Code of Conduct and Policies

Please review the below policies.

You will need to agree to these formally prior to starting your course.

Code of Conduct

In the English language teaching profession, like any other profession, it is important that individuals follow a code of conduct designed to promote and maintain a positive, professional working environment. This is true both in a physical classroom space or online.

On the CELTA and Delta courses at Teaching House, participants are expected to assume a range of professional behaviours and responsibilities as part of their teacher education. These behaviours and responsibilities form part of the Cambridge assessment criteria and, for future employability, it is very important for participants to demonstrate that they can handle these responsibilities in an effort to meet the fundamental standards of the profession.

 

During your teacher education (CELTA or Delta) course, candidates are expected to take on the following responsibilities:

  • to be punctual, attend all classes, whether in person or “live” online.
  • to inform tutors of and discuss unavoidable lateness or absence from class as far in advance as possible.
  • to be well informed about the course requirements and plan appropriately. For online courses, this includes having access to a personal computer, a reliable internet connection and a work space free of distractions for the duration of the course.
  • to take joint responsibility for their own learning and to monitor their own progress in the teaching and learning environment, with some support and guidance from their teacher trainers.
  • to meet all deadlines and submit course work in a timely manner.
  • to conduct themselves in a professional manner and treat trainers, administrative staff, learners and other candidates with courtesy, respect and equity, irrespective of gender, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, age, disability, religious, political or other beliefs, and work with them in a courteous, cooperative manner.
  • to participate actively in and contribute constructively to teaching practice feedback, input sessions and guided lesson planning meetings.
  • to reflect honestly, openly and with integrity on teaching practice and endeavour to incorporate feedback into future learning and teaching experiences.
  • to attend and adhere to the administrative requirements of the course.
  • to respect tutors’ and other staff members’ boundaries regarding availability via email and other modes of communication, and only seek help during course hours, as far as is possible and reasonable
  • to follow the Teaching House dress code to maintain a culturally appropriate and professional atmosphere and to keep video switched on for the “live” online classes
  • to abide by the decisions of tutors with regard to the appropriacy of teaching materials and to avoid using anything that could reasonably be considered offensive, inappropriate or inflammatory in class.
  • to respect the property and facilities of Teaching House, and its host centre if applicable, including the audio-visual and computer facilities, and respect the rights of others to use these facilities and resources;
  • to comply with the rules, regulations and protocols of the host centre, where applicable.
  • to bring to the timely attention of course tutors and/or the relevant management staff any issues or grievances which may impact on the smooth running of the course.

Candidates should be aware that failure to comply with this Code of Conduct may constitute grounds for expulsion from the course.

While studying at Teaching House, course participants can expect that we will provide:

  • high quality customer service from Teaching House staff and high-quality teaching and training.
  • a course which meets Cambridge English Language Assessments’ requirements and regulations in both its design and delivery, whether delivered online or in a physical classroom.
  • accurate and timely information regarding course requirements, assignments, assessment and deadlines.
  • support and guidance from tutors with lesson planning and assignments, individually and in groups, within the Cambridge guidelines and within reasonable working hours.
  • a study environment free from harassment and discrimination.
  • a study environment in which individuals are treated with respect and courtesy by trainers, administrative staff and other course participants.
  • a study environment in which occupational health and safety standards are maintained and safety and security issues addressed promptly.
  • access to a complaints procedure (see below) if dissatisfied with any aspect of the administration or course program and an assurance that complaints will be given appropriate consideration and dealt with in a timely manner.

Internal complaints procedure

If you have a problem on the course, this can usually be resolved by talking to your teacher trainer. We are very experienced in dealing with a wide range of concerns and it is important that you express any issues before they start to affect your performance on the course. Your second course trainer is also available if you need to talk to someone who is not directly involved with your teaching practice at that stage of the course.  

If you feel you need to take your problem to a different person, you can arrange a time to talk to the Centre Manager. They will listen to your concerns and take appropriate action to try to address them. The institution will make every effort to deal with your concerns promptly, with respect and impartiality. The institution will make every effort to deal with the problem promptly, with respect and impartiality. Each stage of this process will be documented in order to ensure transparency and fair treatment. If the problem remains unresolved the participant can follow the Internal Complaints procedure.

The internal student complaint procedure is listed below. As per school policy once a student has exercised the institution’s internal student complaint procedure and the issue still remains unresolved, the student has the right and is encouraged to contact Cambridge and ACCET (OHC Boston and Miami only), Private Career Colleges Ontario (Teaching House Toronto only), The Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (Teaching House New York only) or the BAC (Teaching House London only).

Step 1:

The student will request a meeting with the instructor responsible for the course to discuss the complaint verbally. If not resolved at this level, the student will proceed to Step 2.

Step 2:

The student will submit a completed written complaint to the Director.

