Summer School Director

Summer Boarding Courses; Folkestone and Hythe District; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

An esteemed summer school provider located in Folkestone is seeking a Summer School Director to manage the overall programme, ensuring the highest standards of student welfare and team cohesion. The role demands strong leadership, effective communication, and organizational skills. Responsibilities include overseeing daily operations, managing staff, ensuring compliance, and fostering a positive environment. The successful candidate will offer extensive experience in international summer schools and a passion for working with young people. Competitive weekly salary of £1,425 with accommodation provided.

Benefits

Accommodation included

Comprehensive training pre-student arrival

Staff Wellbeing Initiative

CPD and Appraisals

Access to Employee Assist Programme

Qualifications

• Strong communication skills and the ability to work under pressure are essential.
• Experience managing a staff team and handling welfare issues effectively.
• A professional interest in working with children and teens.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all aspects of summer course management and student welfare.
• Ensure effective communication with staff and stakeholders.
• Maintain standards and ensure smooth daily operations.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Organizational skills

Flexibility

Empathy

Education

Experience of residential international summer schools

Experience in education sector (desirable)

Job description

The Summer School Director is responsible for the overall management and success of the summer school programme. This includes overseeing student welfare, staff coordination, and programme delivery, ensuring smooth daily operations, and maintaining effective communication with both the host site, SBC Head Office and wider staff team. The Director ensures the highest standards of supervision, student wellbeing, and safety, while fostering a positive team environment. They also oversee comprehensive record‑keeping and reporting, compliance with all policy and procedure and provide students with a safe and enriching experience.

Role‑Specific Support

• We will cover the full cost of a new DBS (if required) for your first contract working with SBC. We encourage all staff to sign up for the Update Service.
• Extensive, paid, on‑site training prior to student arrival.
• Accommodation included.
• CPD and Appraisals.
• Staff Wellbeing Initiative.
• Access to Employee Assist Programme (EAP).
• Continual support for all staff from the Head Office Team, both on the ground and via phone/email.
• Online safeguarding and prevent training.
• Professional, fun and supportive environment.
• Paid attendance to pre‑course Management Training.
• Paid attendance of a certified First Aid Course.

Remuneration

The salary for the Summer School Director role is £1,425 per week (subject to tax and national insurance), paid weekly in arrears. This sum includes a holiday allowance at 12.07% of basic pay (£153.49) and is combined with on‑site accommodation at the summer site.

Main Duties

Leadership

• Oversee all aspects of the summer course, ensuring the highest standards of student and staff welfare, smooth operations, and comprehensive record‑keeping.
• Lead responsibility for site spending, ensuring adherence to budgets, company guidelines, and fiscal responsibility.
• Maintain a strong reputation for SBC and the host venue through positive relationships with staff, parents, and stakeholders.
• Be an approachable presence on site, fostering open communication and a positive environment.
• Maintain regular communication with SBC Senior Managers and Head Office.

Programme & Daily Routine

• Ensure continuous student supervision, efficient daily operations, and proper staff coverage for all sessions, welfare and pastoral duties, breaks, and mealtimes.
• Oversee the delivery of an engaging and high quality academic and social programme.
• Lead key student assemblies, welcome talks, briefings and celebration events.
• Ensure smooth student arrivals and departures days, liaising with Transfer Managers and managing logistics while keeping communication lines open with SBC Head Office.
• Oversee stock management, ensuring compliance with budget and guidelines.

Student Welfare

• Prioritise the welfare and wellbeing of students and staff, managing incidents and behavioural issues with SBC Head Office.
• Address pastoral matters professionally and ensure safeguarding measures, taking a Level 2 Safeguarding Course to serve as the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) if required.
• Maintain accurate records for accommodation, catering and dietary needs, ensuring all requirements are met.
• Ensure suitable arrangements for non‑residential students and their parents/guardians.
• Communicate with students and parents effectively, addressing enquiries and concerns promptly.

Team Management

• Lead and manage Summer School Managers, fostering a cohesive team.
• Create and manage the weekly staff rota, ensuring compliant and accurate scheduling and time off.
• Lead regular management team meetings and ensure staff meetings and briefings are held.
• Collaborate with SBC Head Office to oversee a successful site setup and training week, deliver welcome talks and core training and foster a positive first experience for staff.
• Address individual staff needs sensitively and professionally, manage performance issues in collaboration with SBC HR Team, and facilitate staff appraisals and CPD where required.
• Welcome and integrate Group Leaders into the Summer School.

Site, Safety & Compliance

• Oversee site setup, maintenance, and health and safety procedures, including fire drills.
• Establish clear communication with host site staff to ensure seamless relationships and prompt action on safety, maintenance, accommodation, catering, facilities, and other matters.
• Ensure compliance with On‑Site and Off‑Site Supervision Policies for 24‑hour student supervision.
• Oversee course wrap‑up, including stock pack‑up, record returns, and handover to the host school.
• Support and oversee the management team to create and maintain all essential paperwork including British Council and welfare documentation.

