodation with no refund of fees.

Insurance policy:
11.02 We recommend that all student take out insurance to cover amongst others:

• Cancellation and curtailment
• Medical expenses
• Personal belongings
• Personal liability

Please send a copy of your insurance policy to the ELH Office as soon as this is available.

12. ELH RULES

12.1 These rules apply to behaviour in School, on ELH trips and activities and in ELH accommodation. They aim to ensure that students benefit from their time at ELH and in the UK and remain safe during their time here. Any students breaking these rules, or English law, or persisting in serious anti-social behaviour will be disciplined and may be asked to leave the school and their ELH-arranged accommodation with no refund of fees.

12.2 ELH accepts no responsibility for a student's personal actions to another party while at ELH, or for the supervision of students out of lessons or during scheduled activities.

Our Rules state that:
12.3 All students must:

• Attend all classes, complete assignments and homework, unless they are ill
• Inform the School of any changes of address or circumstances while at ELH
• Obey ELH procedures as explained at the beginning of their course
• Observe fire procedures
• Comply with all UK laws and visa restrictions

12.4 Students aged 18 and over must:

• Behave appropriately towards students aged under 18 who are considered to be children in UK law
• Smoke only in designated areas
• Never buy alcohol, cigarettes (including electronic cigarettes) or tobacco for students under 18 or give alcohol to under 18s
• Not allow students under 18 to visit ELH adult homestay / residences for students aged 18 and over

12.5 Students aged 16 and 17 are considered to be children in the UK and must:

• Return to their ELH accommodation by 23:00 hours every evening.
• Inform their homestay Supervisor in advance if they are taking part in an Elh trip or activity that will finish later than 23:00.
• Not buy or consume alcohol, cigarettes (including electronic cigarettes) or tobacco as the minimum age to purchase this in the UK is 18
• Have written permission from their parent or guardian to join day trips booked by ELH, but organised and run by an Independent travel company.
• Not be absent overnight or go on holiday without informing the ELH Office who will contact parents for written permission
• Not move out of ELH accommodation without written permission from their parent

12.6 We reserve the right to ask students to leave ELH immediately and with no refund of fees for these reasons:

• Not attending classes regularly
• Serious anti-social behaviour (e.g. verbal abuse or rudeness, drunkenness, sexual harassment, violence, assault)
• Bullying, intimidating or threatening behaviour of any sort
• Proof of or admission to an illegal act (e.g. theft, assault, drink driving, possession or use of illegal drugs or offensive weapons – such as knives, guns or other object with intent to cause harm etc.)
• Breaking any UK law
• Interference with fire or safety equipment and procedures
• Misuse of computers or downloading of any offensive material
• Any other act that brings the name of Elh into disrepute
• Refusal to obey reasonable requests from a member of Senior Staff

12.7 The Director of Studies, the Director of Administration or the Director ELH may recommend that a student is not re-admitted to ELH.

Reasons for this include the following:

• Lack of academic progress in spite of everyone’s best efforts
• Illness making it impossible for the student to get full benefit from the course
• Poor attendance and lack of commitment to the previous course
• A poor disciplinary record in class
• Behaviour in School or accommodation which is inappropriate, disruptive or disturbing to others
• Failure to pay fees
• Breaking any UK law

12.8 Discipline: If the problem concerns behaviour in class your teacher will speak to you. If there is no improvement, a senior member of ELH staff will speak to you. A formal warning may be given to you, and your parents/sponsor will be informed. If there is a very serious problem you may be asked to leave ELH without a refund of fees.

13. COMPLAINTS
Complaints: see our complaints procedure and complaints form

13.1 We want all our students to be happy but sometimes thing may go wrong. If this has happened and you are unhappy about something please let us know and we will try to correct this. You can contact us by email, text or WhatsApp or you can come into the ELH office to talk either Mihaela or Tatiana about your problem. If we have tried to improve the situation for you but you are still dissatisfied you can make a formal complaint.

13.2 You can see our complaints procedure which tells you how you can make a formal complaint and you can also complete the complaints form or email us your complaint if you prefer.

14. PRIVACY
Privacy: see our privacy notice and privacy policy

14.1 By making a booking with ELH you are agreeing to the storage and use of the information you supply for ELH's purposes only.

14.2 ELH will share your personal details only with third party providers who are contracted to provide a specific service on behalf of ELH and require the information to perform their function (i.e. taxi transfers, 24hour helpline.)

14.3 Elh will pass on your details to UK government agencies if requested by them to do so.

14.4 We will ask to see a copy of your passport to check your identity and your right to study in the UK.

14.5 ELH may take photographs of social events, lessons and activities which may be used in promotional materials or social networking sites such as Facebook. Please indicate on the Registration Form if you are not happy for your photographs to be used for these purposes.

15. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

15.1 All intellectual property rights in ELH’s name and logo, website, promotional and marketing materials and all course and examination content and materials belong to ELH. Anyone seeking to use, publish or copy any of ELH’s materials needs to seek our permission in order to do so.

16. LIABILITY

16.1 ELH will only be responsible for loss or damage suffered by a student which occurs as a foreseeable result of ELH’s breach of the terms and conditions or its negligence.

16.2 Nothing in the terms and conditions shall limit or exclude ELH’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

17 FORCE MAJEUR

17.1 ELH is not liable for any failure or delay in providing our services that occurs as a result of any event outside our reasonable control, such as but not limited to war, disease outbreak, natural disaster or terrorist attack. In such cases, we will immediately notify you in writing and shall be excused from performing our obligations for the duration of the force majeure event.

18. LEGAL ENFORCEMENT

18.1 These terms and conditions are governed by English law. English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes that may arise out of the terms and conditions.
Information is correct at time of publication but may be subject to change. These terms and conditions only apply to ELH’s English courses for adults and under 18s.

CODE OF CONDUCT

The English Language House Code of Conduct is designed to promote harmony and the efficient and safe functioning of the school.

Students and Staff at ELH are all expected...

To respect others.
To avoid comments and behaviour which could offend.
To be courteous in speech and conduct.
To be helpful.
To respect confidentiality.
To respect other people’s private lives.
To respect the property of others.
To be able to work without being distracted by bad behaviour from others.
To aim to be on time for lessons.
To safeguard the interests and well-being of others
To leave classrooms and schools tidy.
To be proud of who we are and what we do