Work for Twin

• Experiences. Working for Twin Summer Centres is a rewarding and varied experience – no two days are the same.
• Locations. All of our summer centres are in beautiful locations throughout the UK.
• International mix. One of Twin’s main aims is to have a great international mix of both students and staff, which is reflected in the sales policy. Some companies are happy to fill centres with only one or two nationalities; Twin limits the agents to maximum numbers to avoid this.
• Shared goal. Everyone has the same goal: to have a productive and enjoyable summer! Productive and enjoyable for the students; for the leaders; and for all the staff of Twin and the colleges. Twin is constantly looking for ways to ‘improve’ the experience for everyone, not just the students!
• Learning about teaching. Summer centres are a great place for new teachers to learn their trade and mix with other teachers, sharing ideas and techniques gathered from different sources and experiences. Twin encourages teachers to interact, (for example, by putting joint lesson planning on the timetable), and offers Teacher Development sessions during the summer. We would like teachers to gain as much as possible from the experience.
• Fun while earning. They are also a great place to have fun whilst earning and gaining valuable experiences to put on your CV.
• Part of the family. Another aim is to have a small portfolio of only 10-12 centres, providing quality courses we can all be proud of, and operated by a friendly, professional ‘team’ with a family feel, so the staff will to return every year and feel able to contribute to the success at any time of the year, not just summer.
• The chance to try out new roles. Summer centres provide staff with the opportunity to, for example, gain experience in a managerial role, maybe for the first time. Experienced teachers that spend their year in the classroom abroad can test out if they would like to move into management by taking on a management role in a summer centre. Twin likes to encourage, and help new managers develop. One could start as an assistant Director of Studies one year, then become a Director of Studies in a small centre the following year, move to a bigger centre the next, and maybe even on to be a Centre Manager after that.
• Future Opportunities. Twin Summer Centres are part of Twin Group, a large and varied company, which can offer many different career opportunities, career development and progression. Several of the Twin middle and senior managers have worked their way through the ranks, or been recruited once they decided to relocate back in the UK from living abroad, on the basis of work done in summer centres.

Founded in 1993 by twins Caroline and Jacqui Fox, (hence the name of the company), Twin Group has grown rapidly to become a major provider of training solutions, English language courses and travel services for students from all over the world. Operating from our modern London HQ, we also deliver government funded programmes for British residents leading to employment opportunities in the UK.

For more information on Twin Group please visit our main website www.twinuk.com.

Twin values diversity and we try to have a range of people from different walks of life with a range of different skills working in our summer schools. However, there are 5 main attributes you must have to work in our summer schools, you need to be: flexible, energetic, hard working, a ‘team player’ and enjoy working with young people.

If you don’t possess these qualities, maybe best not to apply!

If you are not an EU citizen, you must provide proof that you are eligible to work in the UK before Twin will send you a contract. This will usually be in the form of a scanned copy of your work visa.

Twin will consider all serious applications from potential staff who are not native speakers but who have a high level of English. Teachers need to have at least proficiency, and suitable teaching qualifications and experience. Activity staff need a high level of English as well as proven animator qualities. In all cases, candidates should not have a strong accent that makes it difficult for them to model correct pronunciation. If you do not meet the above requirements, please do not apply.

Yes. We occasionally interview on the basis of CVs. However, before issuing contracts we need all applicants to fill in the application form, either online or downloaded, for legal reasons.

If you wish to work in the same position you do not have to go through the complete recruitment process again.

Go to the section ‘Returning Staff Application’ and complete the reduced form giving us the dates you are available, the centres you would most like to work in and a brief explanation of what you have done/any changes in qualifications or circumstances since the end of your last contract with us.

If you want to try a different position, there is a section where you can explain why you want to apply for a different position.

If you want to quickly let us know you wish to return before completing the application, you can always simply email recruitment@twinuk.com with a quick note that you wish to return next summer and any preferences, etc. Note: you will still need to complete the application form at some point.

No. Our peak is in July. We need staff members that are available to start from the middle of June to mid-July.

