Beginner’s Guide on Starting a Language School Business in the United Kingdom
Starting a language school business in the UK can be an exciting new adventure. With the exponential progress of the internet and technology, new opportunities for businesses have never been more significant. And with the demand for services and products growing exponentially, it’s no wonder that language schools are experiencing exponential growth.
Language schools are not just a place where you can learn a new language. They are an opportunity to connect with people from all over the world who share the same language interest as you. Suppose you are thinking about starting a language school business in the UK. In that case, you will want to be aware of all the different routes available to you, including tuition/institution fees, living expenses, audio-visual equipment, and internet access.
Languages can be incredibly beneficial to one’s life, especially when one learns from an early age and grows up with a family. Learning a language can also make one stand out from the crowd. After all, people from different cultures have always spoken other languages due to their geographical locations and the advantages/disadvantages.
What Is a Language School Business?
Language schools are businesses that offer language instruction as a service to their clients. Language schools can be found in every province and state in the United States. Language schools provide various services, but their main goal is to enable their clients to learn a language. They do this by giving lessons, textbooks, learning apps, and other language learning materials. Some language schools will teach you how to speak or read your target language using traditional methods. Others will focus more on developing adequate vocabulary and grammar skills through intensive study of natural sources such as novels and songs.
Language schools are the best because they offer multiple paths to learn a language. You can choose from various educational camps that focus on speaking, reading, writing, or environmental studies. Some offer intensive classes that will push your speaking and reading skills to new heights. Others will let you choose your curriculum based on your interests and abilities. Regardless of which type of language school you choose, you’ll learn grammar rules, vocabulary, structure, and behavior to better command a foreign language and improve your communication skills.
Types of Language Schools
Traditional English Language School
A traditional English language school is a place where students learn English through an academic setting. Often at an early age. In many ways, the conventional classroom still serves this function. Still, there are many other ways to challenge this standard model by new researchers and educators who see the importance of cultural practices in early learning.
Online ESL School
ESL stands for educational technology. It is the software and hardware used to develop and implement lessons for classroom use. Everything from software to network infrastructure and even physical classroom space is often utilized to support learning online. Learn more about online language schools that offer cheap or free training to immigrants. Hoping to land jobs in their adopted home countries.
Pop-up English Language School
A pop-up English language school is a type of educational experience. The regular time and place of instruction are temporarily changed to enable learning by live interaction between students and teachers. Pop-up educational environments can be used for architecture, education, business studies, law, medicine, and more. Pop-up English language schools are also becoming more common in primary and secondary education; however, they still differ slightly from traditional full-time English language schools.
As there are different types of this business idea, you may consider using a company incorporation services platform to understand the theory behind these other models fully.
How to Start a Language School Business in the UK
Step 1: Identify Your Target Market
Identifying a target market is not taken lightly and is meant to help you establish a strategic direction and focus your limited time and efforts. It is also an opportunity to learn more about the industry in which you think you might be able to work if you believe that English is your most robust language. But if you do not know how to speak or read English well enough to make an actual sentence, you are likely not the best person to start a language school. Instead, work with someone who does speak and read English proficiently. This will likely be someone who has already created a language school and knows how to do things.
Step 2: Select a Location
You must identify a suitable place for a school that serves the particular needs you address. For example, if your primary goal is quality teaching and learning. Then your location should be chosen to ensure that your students receive the best possible treatment from teachers and staff. This will help ensure that they have an enjoyable experience during their time at your school. And help ensure that top-notch education is provided.
Step 3: Develop a Business Plan
Once you’ve decided that a language school is best for you, it’s time to take the next step. Write your ideas in the form of a proper business plan. Containing an executive summary and discussion of market analysis, service lines, marketing, financials, and funding. This step will guarantee that you have sufficiently studied how to make incursions into the market. And that you have enough budget to move forward with your language school. Every business owner and language instructor needs a clear picture of where their money is going. Without a clear vision, this can be difficult to determine how much money you need and how much risk you’re willing to take.
A formal business plan is essential to being a successful language school. A language school needs to be able to offer more than one course a semester to students. Some methods may be available only in summer, and some will only be provided during the fall and spring semesters. Business plans help language schools attract students while also helping them keep tuition affordable. By developing a formal business plan, you will have identified how you will support yourself financially so that you can avoid the risk of enrolling students who won’t be able to help you.
Step 4: Obtain Licenses and Insurance
The UK Visas and Immigration (CV) has recently published a new set of guidelines for sponsors who wish to offer Tier 4 (General) visitor visas to students. These guidelines clarify that language schools who want to provide their services on the Visas and Immigration website will be required to be licensed by the Home Office. Any other provider offering services will need to contact the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS) for approval before offering services on the Visas and Immigration website.
Insurance for language schools is a complicated business. Schools often buy insurance policies for their employees. But there are also contracts for students who want to study in another country. In some cases, schools will purchase insurance for their students but not international students. Insurance for a language school can be as straightforward or as complicated as the individual program’s requirements. The critical step for students looking into buying insurance for their language school is to understand what they’re getting into, which means contacting an insurance agent or broker.
This may be a difficult task, but you may consider asking for assistance from a United Kingdom corporate service provider.
Step 5: Hire Teachers and Support Staff
The best way to hire teachers and other professionals is to identify critical skills they will need to bring to your organization and the community. Identify the skills of someone who would be perfect for your job and then find ways to develop those skills. This might mean introducing them to your company culture or setting up an interaction designed to encourage further reflection and development. As you build your professional relationships, consider how paying them may impact your relationships with your current staff.
Step 6: Get Accredited
The British Council is one of the UK’s leading providers of standards and quality assurance for higher education, training, and professional development. The BCTGM grants accreditation under the designation of “Companion to Good Critical Thinking about Education.” More than 40 international organizations, associations, and sovereign states have incorporated the CRT into their national curricula since its inception in 1994. To know more about the accreditation process in the UK, you may visit the United Kingdom company registration platform.
You can apply for British Council accreditation if:
- You are a UK organization that offers English language teaching in the UK.
- You have at least one student.
- You have offered English language teaching in the UK for one year or more.
- You must have a permanent residence in the UK or a registered office in the UK in a company (for private sector organizations only).
This article was made for those planning to start their language school business in the United Kingdom. 3E Accounting offers a comprehensive set of services which is why we’d be delighted to work with you. Contact us.