The Team:

Pastoral care is delivered by a highly experienced team of staff that is led by Mrs Richards, a qualified nurse.  At Acorn International the pastoral care and well being of your child is of paramount importance and we strive to ensure that every child is happy throughout their stay. However should your child experience any homesickness or feel unhappy, at any time of the day or night, then you can rest assured that there will always be an experienced member of staff available to help.

Staying in Touch:

We know that sending your child away for the summer is a very big step for many parents, particularly if it is your first summer doing it. As such we encourage children to stay in touch with home and if they don’t have a mobile phone with them then we do sell phone cards, or children can use the suite of computers to email or Skype home. We do ask that children do not use mobile phones during lessons or after lights out as this can be very disruptive, the best time to call your child is during free time or in the early evenings.

Illness:

If your child is feeling unwell then they can speak to Mrs Richards or any of the house staff. These members of staff are able to issue paracetamol, throat sweets and ice packs; unless you specify that you are unhappy with this. Illnesses and medication will be very carefully monitored and if Mrs Richards feels that your child needs to see a doctor at any time then this will be arranged. We will ensure that we keep in touch with parents if there are any health concerns at all. Any allergies or illnesses that your child suffers with must be disclosed at the time of booking to ensure that we are able to provide the best care for your child.

Boarding Facilities:

The boarding houses are located in the oldest, and most beautiful, part of the house and boys and girls are separated at all times. Boys and girls are never allowed in the houses of the opposite sex and may find that they are asked to leave the course if this happens on more than one occasion. The rooms sleep between 4 and 8 children and we strive to ensure that each room contains a mix of nationalities so that children have the best opportunities to speak English. Children are responsible for making their own beds and keeping their rooms tidy as we feel that this promotes independence, it also makes it easier for the cleaners to clean effectively each day.

Laundry is done once a week, although it is possible that additional laundry can be done if children are running out of clothing.

Poor Behaviour:

Although we hope that no child will find themselves in trouble, we do realise that sometimes things can happen whereby children do not behave as we would hope. In most situations incidents will be dealt with quickly and effectively by the teacher or the pastoral staff, depending on when it happens. However for more serious offences children will need to see a member of the senior management team who will decide the best solution for the problem. A list of serious offences will be sent to parents when a booking is made. Sanctions may include loss of privileges, loss of free time, early bed time or in more serious cases the child may be given an exclusion or asked to leave the course. We expect very high standards of behaviour on the course, but our sanctions will always be well considered and fair.