General Managerial Duties – Teamwork & Communication

• Collaborate with the Management Team, attending meetings and maintaining open and proactive communication.
• Communicate clearly and professionally with students, staff, parents, agents, site hosts, and external stakeholders.
• Work with SBC Head Office to complete necessary paperwork and share updates.

Student Experience

• Encourage student engagement in the programme, promoting communication, confidence, and social skills.
• Promote a culture of equality, respect, and diversity, ensuring students adhere to the Student Code of Conduct and assisting staff in managing behaviour.
• Encourage student feedback and promptly address concerns or complaints.
• Contribute to hosting arrival and departure days, ensuring a welcoming and professional experience for students and parents.
• Support the safe delivery of the programme, covering sessions, attending off‑site activities & supporting breaks, meals, and welfare duties where needed.

Safety & Compliance

• Implement Health and Safety procedures, ensuring incidents are reported and risk assessments are followed.
• Keep staff informed of student welfare needs and maintain required welfare records.
• Ensure staff and students understand Emergency and Fire Evacuation procedures.
• Securely manage summer camp data, following GDPR and confidentiality policies.

Safeguarding Duties

• Be committed to the safeguarding and welfare of students in your care.
• Complete online safeguarding training and attend on‑site safeguarding training during induction week.
• To read and understand SBC's Safeguarding Policy, Staff Handbook, Operations Policy Handbook and Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (including annexes A & B).
• To be alert to the signs of abuse and neglect, and report any concerns to the DSO immediately (including low‑level concerns).
• To know what to do if a student tells a member of staff they are being abused, exploited or neglected.
• To help students understand how to keep themselves safe and manage risk; earning their trust while maintaining professional boundaries.

Please see the attached Job description for a more complete list of the duties associated with this Management role.

Additional Expectation / Vetting

• You will provide the details of two recent and relevant referees who we will contact and specifically ask about your suitability to work with children and any concerns.
• You will be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS), and equivalent if you live, or have lived, outside of the UK.
• You will be asked to state that you have no known reason why you cannot work with children.
• Official identification and certificates will be required for our records.

The Site is located just under an hour from London by train, Folkestone is a stunning coastal town renowned for its vibrant arts scene. Since 2002, Earlscliffe has welcomed young people from around the globe to its courses, offering the opportunity to learn English in Kent, famously known as the "Garden of England," while fostering cultural exchange and understanding.

Staff Expectations & Values

All members of staff employed by SBC will be expected to bring certain key qualities to the operation. There must be a professional interest in working with young people and particularly international children. Safety and welfare of the students is of paramount importance at SBC and a practical enforcing of this belief should be a quality exhibited by all staff. We look for staff who are:

• Approachable & empathic to the needs of students.
• Enthusiastic & engaging.
• Diplomatic, responsible & motivated.
• Flexible within the summer school environment.

We expect all SBC staff to be able to communicate effectively with our students, using an appropriate level of language to suit the group. SBC staff must demonstrate patience, empathy and an emotional awareness towards students both individually and in within a group setting. We expect all staff to take control of students and to manage discipline and behavioural issues in a firm, positive and constructive manner.

Experience Requirements

• Experience of residential international summer schools.
• Experience of, and genuine enjoyment of working with young people.
• Experience of managing a staff team.
• Strong communication skills, ability to work under pressure, flexibility.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Experience of managing welfare and behavioural issues effectively.

Desirable

• Experience of the UK boarding environment.
• Experience of working within the education sector.

Situated in Folkestone's historic West End, Earlscliffe boasts an open campus featuring a blend of charming traditional buildings and modern, newly refurbished boarding houses and classrooms. The campus is ideally located within a five‑minute walk of the town's picturesque pebble beaches. At Earlscliffe, our courses balance rigorous academic study, engaging activities, and enriching experiences. As a single‑site school, we ensure exceptional quality by maintaining complete control over every aspect of the programmes we deliver. With a curriculum rooted in 21st‑century skills—collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity—our students are inspired and challenged by course content tailored to their generation's goals and global perspectives.

Founded in 2008, Summer Boarding Courses have united students from around the world through education. Delivering award‑winning, future‑focused courses that strike the perfect balance between academic and social enrichment. Our residential summer courses take place at some of the UK's top boarding schools and university college campuses, including Eton College, Oxford University Colleges and Headington School. We carefully select our campuses to ensure that they provide the perfect environment for our students to live and study. Over 15,800 students from 152 nationalities have been welcomed to study with us to date. Whether it's preparing for future studies, developing 21st‑century skills or building confidence, the knowledge gained on an SBC course allows students to go forward and apply what they have learnt to other areas of their education and beyond; giving them the necessary skills to achieve their future goals. The EL Gazette publishes a league table based on British Council inspections, and SBC have been ranked Number 1 from 2018 to 2023. We are very proud of this achievement and will continue to grow and develop our courses to offer students extraordinary experiences. SBC is the only multi‑campus summer school provider in the UK to have achieved a perfect 15/15 areas of strength by the British Council. A true hallmark of educational quality.