Welfare Information for Students
and Parents / Legal Guardians
CELT welcomes students aged 13-17 throughout the year. Under 18 students can join a range of our courses:
- In the summer (July-August), our Holiday Language Course for teenagers aged 13-17 who have already started to learn English (Individuals and Groups)
- During the academic year (September-June), our tailor-made closed group courses for teenagers aged 13-17 (Groups only)
- Throughout the year on our adult courses for 17-year old students (Individuals only).
CELT has a responsibility to provide an enjoyable and safe learning environment for all our staff and students. This is especially important for students under 18 and vulnerable adults. This page explains how we care for our under 18 students.
CELT has a junior centre for students aged 13-17 and an adult centre for students aged 18 and over. 17-year-old students can study in the adult centre but we need permission for a parent/guardian for this. Please note that:
- CELT does not provide 24-hour supervision
- Must stay with a CELT homestay provider (unless staying with a family member or authorized adult aged 25 plus)
- Travel between homestay and school unsupervised (including for weekend full-day activities) but students are typically accommodated in pairs in the same homestay and travel together. The homestay will show the route to and from school before the first lesson.
- Attendance is checked at the beginning of the first lesson; students must then remain on the premises until lunchtime
- Are not allowed to leave the junior centre premises during break times.
- Can leave the premises unsupervised at lunchtime in groups of three or more and are advised of closest coffee shop and supermarket.
- Any travel to weekday social programme meeting points are fully supervised
- Exact levels of supervision depend on the age, gender and needs of the students during activities and trips: the amount of structured time with full supervision is always greater than any unsupervised time. Students must remain in groups of three or more within a restricted area during unsupervised time.
- Unsupervised free time after lessons or activities finish and before needing to return to the homestay for dinner.
- Encouraged to remain in groups of three or more and to stay in areas in the city centre which are well-lit, largely pedestrianized and close to bus stops for journey to homestay.
- Are asked to wear a CELT wrist-band which makes them easily identifiable to staff
- Have to be back home by 21.00 (except when there are evening activities)
- Are not allowed to visit the school residences in the evenings.
- CELT does not provide 24-hour supervision
- Must stay with a CELT homestay provider (unless staying with a family member or authorized adult aged 25 plus)
- Travel between homestay and school unsupervised; the homestay will show the route to and from school before the first lesson.
- Attendance is checked at the beginning of the first lesson and after morning breaks (and at the beginning of the first afternoon lesson and after breaks on full-time courses)
- Unsupervised outside lesson times including during the breaks and at lunch time
- Travel to and from the social programme meeting points unsupervised
- Receive the same level of supervision as adults during adult activities and trips; receive the same level of supervision as under 18s during under 18 activities and trips
- Unsupervised during shopping time if part of an adult trip; will receive the same level of supervision as under 18s if part of an under 18 trip.
- Unsupervised free time after lessons and before needing to return to the homestay for dinner.
- Are asked to wear a CELT wrist-band which makes them easily identifiable to staff
- Have to be back home by 21.00
- Are not allowed to visit the school residences in the evenings.
Emergency Phone
A member of the CELT staff team can be contacted 24 hours per day, seven days per week in the case of an emergency. This number is given to all students during induction and appears on their student card, which we ask students to keep with them at all times. The number also appears on the wristband that we require under 18s to wear at all times.
Parental Agreements
Before a student under 18 begins studying at CELT, both the parent/guardian and the student must sign and return to us a number of documents. These can be downloaded from the relevant links at the bottom of the page. The documents you will need to complete and return to us include the relevant Parental Consent Form and Notes for Parents/Guardians U18s form to confirm that they understand the school’s procedures and the rules for the welfare of under 18s, the level of supervision that we provide, and to provide necessary medical information. It is important that parents and under 18s understand that if a student under 18 breaks our rules, CELT will inform the parents/guardian and in serious cases has the right to ask the student to return home: in such cases, the fees are not refunded. If parents wish to authorise a guardian to act on their behalf when their son/daughter is in Cardiff, then they must sign a Guardian Authorisation Form U18s giving their consent.
