How to leverage English UK's annual and QUIC data

with Patrik Pavlacic of Bonard - Table 1

With ever more data being produced (including English UK's annual and quarterly schemes), how can you use data to inform your decision-making process? Join Patrik for a practical demonstration and some ideas of how best to use data and gain a competitive edge.

Patrik is the head of research at BONARD (formerly StudentMarketing), a market intelligence and strategic development company specialising in international education.

How to do your best in an inspection

with Liz McLaren of the British Council - Table 2

Language centres may devote a lot of time and resources to preparing for inspection, but how can you ensure it's time well spent? Share some tips on using the tools available to help your centre maximise its performance in British Council inspection.

As manager of the Accreditation UK quality assurance scheme, Liz is always working to make the scheme accessible and relevant to the full range of UK ELT providers. She works with senior inspectors to develop tools to help people prepare for their inspections.

UK ELT and the environment

with Christopher Etchells of English Country Schools and Janey Futerill of Regent London - Table 3

As individuals we can all play our part in reducing our impact on the environment. As an industry we can do much more. Come along to tell us what you are already doing, discuss the issues and help us find solutions.

Christopher runs an English language summer school for under 18s and has spent several years on the committees of Young Learners and Global Issues Special Interest groups of IATEFL. He is attending the Annual Conference as chair of a new working party on UK ELT & the environment.

Janey is the Principal of Regent London. She also worked on English UK's Accreditation and Professional Services Board for many years.

Recruitment and retention of homestay hosts

with Michele da Silva of Britannia Student Services - Table 4

Management of the process for recruiting and retaining hosts can be a minefield. This discussion will cover best practice in the recruitment of homestay hosts, talking points and ideas for "plugging the leaking bucket" for the retention of host families beyond the summer months.

Michele da Silva is co-owner and managing director of Britannia Student Services. She brought her extensive experience in business/leisure travel, gained in Hong Kong, New York, Rome and London, to the student travel/accommodation market in 1998. Britannia used the travel agency model to become London's only full-service provider, specialising in short and long term accommodation in homestays.

WikiELT: The power of groups for sharing good practice

with Neil Harris of CELT and English UK Wales and Simon Freeman of Eagle School and English UK South - Table 5

This discussion will provide practical ideas for setting up, energising and managing people with shared professional interests in ELT. If you are interested in setting up or getting the most out of an existing ELT group, come along and share your ideas and success stories.

Neil Harris is chair of English UK Wales and has worked as a teacher, director of studies, teacher trainer and vice principal in private language schools and universities in the UK and abroad.

Simon Freeman is executive chair of English UK South and has worked as a teacher, course director, director of studies, principal, and education and welfare officer.

How to lobby your member of parliament and build a media presence

with Susan Young of English UK - Table 6

As new immigration rules are debated, it's even more important for international educators to persuade their local representative and opinion-formers that students are a good thing. Learn how to lure your MP/MSP/WA into your ELT centre, and how to use all types of media to tell a good story about what you do.

Susan Young is English UK's press relations manager and a freelance education journalist. She has worked for national newspapers including The Observer, The Guardian and the Daily Express. She spent more than a decade on the Times Educational Supplement, where she was an assistant editor.

Clarifying the rules for course extensions on short term study visas

with Naadiya Rawat of English UK - Table 7

According to the UK Visas and Immigration divison of the Home Office, short term study guidance students must intend to leave the UK within 30 days of their course ending. Find out how students can continue studying in the UK and still be compliant.

Naadiya is English UK's visa expert. She supports members with queries and liaises with UKVI. She also helps implement English UK's public affairs strategy, drafts policy documents and works with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Language Teaching.

CX: going beyond customer satisfaction

with Alex Cann of British Study Centres - Table 8

Let's examine the growing importance of customer experience within our industry. How can we ensure that our employees, agents and students all feel a personal connection to our businesses, have the best possible experiences and remain loyal to our brands?

Alex is operations director at British Studies Centres and plays a key role in their customer experience programme. He is passionate about staff development and strives to enhance his students' experience at every step of their journey.

Brochure design tips and trends, and how to reduce your distribution spend

with Steve Burt of Inline - Table 9

Subtle changes can make all the difference and a new brochure in hand at workshops breeds energy and confidence when meeting agents. We will share what trends and changes are happening to keep your brochure fresh and also explain how best to store and send your material all around the world – you'll never have to pack a box again!

Steve has been involved in design and print and has been part of the Inline family for the past eight years. He now applies his knowledge to the wonderful world of education to help UK schools coordinate the design, print and distribution of marketing material and delivery across the globe.

Finding that (elusive) work-life balance

with Chris Moonie of Mackenzie School of English - Table 10

Achieving a work-life balance is a daily challenge for most of us. What can we do as employers/managers to assist, and what impact even small changes can have on staff wellbeing and motivation?

With 16 years' experience in management, Chris has gained a varied perspective on the demands of running a successful ELT business and knows only too well the intense pressure we all face during peak student periods.

Planning your agent sales marketing spend

with Tim Barker of English UK and StudyWorld - Table 11

Working with agents is about a lot more than commission. Between agent training, office visits, scholarships, agent fairs, student fairs, brochure contributions and fam trips, it can sometimes feel like as much is going out as is coming in. How do you ensure that you are spending in the right areas on the right activities and getting a good return?

Tim is our StudyWorld commercial director. He has worked in the ELT industry for most of his professional and non-professional life and spent five years in agent sales, making lots of mistakes and learning lots of lessons along the way.

Recently started or thinking of starting a course for young learners?

with Sarah Etchells of English Country Schools - Table 12

Come along for ideas and to discuss what it takes to run a successful course.

After setting up a nursery school in Greece, Sarah returned to the UK to set up a junior summer school, which is still running 31 years later. She has been a member of Young Learners English UK since it's foundation and was elected joint chair in 2010 as well as sitting on the Board of Trustees for English UK.

Looking after number one: managing yourself

with Neil McLoughlin of Buckswood Overseas Summer School - Table 13

The dictionary defines a manager as "a person responsible for controlling or administering an organisation or group of staff." What about managing yourself? Whether you are a person who is directly responsible for other people or not, we all have our own things to manage and at top of that list should be yourself.

A specialist in the young learner sector, Neil has an intrigue for management and personal wellbeing, and has studied the area both formally and informally. Informally for himself and those around him, and formally when completing the DELTM qualification.

Future Department for International Trade workshops to support ELT organisations to work overseas – gathering your ideas on what is needed

with Mark Henebury of the DIT - Table 14

The DIT plans to deliver a series of workshops to support ELT organisations in exporting their courses, training and expertise overseas and deliver in-country projects. To ensure these workshops are as relevant as possible, we need your input to know exactly what support you need.

Mark Henebury joined the DIT in September 2018 as the English language training specialist in the DIT education sector team.

Best practice to motivate and retain staff

with Tatiana Vassilakis of English Language House - Table 15

Discuss and share ideas on best practice in recruiting, motivating and retaining good quality staff who will add value to the school.

Tatiana is an ELT teacher, Celta and Delta trainer, and school owner. She set up ELH 20 years ago and had to overcome staffing and recruitment problems as well as a local market that was unfamiliar with the ELT industry.