The Director will arrange a meeting, either in-person or via video call, with the student within 5 days of receipt of the written complaint. The student will have an opportunity to present their complaint at this meeting or to have another person present on his/her behalf. This meeting discussion will be documented. The Director will respond to the student, outlining the discussion and any proposed and/or agreed upon solution(s) within 7 days of the meeting. This response will include a decision statement, together with the reasons on which the decision is based and minutes of meetings held. If not resolved at this level, the student will proceed to Step 3.

Step 3:

The student will submit a completed written complaint to the Country Director.

The Country Director will arrange a meeting with the student within 5 days of receipt of the written complaint, which should include their response with recommended solutions and the student’s objections or comments regarding these solutions.

The student will have an opportunity to present their complaint at this meeting or to have another person present on his/her behalf. This meeting discussion will be documented.

The Country Director will provide a written response to the student, outlining the discussion and any proposed and/or agreed upon solution(s) within 7 days of the meeting. This response will include a decision statement, together with the reasons on which the decision is based and minutes of meetings held.

If student’s complaint has not been resolved through the above procedure, the student may submit a student complaint as follows:

If you are not satisfied with the result of this process, you may appeal to Cambridge English Language Assessment, the Accrediting body of the CELTA and Delta courses. Details of this process can be found in your CELTA 5 (stored in your CELTA portfolio). Appeals must be received no later than two weeks after the issue of results and must be submitted via Teaching House. There is a fee for this process. Inquiries should be made to the Director, listed above.

Additionally, accrediting bodies for the different locations can be contacted. Specific information available upon enrolment.

Equality and Diversity Policy

At Teaching House and OHC we are proud to be a highly diverse and varied environment, with staff and students of a wide variety of races, ethnicities, nationalities and backgrounds. We value this diversity and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of: gender, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, religious or other beliefs, age, disability, HIV positivity, working pattern, caring responsibilities, trade union activity or political beliefs – or any other grounds.

The centre has staff representatives who deal with candidate queries, problems or complaints. For information on how to submit a complaint or query, please see the internal complaints procedure above.

Our equal opportunities policy covers all stages of the enrolment and course process. We accept candidates based solely on the relevant skills needed to complete the course successfully. We recruit candidates from as wide a field of suitably qualified people as possible, ask similar questions to all candidates, assess people only on their ability to complete the course and treat all applications on the basis of merit. We ensure the confidentiality of all candidate applications.

Special Educational Needs Policy

Teaching House has a strict equal opportunities policy regarding candidates with special educational needs, including dyslexia, and applications from candidates with special educational needs will be given the same consideration as all other applicants without exception. If accepted on to the course, tutors will make every effort to support candidates with special requirements. While we will do our utmost to support candidates with special requirements or learning needs, it should be noted that course tutors are not necessarily specialists in these areas so it is important for candidates to have coping strategies and to be proactive in letting their tutors know how they can support them. It should also be noted that in order to successfully complete the CELTA and Delta teaching qualifications, candidates are required to be able to work as independent English language teachers. Any effect that the special educational needs may have on this ability may be taken into account as part of the application process. Applicants and candidates who have any concerns in this regard should discuss them with their interviewer or the director of teacher training.

 

Plagiarism Policy

“Plagiarism is the "representation of another person’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work. …in many countries and cultures plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity and journalistic ethics, as well as social norms around learning, teaching, research, fairness, respect, and responsibility” (Wikipedia, 2024)

In terms of the CELTA course, examples of plagiarism would include:

  • Copying someone else´s assignment (in whole or in part).
  • Getting another person to write an assignment for you.
  • Lifting ideas from published source without referencing it.
  • Copying parts of published material without adequately referencing the source.
  • Using generative AI/LLM to write substantial parts of an assignment, or using ideas produced by generative AI without proper referencing (see Cambridge English Teaching Qualifications – advice on the use of generative AI in assessed work below)

Of course, you can, and are encouraged to, refer to sources of background reading. Here are some ways and conventions for referencing:

Paraphrasing

What the writer has said.

For example:

  • As Scrivener says, encouraging students to read quickly when reading for the first time can help build confidence when they don´t understand every word (Scrivener, 2011, p153)
  • Chami (2023) notes that using generative AI does not necessarily inhibit learning, but does have the potential to undermine the aim of education due to its propensity towards producing misleading or inaccurate information.

Direct quotation

From the book (don´t overdo this. Keep the quotation short)

  • According to Scrivener “it´s actually not necessary to understand every word in order to understand the information you might need from a recording” (Scrivener, 2011, p147)

Footnotes

Quote directly or paraphrase, then footnote author / year / page number at bottom of page[1]

Bibliography

Of any books / websites / other resources you've quoted or consulted when writing an assignment. This should be written like this:

Author surname, Author first name, year, Title of book in italics or underlined, publisher

e.g. Scrivener, Jim, 2011, Learning Teaching 4th edition, Macmillan

To reference an online source, you should write it like this:

  • Author (if available), Year of Publication (if known), Title (in italics or underlined), Publisher (if available and the organization is responsible for providing and maintaining the information), available URL (in the format: http://internet address/remote path).