Contracts generally range from 1 to 6 weeks. The more flexible you are about moving centres, the more likely we will be able to offer you a longer contract. In a few cases, work becomes available in our year-round schools, (e.g. holiday cover), and staff that have excelled in the summer will get first refusal.

All references will be checked and will include a specific enquiry as to whether there is any impediment to you being employed in a situation where you will have responsibility for, substantial access to, and care of children under 16.

The induction for non-managerial staff will take place at the centre, usually on the Friday or Saturday before the centre officially opens. For managerial staff the induction takes place at HQ, date TBC. You will be sent more information about the induction nearer to the summer.

An enhanced CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check application may be required prior to confirmation of appointment;

Proof of identity and all relevant qualifications will be required and photocopies taken of the original certificates and any gaps in your employment history must be explained satisfactorily.

In a summer centre there any many things to cover, so you can expect a variety of duties, but that is part of the fun of the summer centre experience!

You will not be expected to work more than the maximum number of hours a week, which is 48. You will have one full day off per week. (This is a typical format for most course providers of summer centres in the UK).

Teachers and Activity Staff are contracted to work for 13 sessions per week plus other residential duties, where a 'session' refers to a morning, an afternoon, or an evening. Your centre management team will do their best to ‘block’ working hours together; sometimes in the peak this is not easy so please be flexible.

If there are more hours available, your managers will ask you if you wish to do them and these will either be compensated by reduced hours the following week, or in an overtime payment agreed with your line manager and HQ before doing the extra hours.

Please see the sample timetables for the different roles. These are intended to give you an idea of what to expect.

You will get one full day off per week.

The Centre Manager will make public the staff rota at the beginning of each week. If you have unavoidable commitments, e.g.: a wedding or a graduation ceremony you must inform us during your first telephone interview and we will try our best to work around this. Otherwise you should keep evenings and weekends free until you have seen the weekly rota for the length of your contract.

This is a distinct possibility, which is why we need flexible team members. Of course we will endeavour not to move staff if possible but it is usually the result of factors beyond our control. You should look at this not as an inconvenience, but a chance to see another beautiful part of the UK and meet a whole new group of like-minded people.

Any staff working on the activity programme are provided with Twin Polo shirts, which they must wear when on duty. They should wear practical clothing such as jogging bottoms or shorts on their lower half. There is no official dress code for teachers, but they are expected to dress in a smart casual, professional manner. T-shirts, ripped jeans and flip flops are not acceptable.

Accommodation for the length of your contract and three meals a day. For most contracts a thirty pound contribution for this is made from your salary.

While we do our best to give staff single rooms, due to changes made by some of the colleges we use, we cannot guarantee it in all centres; i.e. the colleges ‘expect’ staff to share and will charge accordingly, (if one staff member is in a twin room, Twin will be charged for 2 beds). For this reason, you may be asked to share a room. However, the Centre Manager will try to avoid this as much as possible and this may be only for part of the time during peak.

You may leave residential accommodation in the evenings if you do not have any supervisory duties that evening, or you have already completed your duties. For health and safety reasons all members of staff leaving campus must sign out and sign in again on return. Arriving back on campus late the next morning is not acceptable.

Do not smoke or drink alcohol in front of students at any point. This will be dealt with severely. Staff are reminded that they are expected to act responsibly at all times, on and off duty, especially when in the vicinity of young students. While Twin acknowledges that time off is the staff member’s own time, so realise that a night out may involve a trip to the pub, it must be emphasised that all staff are setting an example to the youngsters in our care, so it is unacceptable for any member of staff, for example, to return to campus in a drunken state and be seen by the students, or leaders, in such a state.

Limited parking is available, therefore we must know in advance if you intend to travel by car.

Staff will have access to computers with the Internet during office hours. The number of computers is limited in some centres so you should not expect to be able to use the Internet in every break.

You should bring enough clean clothes for at least one week since some centres (Hayward’s Heath, Saffron Walden, Guildford) wash clothes for staff but only once a week, whilst other centres (Portsmouth, Colchester) have washing machines you can use yourself whenever you wish. If you bring a laptop note you may not be able to connect it to a printer or access wireless Internet connection.