When a student under 18 travels to the UK, he/she should have a Parental Consent to Travel U18s to the UK with him/her as the airport immigration officer may ask to see this and want confirmation of who is meeting the student at the airport.
If your son/daughter intends to stay away from Cardiff overnight or visit another city, you will need to complete a Parental Consent for Overnight Stay/Visit Another City U18s form and return this to us at least 72 hours before the start of the visit. CELT will discuss this with you but reserves the right to decline consent if the school feels the student’s safety and well-being are not assured.
Safe Airport Transfers
CELT strongly recommends that students under 18 have airport taxi transfers arranged by the school on arrival and departure.
However, if parents give permission for their child to travel independently, then we do not insist on the taxi transfer, provided the school and the homestay provider are both given the following information in advance:
- Student’s travel details (flight times and flight numbers)
- Confirmation of how the student will get from the airport to their accommodation Expected arrival time in Cardiff.
In this situation, the parent/guardian should also provide the following information about the responsible adult meeting the under 18 student at the airport:
- Full name
- Mobile phone
- Email address
- Relationship between person and under 18
- Scanned copy of ID
You must also give CELT and the homestay the student’s mobile number and once the student has arrived in the UK, s/he must keep the phone switched on and charged.
Welfare of students in accommodation
We require students under 18 to stay in homestay accommodation. CELT does sometimes accept other arrangements where the student is guaranteed to have adult supervision from an adult aged 25 or over, such as staying with a family friend or relative, provided CELT finds it suitable and provided we have written confirmation of the arrangements from the parents/guardian at the time of the enrolment. CELT reserves the right to inspect the accommodation and meet the host before the under 18 student arrives in the UK.
We do not allow students aged under 18 to stay unsupervised in a hotel, guest house or student residence. If a student under 18 wishes to stay out overnight or visit another city unsupervised by the school, we will consider this request and require the parents/guardian to complete a Parental Consent for Overnight Stay/Visit Another City U18s at least 72 hours in advance.
Forms for parents/guardians – please complete and return the relevant forms to the school before the course begins.
- Notes for Parents / Guardians Notes for Parents Guardians U18s) (Word) (PDF)
- Parental Consent Form (Group Courses) (Word) (PDF)
- Parental Consent Form (Individual Holiday Language Course) (Word) (PDF)
- Parental Consent Form (17 year old as Adult) (Word) (PDF)
- Parental Consent to Travel U18s (Word) (PDF)
- Parental Consent for Overnight Stay/Visit Another City U18s (Word) (PDF)
- Guardian Authorisation Form U18s (Word) (PDF)
Welfare and Student Care
We recognise that living in a foreign country can sometimes be difficult for students. Students can find things different or confusing particularly at a young age. Whether students need practical advice or are just feeling a little homesick, our friendly teachers and office staff are always there to help. Outside office hours, we have a 24-hour emergency telephone number that students can call.
We also appreciate that sending a child abroad to study can be worrying for parents. Therefore, we want to make sure that we give parents all the information they need to know they are making the right decision in sending their child to join us at CELT.
At CELT, we take our responsibilities for young learners very seriously and we have rigorous policies and procedures in place to make sure children have the best possible experience in a safe and secure learning environment. For that reason, we have a designated Safeguarding Officer and all our staff are trained to work with under-18s.
If there are any aspects of the programme that are not clear, please feel free to contact us.
Note for Parents/Legal Guardians
When studying on CELT’s Holiday Language Course and Closed Group Courses, students are supervised by our staff during lessons and organised social programme activities at the times indicated in the sample programme. Students must take part in the full activity programme and are not permitted to go off on their own during activities.
On this programme, students are accommodated with homestay providers in the city and will be expected to use local buses to travel between the school and their accommodation. During this time they will not be supervised by either our staff or the homestay providers.
In the evenings and on Sundays when no activities are programmed, students usually stay with their homestay providers unless they have written permission from their parents or guardians stating that they are allowed to go out unaccompanied.