For example:

Sources consulted 

[1] Like this: Scrivener, J., 2011, Learning Teaching, Macmillan Heinemann

Cambridge English Teaching Qualifications – advice on the use of generative AI in assessed work

Taken from: Cambridge University Press and Assessment (2024) Cambridge English guidance on the use of generative AI in assessed work https://support.cambridgeenglish.org/hc/en-gb/articles/18696780436242-Guidance-for-Use-of-Generative-AI-Tools-on-CELTA-and-DELTA

Acceptable Use

In their assessed work on CELTA and DELTA Modules Two and Three, candidates may choose to use generative AI tools for the following purposes:

  • to generate ideas for teaching and learning materials
  • to carry out initial research into a topic in preparation for an assignment
  • to generate a bibliography for further research

Referencing AI Use

All uses of AI must be referenced according to current accepted academic conventions. Any use of AI which is not attributed or referenced, will be treated as an attempt at malpractice (see ‘Malpractice’ and ‘Sources’ below).

 

For all referencing, including references to use of generative AI, candidates should choose one recognised Referencing and Citation style and use it consistently throughout their assignment. The APA style is recommended for CELTA and DELTA, but other recognised styles are also accepted (see the DELTA Handbook).

 

If APA is used, the following conventions for citing AI tools should be followed (candidates choosing other citation styles should check the conventions within their style).

When using generative AI tools, a candidate should in all instances include (1) in-text citations and (2) a reference list.

  • For in-text citations, a candidate should:
    • state the prompt or series of prompts used
    • ensure the section of the text that was aided by AI is clearly identifiable to the reader with the use of quotes
    • include the name of the generative AI program used and the date of use in

Example of in-text citation:

When given the prompt “explain 'used to' to a learner of English” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that "the phrase 'used to' is used to talk about past habits, actions, or situations that were true or habitual in the past but are no longer true in the present” (OpenAI, 2024).

  
  • In a reference list, a candidate should include the:
  1. author
  2. date
  3. title
  4. source

Example of reference list:

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Mar 27 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/c/25f36bd6-cfa6-45f2-8385-a33e12e91a60


Here is the above example reference broken down into its component:

  1. author – the author of the model, in this case “OpenAI”
  2. date – the year of the version used, in this case “2024” in brackets
  3. title – the name of the model, “ChatGPT”, serves as the title and is italicised; the descriptor “Large language model” is in square brackets
  4. source – the URL that links as directly as possible to the source

Malpractice

If a candidate is found to have failed to acknowledge their use of AI, this will be treated as an attempt at malpractice and could lead to disqualification. Please refer to Cambridge English’s malpractice procedure for teaching qualifications.

 

Sources

Sources consulted in the compilation of this advice sheet were the JCQ document AI Use in Assessment: Protecting the Integrity of Qualifications (2024), NILE’s AI Guidance (2023), and Cambridge English’s malpractice procedure for teaching qualifications.”

Teaching House e-safety, cyberbullying, and use of online media policy

Teaching House is committed to protecting all course participants, students in teaching practice classes, and staff from online bullying and harassment and from exposure to harmful or offensive material. It is important that you show sensitivity and respect in all online interactions with TH staff, students and your fellow course participants, and that you inform TH staff if you become aware of offensive or bullying behavior online. To this end, we require all participants in TH courses to follow our online code of practice:

  • To use the internet, social media and other forms of communication in a safe, sensible and polite way.
  • To only access websites, send messages and access and use other resources that will not hurt or upset anybody and that do not contain illegal, pornographic, racist, hateful or bullying material.
  • To accept and abide by the judgement of tutors and other TH staff with regard to the suitability of material and communication.
  • To only upload pictures of, or information about people to social networking or other sites with the person’s permission.
  • To remember that people online may not tell the truth about who they are.
  • To remember that images and messages I post online may be available to anyone, even if I think I am sending or posting them privately.
  • To report any concerns to the lead or deputy person for e-safety immediately.

To report concerns, or if you have questions, contact the regional director, or for face-to-face courses, ask at reception to make an appointment to speak to someone.

Media Permissions Policy

Online lessons may be recorded strictly for back-up assessment / catch-up purposes and will not be shared beyond the course. Candidates are not permitted to share these recordings in any form for any purpose, or to create or share their own recordings of online or face-to-face classes.

From time to time we take photographs of our courses (for example a group photo at the end of your course) to post on our social media. We may also use these images in publicity. You will be informed when photographs are being taken and if you prefer not to appear in them, will have the opportunity to avoid doing so. If you would prefer to be excluded from all group photography or have any other concerns about the use of images, please email info@teachinghouse.group. This won’t affect your standing on the course in any way.