Group Leaders - your role

1 – the Group Leader's role and responsibilities

Knowing your role and responsibilities will help you to:

	help us to make sure your students' stay runs smoothly
	feel confident that you are doing the right thing for your students
	know where to find sources of help and support if you need them

Group Leaders are very important people within Elac and it's our aim to work happily and productively with you at all times. We want to work together with you in partnership. Our overall aim is exactly the same as yours – to ensure the success of our courses and a happy stay for all our students. By working hand-in-hand with you, we are confident that this will be achieved.

The role

The role of the Group Leader is a vital one in several important regards.

	It is vital to the students: you know the students better than we do, you may even know their families. You certainly understand their cultures better than we do. It is most likely that if they are unhappy they will share it first of all with you.
	It is also vital to us: some of our students may have the confidence to express to us concerns or complaints, or praise(!), but most won’t, especially the younger ones. They will, however, talk to you in the expectation that you will represent them to our organisation.
	It is vital to the centre staff, too, for them to have this link to the students so that they can be made aware of issues, as well as get information across to the students.

As you saw from the diagram of Elac centre staffing in the induction for all staff (section 1) – you did do that part of the induction, didn't you? – you are central to the way in which our organisation operates. If you need to refresh your memory, click here to open that page in a new window. Simply close the page to come back here.

In our view the most important elements of your role are:

	Welfare You are the first person your students will turn to if they have a problem, especially if it concerns health. You will understand it and will solve it where possible. Where the solution requires Elac input, it is your job to ensure that we are aware of and fully understand the problem so that we can help and take any action necessary.
	Academic progress All students will be carefully assessed before being placed in classes appropriate for their level. However no test can adequately assess a student’s language competence in one or two hours, so there may be errors. It is essential that all students are in the correct class quickly, so please inform us immediately if you think that someone has been incorrectly placed. Similarly, if anyone is not happy with their class for any reason, please inform us promptly so that we can investigate. In most cases, before we make any changes, we usually wait for 24 – 48 hours to see that the changes that we are planning are the right ones, and that they will complement any other changes we have planned.
	Attendance Course attendance is compulsory. There are no exceptions apart from genuine illness. Like you, we want to devote our time to those students who genuinely wish to get the most from their courses and are participating enthusiastically. For the very few that do not fall into this category, we expect your help in instigating the necessary discipline to make the student have a positive and enthusiastic outlook. Students will not be allowed to stay in their rooms and skip lessons; they must also be punctual. The needs of the positive, enthusiastic student will always be our priority.
	Behaviour We expect a high level of social behaviour from all our students. For the very few that let down the majority, again we expect your help in advising them of the 'more appropriate path'.
	Bedtime We rely on you to check that all your students are in bed on time and that the lights out rules are observed. It is absolutely forbidden for students to go out after bedtime and there will be considerable penalties involved for any students who break this rule, and we ask your help and support in ensuring this rule is kept absolutely.
	Excursions There will always be an Elac member of staff present on all excursions to organise and explain the itinerary, but we rely on your assistance to check attendance at all times. This is especially important in London and other city visits.

Sharing Responsibility with Elac Staff

Obviously, your role extends way beyond the points above and we appreciate this. We very much want to integrate you into our team so that we communicate clearly, and work together positively.

(If, like many Group Leaders, you are a teacher by profession, one way we do this, by the way, is to make sure you are invited to the seminars and workshops we provide for teachers in the summer. Even if you aren't a teacher, you are welcome to attend. It's a good opportunity to meet colleagues and share concerns.)

There are a number of areas where responsibility for the supervision of the students is shared between Elac Staff members and Group Leaders, and for this reason it is very important to be clear about what those responsibilities are. You will be give a separate sheet at the initial staff meeting which we will ask you to sign and return so that we can demonstrate that this information has been shared.

Accommodation With the exception of houses where there are students for whom Elac is directly responsible, the responsibility in the accommodation is with the Group Leader. You will only be expected to be responsible for your own students. Responsibility in the houses encompasses ensuring the following:

	that the students behave themselves well and respect the building
	that they are in the house at the right time in the evening (roll call) and that they don’t make unreasonable noise
	that they are in bed at an appropriate time
	that the students follow the security procedures in locking windows and doors when they leave the house.

Activity Sessions Elac staff will generally assume responsibility for the Activity Programme in the morning and afternoons, but they will need your support in the following way. Group leaders are responsible for

	Ensuring all students attend the pre-activity briefing sessions (please take a roll call or do a head count, and inform the Activity Co-ordinator of any absences).
	Ensuring that students don’t return to their houses without permission or supervision, when they should be engaged in activities.

Excursions The responsibilities on excursions are shared, but the overall responsibility is with the Elac member of staff. Group Leaders are responsible for

	Ensuring that the students are at the departure point at the required time;
	Ensuring that the students are all present at each check point (head count or roll call);
	Collecting mobile numbers from groups of students who are allowed free time on an excursion.

The itinerary will have been discussed with the Elac staff member beforehand, and any deviation from it can only be with the agreement of the Elac staff member, who may consult with the Course Director.


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