Summer Staff are paid monthly. Their wages will be transferred directly into their British bank account and they will be given their pay slip by the Centre Manager/receive it through the post, therefore please take care to complete in full the address section of your new employee form if your application is successful.

Twin put all members of staff on the PAYE.

In Twin we do our best to offer staff more than ‘just a job’. As detailed elsewhere, we have a structured teacher development, which is not only particularly helpful for inexperienced teachers, but also enables experienced teachers to share good practice; we provide on-the-job training and support for managers; we reward loyalty and effort with the possibility to experience positions of responsibility; we encourage and help staff to develop over the years, one reason why many of our staff return year on year; and outstanding staff join the short list for any positions that come available in our year-round operations.

And, of course, our staff are also rewarded financially!

For details on how our competitive rates of pay are calculated click here.

Employees can be paid by cheque if this is requested in advance. They can also be paid in to a foreign bank account, however the staff member will be responsible for paying any transfer fees, which will be deducted from their salary.

Twin pays statutory holiday pay; this is added to your final pay packet on completion of your contract.

You must download and complete a P38(s) form from the HM Revenue and Customs website. You must also provide Twin with proof that you are in full time education, e.g.: a letter from your university and then you will not have to pay tax.

If you have the CELTA, Trinity TESOL, or an equivalent* and a University degree, you are qualified to work in one of our summer schools. We also take on teachers with QTS (i.e.: a PGCE and at least one years’ experience). We do not recognise weekend TEFL courses. Experience is appreciated but is not a prerequisite.

Twin provides resources written specifically for children and teenagers on vacation courses. These are ready to use and require little preparation and photocopying. There are a limited number of photocopiable resource books on site, but it is intended that teachers will for the most part adhere to the prescribed syllabus.

Teachers are welcome to supplement the given resources with their own tried and tested activities. However, it is important to remember that our clients will be expecting the course they have been sold, so please ensure that any additional activities you use are communicative, meaningful, relevant to the individuals in your class and that they fit in with the week’s topic.

We have a maximum of 15 students in a class.

You will be observed at least once by the Directors of Studies and/or the Academic Manager in the interests of quality control and teacher development. Twin very much sees observations as a part of the teacher development programme, rather than a ‘big brother’ method.

Classes may also be observed by British Council representatives as a routine part of their assessment.

Group leaders, who are often English teachers themselves, may also request to observe lessons so they can learn about our methods. You will given advance notice if a group leader wishes to observe your class, and if they ‘interfere’ at any time, you are entitled to ask them to leave.

All teaching staff will have access to a photocopier. However, Twin is an ECO school, and as such provides a syllabus, which keeps photocopying to a minimum.

If you are diploma/DELTA qualified (or equivalent) and have 3 years EFL teaching experience then you can apply for the position of Director of Studies.

Twin has two year round schools, one in Lewisham, in South East London, and one in Eastbourne. If you are looking for a year-round position you should contact the Principal of the school directly, contact details can be found on our website www.twinuk.com.

The students in our summer centres some from all over the world. Our biggest markets are: Italy, Spain, Russia, Germany, China, Saudi Arabia, and France.

In our centres in Guildford, Hayward’s Heath and Saffron Walden students are aged between 9-15. In our Portsmouth, Colchester, Salisbury and London centres, students are aged 13-17.

Twin do not pay travel expenses. If you are moved from one centre to another during your contract, we will reimburse that expense on production of a valid receipt.

It is up to you to find your own way to the centre. However, we will email you a map and other details about a week before you are due to arrive for your induction.

Twin HQ will be able to provide a reference confirming the dates that you worked for Twin. However, they will not usually be able to comment on the performance of non-managerial staff. Therefore you should ask your Director of Studies/Activity Manager/Line Manager at the centre if they will act as a referee for you in the future.

We value returning staff and usually give them priority when it comes to assigning staff to centres. We also like to promote from within Twin whenever possible and our managerial staff are often staff members who started off working with Twin Summer Centres in a role with less responsibility and worked their way up. There is also a loyalty increment added to your basic salary for every year that you return to work with Twin up to a limit.

If your question is not answered above you should send an email to recruitment@twinuk.com.