TESOL schools

Are criminal records really an issue? How many ESL/EFL teachers have committed crimes in the past?

Unfortunately, many more than you might think. We believe the vast majority of teachers are sincere and have no intention of exploiting the opportunity to teach English in language schools worldwide. The few who do are our focus.

Our mandate is to train teachers, that's it. Are safe classrooms really our responsibility?

When a convicted criminal's home government will give him/her a passport without regard to criminal history and his/her host government will process a teaching visa without checking into their background, somebody has to do something. The Happy Schools program gives teachers, schools and teacher training programs the power to do that.

We don't recruit or employ teachers. Isn't this issue beyond our sphere of influence?

No. As a teacher training provider, you open the door to the English teaching opportunity. Your certificate or diploma makes teachers employable. Don't be the program that empowers a pedophile to go abroad and gain access to kids.

How can we help? We can't refuse a person an education based on a criminal record.

You don't have to. Happy Schools is aware that the laws of many western nations preclude denying a convicted criminal access to education. Happy Schools is a grander scheme program. The goal of keeping pedophiles and other dangerous offenders out of classrooms does not begin and end with teacher training programs. We're asking you to do your part. By committing to Happy Schools' ethical guidelines for teacher training programs you're doing just that. As an education provider, you may not be able to prevent someone with a criminal record from taking your course, but by discussing Happy Schools and declaring your participation as a partnerin the program them know our industry holds no place for them. The rest is up to the schools, recruiters and teachers themselves.

I want to do more. What else can my program do to support Happy Schools?

Happy Schools offers teacher training programs several participation options. For details, please click here.